The 4 door Wrangler has become the new Hummer H3...so sad.

Keith Tanner said:

When I got my first Miata in 1993, the vehicle to have for all the sorority girls was...a Wrangler. This is not new. I mean, like, it's totally classic.

I'm with Tom - if they sell well for whatever purpose, then there are lots for us to play with later. And the four door is actually a functional vehicle, unlike the SWB. My favorite is the LJ, the LWB two-door. Sister in law has one, it's a good size. I'd rock one of those if I needed that kind of vehicle. Hers is set up for moderate trail running and it gets into the rocks maybe twice a year. Mostly it's for my dumbass brother in law to remind himself that he has a big invincible buggy tucked away in the garage while he's doing a latte run.

This. Both of my (female) roommates in college (mid-90s) had Wranglers that never saw a second off the pavement (well, maybe a beach once or twice at spring break). My (male) roommate did have an old beat-up CJ. Didn't do a lot of off-roading, but he certainly beat the crap out of it (even rolled it) when he did.

Here in the 'burbs there are Wranglers everywhere (particularly unlimiteds). Pretty sure my Sequoia has seen more off-road use than 95% of them. But they do have lots of LED lightbars, hi-lift jacks (in mint condition), and really aggressive tires on them. No mud in the wheelwells though........

Most of the more "outdoorsy" buddies I have, who actually go trail-running in their rigs, camping, exploring, etc......almost all of them have various-generation 4Runners, not Jeeps...

They arethe douche de rigeur down by me, taking over for h2 and tapout. 

In reply to Mndsm :

Only if you get the Call of Duty Edition.Bro.

D2W said:

I have driven one, my buddy had a 2016 4 door. I would take my 2007 FJ over it any day of the week and twice of Sunday. Its more comfortable at any speed, and stock vs stock will go anywhere the wrangler does. I also have 172,000 on mine with just gas, oil and tires, nothing else. He sold the Jeep after a year.

Part of the appeal of the 7-slot grill over something like the FJ is the history. The FJ really has none to speak of (yes, I know how long they've been around, but few do). 

Then there's the aftermarket support. The Jeep has 299X more than anything that tries to compete with it.  

Then there's the solid axles. Better for what they are intended for.   

Then there's the lack of IFS. Yes, that's kinda the same thing i just said, but from a maintenance, modification, strength, durability, and flexibility standpoint it's soon much better.   

And of course there's the mystique. The Jeep has it in spades. The only other vehicle vehicle that had some was the Hummer, but GM sold it out soo quickly it became a joke. 

Not to knock your FJ (they are cool) but I couldn't imagine driving one off road. Looking though that mail slot of a windshield would make picking a line tough. The FJ is one if the very few vehicles to hold its value better than the Jeep. They still cost almost MSRP years later

You think owning a Jeep and not offroading is bad, I own a minivan and I dont have kids!  Im a Soccer Mom Lifestyle Poser!

logdog said:

You think owning a Jeep and not offroading is bad, I own a minivan and I dont have kids!  Im a Soccer Mom Lifestyle Poser!

And I've never done a single line of coke on the dash of my 944!  We should start a support group.

What is the ideal vehicle for 'mall crawling'?  Why would someone purchase a vehicle for the sole purpose of going to the mall anyway?  Possibly the only thing worse than being inside a mall is navigating the parking lot of one.

I'm curious what car you guys walk by in the mall parking lot and think "wow, thats a great choice for a mall vehicle!"

In reply to ProDarwin :

something cheap that already has dents on the doors and perhaps a broken taillight.

aka something you can park and not worry about what other idiot mall-crawlers will do to it.

old minivan is prime mall vehicle ;)

If you put "mall crawler" into Google and hit enter, this is one of the first images that comes up. I think it's perfect. Though jsut as often it's a lifted Tahoe or an SVT Raptor doing something simlar.

If you want the best, go to the "Nation's Gun Show" here in Chantilly, VA (near DC). A big convention center in the middle of the suburbs. You'll never see so many lifted trucks and jeeps that never go off road, driven by balding suburban white guys wearing tactical vests and cargo pants. It's really quite hilarious. 

First point, around here at the turn of the century it was the original Hummer retroactively called H1 was the trophy wife vehicle de jour. 

And then I'm going to be just as guilty myself in a few years when I buy a new Bronco as soon as it comes out to DD, but I will tow with it and do some off roading with it too. 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

Klayfish said:

I agree with a lot of what you guys have said...each to their own, it'll make for nice used ones on the market later, the Jeep has been around forever, etc...  But the 4 door Wrangler hasn't been around all that long, just a couple of years.  Before it existed, there were certainly people daily driving CJ Wranglers as DDs, no doubt.  But not many were the housewife-with-2-kids type, simply because the CJ, YJ, etc...just weren't very convenient for family use.  The 4 door changes all that.  Like I said, I see them very much like I saw the H3...99% were bought by people who wanted to look rugged and tough, but used them for things that Honda Accords were 1000x better suited for.  I never used to look at the Wrangler that way, I just think it's a bit sad.

