What made you jump in the Wrangler bandwagon?

[Reinen]

He ended up purchasing a convertible 350Z in lieu of the Wrangler.

What? How? They're not even remotely similar. Sorry, but your cousin is weird. Or he never really wanted a Wrangler, just a convertible (and by that measure the Wrangler isn't a particularly good one).

Former YJ owner here. Purchased new off the lot.

-Leaf spring suspension: Agreed. It worked, but it could have been better.

Same here. But I ended up really liking the leaf spring suspension because doing the speed limit on the highway in a topless & doorless YJ felt like you were flying by the seat of your pants. Saved this 20-something a lot of speeding tickets while still providing the necessary thrills.

Sponsored

 

[Timmyjoe]

Spent years being responsible, raising a family, driving practical vehicles. Wanted to relive my youth when I used to drive this:

That, and every damn time I get into the Jeep, it makes me smile.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Oncorhynchus]

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/the-day-i-decided-to-buy-a-jeep.69307/

 

[Reinen]

Let's be honest: they're kind of pigs to drive, not very good on the highway. But God, are they a blast.

There's a s*** ton of great cars on the market. Yet, if you're like me, there's absolutely no f'n way you'll buy anything else than a Wrangler. Okay, maybe an FJ Cruiser...or a Defender. Or a Bronco.

So, what made you jump in the Wrangler bandwagon?

Personally, I moved from the city to the country, back in September '20. And when you say "country" in Eastern Quebec, it REALLY means "country".

And I quickly realized that in the country, you need two things: 4X4 and ground clearance. My little AWD CX-30 didn't cut it.

So yeah, I test drove a Wrangler since I always wanted one but always seen that as "the cool car i'll never get because it doesn't make much sense"...

...and now am hooked...AND it's making a lot of sense.

No "bandwagon" here. Jeeps are Jeeps. You either need one or you don't (in which case other vehicles will be much better suited). I had a '90 YJ as I was exploring places that required a Jeep. Then after my son was born I finally ran the YJ into the ground and moved on to vehicles more suited to what I was doing.

Now my son is on his own and I'm back to exploring places that require a Jeep. I'm quite happy with the differences between a YJ and a JL. Both are/were perfectly suited to my needs at the time. Everything about the YJ that I now would want changed, was changed.

 

[Heimkehr]

What? How? They're not even remotely similar. Sorry, but your cousin is weird. Or he never really wanted a Wrangler, just a convertible (and by that measure the Wrangler isn't a particularly good one).

He goes through cars and wives at a fair rate. I don't try to figure it out anymore.

 

[LarryB]

My cool uncle had one when I was a kid. If it was cool enough for him ... Both he and my Dad aren't around anymore, making it difficult for me to gauge exactly what he had. Based on pictures, I think it was this (1972 CJ5) ...

 

[entropy]

If Toyota made and still produced the FJ Cruiser more like a modern FJ40. I would have probably bought it over the JL Rubicon.

They do make a SFA offroad utility vehicle. It is the FJ 70 series. They dont sell it in the US though. The 4 door looks kind of like an XJ. It is an absolute beast and runs a V8

 

[west tex]

I've liked Jeeps for decades. CJ, YJ, TJ, JK, JL; all of 'em. But never owned a Jeep of any type until 4 years ago when I purchased a Renegade Trailhawk. The wife and I both are very pleased with this vehicle and it does better offroad than I would have expected.

Fast forward to last year's announcement from Ford that they're reviving the Bronco and that got both of us excited. She owned a Bronco II that she just loved and has talked about some day maybe getting one and restoring it. But we both were enthused about the new Bronco and I even put down $100 to reserve a place in line. Long story short, the dealer could never give me even a ball park guesstimate on delivery.

So....

Seeing as how pleased we are with the Renegade, I just wandered down the street to the Jeep dealer and put in my order. Less than 6 weeks later, I was driving my Wrangler.

Looking forward to a Moab trip in October.

 

[Spaffy]

In high school I drove a 1997 TJ Sahara, 4.0 and 5 speed. This was before they ever had a Rubicon. I loved that Jeep. I never had the money to build it out like I wanted though....

Young and dumb I eventually traded it in for a normal car.

Fast forward to the end of last year, Ford announced the Bronco. I had to have one. A 2 door. Loved how it looked, 7 speed manual tranny, I'm SOLD. I put my 100 bucks down for a reservation within the first 3 hours. As soon as the servers were up.

Over the next few weeks more details came out. It was IFS, what a huge blow! Ok, I can deal with that.... Learned the manual transmission was going to be made in China- by a company who built the manual Mustang transmission everyone hates. Well... May... Maybe itll be ok?

Electronic 4x4 shifter. Electronic parking brake. Uhhh, guys.... Not what I was hoping for. No soft top for the 2 door? But, but I don't want a hard top! It's even BIGGER than the JL.... Hmm....

Jeep wasn't even on my radar before the Bronco. The more I looked at the Bronco the more everything seemed to be a compromise.... I started looking at the 2 door JLs.

