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Anyone else wish the soft top was more like the JK's?

IowaRaider

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The JL functions so much better I would love it even if I didn't like the look. At first I found it odd but it grew on me fast! Much better than the JK!
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Waiting

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Function is great....but safari mode looks awful and all those bars and latches looks awful in top-down mode. Maybe the reason I think the OEM top is stupid and messy looking (in all modes accept fully shut) is because all the great and clean photos of JLs with no top are the ones with the hardtop removed.
 

Waiting

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I'm With you on this one. I love how it's so much more functional now but hate the look of the soft top attached to the roll bars. Does it detach easily from the bars? If possible I would definitely take that extra step when lowering it so i can have it lie flat like the JK....

When it lies flat like in the JK it looks like it's down and adds a nice contrasting angle to the roll cage. On the JL is just looks, Incomplete (if that makes sense) like you left it half on half on. It also takes away from the look of the roll bar. it would look much cleaner fully down.
It does make sense; I get you.
Clean vs incomplete/messy:
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robaw

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Function is great....but safari mode looks awful and all those bars and latches looks awful in top-down mode. Maybe the reason I think the OEM top is stupid and messy looking (in all modes accept fully shut) is because all the great and clean photos of JLs with no top are the ones with the hardtop removed.
Personally I like safari mode (to each their own). I will agree that it looks a little goofy with the top down and the bars still attached (like in second picture below) as opposed to detaching them and setting it down (like the first one below). Fully naked definitely looks cleaner though!
 

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It does make sense; I get you.
Clean vs incomplete/messy:
Penny.jpg
IMG_0132.JPG
Those pictures show exactly what I am talking about. When the top is down on the JK everything is clean. Looks like crap on the JL unless you remove the whole thing. I also prefer the top up on the JK as compared to the weird safari mode of the JL. Again, I know it's just my opinion. =)
 

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I have to jump in and agree that the safari top looks weird and I thought I wouldn't use it.

But

I live in Phoenix and the sun is pretty intense now, so I find myself using it a lot. I put the top all the way down once the sun gets down lower on the horizon. Granted it's different climates, but the alternative would have been a shade cover which would cost $250.

Someone in the parking lot the other day said they like it, so I stopped worrying about it awhile ago. Now I'm going to see how long I can keep the soft top on as the weather heats up.
 

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You're better off going aftermarket
i topped by this booth at sema and watched the demonstration. it looks awful. the side windows look terrible and when its down talk about bunched up. the ONLY advantage being that you dont have to get out of your seat to drop it down (and no bars hanging). the new top is so easy to drop it takes like 1-2 minutes once you know how to do it. (by yourself).
 

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Ok So I just found this.... you can skip to the 4 min mark.... you can easily take the whole thing down like in the JK... does look bulkier though...

awesome find. i had no idea those bars could come down so easily. cant wait to try it out. i was just driving around with the top down today. finally, after all the rain we've had. ive been planning to grab some long velcro straps for the the top when its down. i think it would help.

you have to hand it to Bestop. they did an amazing job with this top. its not perfect but the design and functionality is great.
 

GenaL

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I love my JL soft top! Jump up at the red light, flip it back, and seat-belted back into my seat before it turns green - no problem. No need to remove windows. Could not do that with the previous top. Great if I only want it open for the drive from A to B.
 

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Not going to lie, after owning 3 different JK's with two different styles of soft tops, I have to say I view the new top design as a huge improvement. From a use perspective, it's much easier for one person to put the top up and than before and there is less fussing around with how the top bunches up when you put it down completely. From that standpoint alone I view that as a win.

The sport bar mounts may not be the aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, however it does help idiot proof how the top goes up and down for the people too lazy or not smart enough to see that they didn't put the top down correctly.
 

FLECK-5

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JK Trektop vs. JL factory soft top:

I had a 2014 JK Sahara with the Bestop Trektop. I don’t like being directly in the sun when driving so being able to use the Trektop as a bikini top was awesome. I bought a duster deck cover for the back so it’s contents didn’t blow away and were hidden from thieves. It also allowed me to store the windows under the cover without worrying they would blown away. The Trektop looked awesome in bikini mode with the duster deck cover. The downside to the Trektop was that it’s shorter / bikini style top had a sloped rear window. A sloped window means means less storage area. The rear window was awkward to open when loading contents into the rear as it wanted to swing toward the middle of the cargo area. The worst part of the sloped rear window was that when it rained and you opened the tailgate, all the water poured onto the edge of the carpet. Not fun. The Trektop was a frameless top so it was really noisy with the windows on. When you removed the windows it lost some of its structure and flapped like crazy.

I bought my JL Wrangler with the factory soft top. Like the Trektop, it can be used in a bikini like mode (safari mode for the JL), but the JL top extends all the way to the back of the Jeep. On all previous generations of Wrangler soft tops, the back corner of the soft top attached to the rear corners of the Jeep, which eliminated the ability to add a duster deck cover. With the corners of the JL Jeep soft tops being removable with the windows, the back of the Jeep is open and clean. Soft top season is fast approaching and no suppliers have come out with a duster deck cover. I’ll be really disappointed if I can’t buy one for my JL.

I snapped a picture of an old Bronco who’s top is designed to be used in safari mode but it’s got supports everywhere to hold up the top because it doesn’t have a roll cage to attach the top to. The JL factory design functions similarly but is much cleaner.

In summary, I think the safari mode of the JL factory soft top is optimized for functionality but is a little odd looking. Overall it’s the best designed soft top yet. I look forward to installing it and using it this spring.

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ViperJon

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I have to agree with the comments about the sorta weird look of the soft top in Safari mode. Great idea functionally but odd looking. Somebody should design some snap in "legs" for the rear corners and it would look so much better and more complete if you will. I would buy them today.
 

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We have a new Rubicon on order and had planned to order it with the soft top. After test driving a couple I wanted to see how the new top went down. I must say I like how the windows come out instead of using zippers. What I don't like is the bulky things mounted on the roll bars. I think they are ugly as can be and don't understand how someone could look at that and say "We got it! That's it!". Mean to tell me you couldn't come up with something better than that? I also think it looks weird without the windows how the back just floats on its own. In the end we decided to order a hard top and wait to see what the aftermarket comes up with for a soft top. I personally much prefer the soft top on the JK. Not knocking anyone's choice as we all have different opinions. Just wondering what others think of the JL soft top.
I agree with you, the JL top looks a bit off with the windows out. I waited patiently for the Trektop NX and couldn't be happier with the look, fit & finish and function. Just like Jeep improved every aspect of the JL, Bestop did the same for the JK Trektop to the JL Trektop.


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