And Jeep quality remains crappy, but with bad service too!
Don’t get a kink in your neck. Jeeps are, by any measure you care to employ, crude compared to other modern vehicles. Frankly, that very crudeness and simplicity were what brought folks to Jeep to start with. They were simple yet more capable than the other guy. Today they’re technically more capable than in the past, BUT they’ve grown porky and increasingly more complex. I’d bet there will be CJ’s out on the trail decades after the last JL has been scrapped because of the death of an electronic widget that is no longer available ( same thing applies too ALL modern vehicles). You can darn near rebuild a CJ with a crescent wrench, pliars and a screwdriver
. I don’t “hate” Jeeps (would not own and have owned them if I did) but they are a long way from what they could be, and for todays prices, the “should” be close to perfect on build quality. Sadly, Nobody’s vehicles today have the quality that was available from a few manufacturers a couple decades ago. Stellantis (and Fiat before them) worked very hard to make the Jeep an option heavy luxobarges for the high profits that’d generate, it worked well for a while, but they’ve pushed it beyond the pale. Somebody could make a darn nice piece of change by building a simple, basic utility vehicle that was reliable and easy to diy maintain/repair, but nobody does. I’m dreaming that the new folks at Jeep will wake up, but I’m not counting on it.
Nobody could make a dime building what you describe as it couldn't be sold for use on the street. It's like the roxor or a side by side (although even those cost near base model JL prices now). For a road vehicle in America you've got safety standards, emissions requirements, and fuel economy mandates. To meet all of those requires complexity. At that point your crescent wrench and screw driver rebuild are out the window anyway so why not throw in some creature comforts that the vast majority of buyers want? As far as poor ride in the JL, compared to what? Infinitely better than a CJ or YJ. Way better than the TJ. Miles ahead of the JK. Every generation has gotten better on road and off. That's what makes the JL so impressive. With less lift than a TJ needed to clear 35s we run 39s on our xr. Unlike the TJ on 35s it still has no problem cruising at 85mph without touching the pedals for hours thanks to the adaptive cruise. It is still a Jeep so the necessary upright seating position does cause my lower back to get a little tight after hours... thankfully they added this great seat heater. Get to the trail head and run level 9 trails like John Bull, Pritchett Canyon, or the rubicon no problem. Air up, turn around and cruise home still looking like the things never been off road. No it doesn't ride like an IFS car, but it doesn't fold tie rods when it sees a rock like one either. As far as build quality it's a million times nicer than the TJ. We've owned 2 JLs and a JT, wheeled all over the country for the last 5 years and over 120k miles between them and exactly 0 issues.
With one exception... if OP has his mind set on LC, he should consider the Lexus equivalent. Unlike the Toyota variant, those are built in Japan, and I'm pretty certain the build quality is considerably better.
This
Cars are getting more and more complex. The more parts there are, the more likely something will go bad. That applies to all cars.
Not true. All Land Cruisers and Lexus LX/GX's are made in Japan. Back in the 100/200 series days, the V8 engines and components were different from those put in the Tundra and 4R. Not sure that's the case anymore with the new LC 250.