Coming from a TJ, I never fully warmed up to the JKs... I'll be honest: I didn't like them. I like them a little more now, but something was just off.

The more I looked at the JL, the more I liked it... It was bigger than the TJ (which I didn't like), slightly bigger than the JK... But it looked more like what I thought a Jeep should look like.

Then Jeep came out with the half doors. I was a convert. The Bronco was even bigger than the JL and had all these compromises....

I put my order in for a manual Willys 2 door JL with dual doors and soft top. I couldn't be happier! It's all the fun I remember from my TJ, but everything is so much more advanced and better.

Thanks Ford! You sold me a Jeep!

 

[west tex]

In high school I drove a 1997 TJ Sahara, 4.0 and 5 speed. This was before they ever had a Rubicon. I loved that Jeep. I never had the money to built it out like I wanted though....

Young and dumb I eventually traded it in for a normal car.

Fast forward to the end of last year, Ford announced the Bronco. I had to have one. A 2 door. Loved how it looked, 7 speed manual tranny, I'm SOLD. I put my 100 bucks down for a reservation within the first 3 hours. As soon as the servers were up.

Over the next few weeks more details came out. It was IFS, what a huge blow! Ok, I can deal with that.... Learned the manual transmission was going to be made in China- by a company who built the manual Mustang transmission everyone hates. Well... May... Maybe itll be ok?

Electronic 4x4 shifter. Electronic parking brake. Uhhh, guys.... Not what I was hoping for. No soft top for the 2 door? But, but I don't want a hard top! It's even BIGGER than the JL.... Hmm....

Jeep wasn't even on my radar before the Bronco. The more I looked at the Bronco the more everything seemed to be a compromise.... I started looking at the 2 door JLs.

Coming from a TJ, I never fully warmed up to the JKs... I'll be honest: I didn't like them. I like them a little more now, but something was just off.

The more I looked at the JL, the more I liked it... It was bigger than the TJ (which I didn't like), slightly bigger than the JK... But it looked more like what I thought a Jeep should look like.

Then Jeep came out with the half doors. I was a convert. The Bronco was even bigger than the JL and had all these compromises....

I put my order in for a Willys 2 door JL with dual doors and soft top. I couldn't be happier! It's all the fun I remember from my TJ, but everything is so much more advanced and better.

Thanks Ford! You sold me a Jeep!

Another would-be Bronco owner.

 

[entropy]

I actually like how the JL drives. Ive always been a slow driver so I dont notice much of the sway and all that people complain about. Also because I love exploring and being out here in California. I feel confident taking the JL on non maintained roads, trails, etc... The fact I can take the top off means it looks cool and I like the freedom of driving topless. It is also practical, so I can haul tall stuff occasionally without owning/renting a truck.

The JL is fun, practical outdoors, and also a little workhorse. I find my JL without the rear bench much more practical than any SUV Ive ever owned (including an XJ).

Just brought home wife's favorite tree.

 

[jludave]

I had a 2010 Subaru Impreza Sport that was hit in early 2015 while I was waiting to make a right turn out of a parking lot during a snow storm. The other driver changed from left lane to right at the last minute to turn into the parking lot, never slowed down and slid right into me. Damaged my left front fender, hood, side skirt, wheel and a bunch of suspension components.

I had the car repaired - other driver's insurance covered it, and drove it for another few months. I never felt 100% comfortable with the vehicle ever since, so on I decided to trade it in. I had always wanted a Wrangler since I was a kid, and now with wife and kids, a JKU was very desirable.

I told my wife what I wanted to do and we decided to drop our kids off at her parents while we shopped for a new Wrangler. We headed to the dealership, test drove a few Wranglers and knew I had to have one. There was a 2 door (forget which model) in Anvil, and when I saw it, I also had to have that color. Luckily, my salesperson what able to locate a 2015 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara in Anvil and the deal was made. I drove home with it 2 days later.

In February of 2020, I decided it was time to look into a new JLU. I had less than 23,000 miles on my JKU, but it was starting to feel old, especially compared to the JLU. On a whim, I stopped by a different local dealership to test drive a JLU. Once again, after the test drive, I knew I had to have one. I told my salesperson exactly what I wanted, and once again was lucky enough to find exactly what I wanted in inventory. The deal was made on my trade, etc. and I drove my Granite Crystal '20 JLU Sport Altitude home a few hours later.

 

[Spaffy]

Another would-be Bronco owner.

Still took almost 6 months for me to get my JL- but that's due to me getting the strangest JL ever built!

2 Door. Willys. Manual trans. Half doors. Soft top. No AC.

Wouldn't change a single thing about it!

 

[Rossp]

I had been thinking about one for a while. My husband has a beat up LJ that he uses for snow plowing. I ended up with one as a rental car on a business trip by chance, and that sealed the deal!

 

[Tellurian]

I misread this thread. Thought Jeep was coming out with a new Wrangler edition called the Bandwagon.

The rumor I’m now starting on this new model is that it comes with stock 35s and an optional V8 with an MT. Also, it’s electric and has brand new tech that allows trees to grow twice as fast when driven off-road.

Sponsored