 

Oh, and at least Daisy Duke offroaded her Jeep....

Dude, that Jeep is LITERALLY on a road.

I thought they only had dirt roads in Hazard County?

I saw a 4 door jeep yesterday, all decked out for offroading with the expedition style bumpers, lights, winch, and the spare bolted to the rollcage.. rolling on low profile chrome rims. Which brings up another question, why do so many jeep owners remove the spare from the rear door and just leave the black plastic square the mount bolts to?

Im glad someone already came in here and defended how good the H3 was at offroading. 

One of my minivans has no seats left for passengers because racecar and the other one is too nice to allow a child into.  

When the 4 dr Wrangler debuted in '07,  I figured it would be cool to have one of those once prices drop into the sub $4k range...still waiting.  

You will be waiting forever. YJs barely go below that 30 years later. That's the only reason i haven't owned one. Other than that it's almost my ideal car - a road legal tractor with more power than it needs that makes any aggressive maneuvers terrifying and does almost nothing to isolate you from the very real world you are senselessly bombing around in. It's like a motorcycle that you're actually likely to live through wrecking. 

irish44j said:

In reply to Mndsm :

Only if you get the Call of Duty Edition.Bro.

Triple white, stinger fenders and the angry face. Especially the angry face. 

In reply to mad_machine :

They couldn't afford the 5th low-profile wheel & tire, and thought it would look stupid having a mismatched spare. 

I buy cars because I like certain things about them. If this particular car excels at a certain thing and all I do is dd it, then oh well lol. 

Klay, try spending less time on what other people do with their things. It's their stuff, their money, and their happiness. 

Honestly this thread shouldn't even exist on GRM given our enthusiast demographic. 

I wouldn't want the people who buy Jeeps offroading out destroying the Wilderness anyway.    Let them alone and leave them at the mall where they belong.   I like the peace and quiet found off the beaten path and do not want those folks out there.

When they come out in the woods they decide they like it...   but it would be nice to have a Walmart...    Please...  leave them at the mall and don't encourage them.

Said someone who had NO idea how much we "off roaders" do help and protect the environment. We don't complain about all the bikers and hikers that throw garbage on  the trail, we just toss it in the garbage bag we bring expressly for that purpose.    

That's only the day-to-day stuff  there's lots of people out there fighting to keep public land open.....for ALL users.

I support Tread Lightly and I too bring a bag to pick up trash when I am out there. Generally I only use the disco to get to a trailhead and then either hike or bike, but I am out there

DrBoost said:

Then there's the aftermarket support. The Jeep has 299X more than anything that tries to compete with it.  

Which is due in large part to the vast number of owners who modify their Jeeps with 'genuine' off-road accessories, even though theirs will never even see so much as a dirt road. So again, this is technically just one more reason these people should be thanked and praised by the enthusiasts for helping this level of support to even exist in the first place, rather than mocked and criticized the way they typically are.

Even in the days of CJ's , a used one was prime and didn't stay on the lot long.

Vigo said:

You will be waiting forever. YJs barely go below that 30 years later. That's the only reason i haven't owned one. Other than that it's almost my ideal car - a road legal tractor with more power than it needs that makes any aggressive maneuvers terrifying and does almost nothing to isolate you from the very real world you are senselessly bombing around in. It's like a motorcycle that you're actually likely to live through wrecking. 

This is why I want a full size Bronco. Take the back off and you're 90% there at about 1/3 the cost. I even saw one on the way home from soccer today that had tube doors. The want is real. 

As to what makes a good mall crawler? It needs a good tight turning radius, tall enough to not get lost, preferably a bright color. No damage if you roll over a curb, enough space to stash the days haul. As much as people bash on Jeeps, the FJ Cruiser really does make a fantastic mall crawler. 

mad_machine said:

I saw a 4 door jeep yesterday, all decked out for offroading with the expedition style bumpers, lights, winch, and the spare bolted to the rollcage.. rolling on low profile chrome rims. 

Interesting that nobody on this site seems to have considered the possibility of having one set of wheels/tires more suited to on-road driving, and another for when they want to hit the trails...Much like people here do for tracking their street cars.  I'm not saying this is necessarily the norm, but it is one more reason not to jump to conclusions about people we have never even interacted with..

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

You couldn't convince the wife you need a convertible like experience where the whole family can join? 

Bronco with roof off. 

I am curious of the percentage of mustang or corvette or camaro or porsche owners for thst matter that track or race their cars.  I would wager that it is similar if not smaller than the percentage of jeep owners who take them off road.

In reply to pimpm3 :

Yeah but those are all good road cars. A wrangler is not a good road car. They are also not race cars whereas a wrangler is "trail rated" and is an off-road capable vehicle.