Why has Jeep become THE answer?

Make that 8. I own an XJ ('93), a Miata ('93) and a Forester ('04 XT). The Forester might beat the XJ in nearly every category, but that's not the point. The Forester cost me around $25K and the XJ was FREE and I've been using it as a DD for nearly seven years. The XJ has been dead-nuts reliable. The money I have spent for repairs for the entire time I've had it has been less than two payments on the Forester prior to being paid-off. It's hard to get more grassroots than that.

As I said, the Forester can beat the XJ in nearly every category, but that doesn't mean the XJ is bad in any of those categories. I get an honest 25mpg on the highway in the XJ (it's a 5 speed). The acceleration of the 4.0 can't touch the Forester, but it ain't bad. Interior capacity is comparable. Ride and accommodations are better in the Forester, but I'm fine in the XJ. Most everything in my XJ is manual, and I'm ok with that...everything WORKS including the A/C. Not bad for a 19y.o. vehicle with right at 260K miles on it.

For me, I couldn't have asked for better, cheap mule vehicle and it has long ago earned the title for one of my all time favorites.

Well, 9, sort of. 2000 XJ had been my mom's daily, and Dad and I used it a couple of times to tow our 2000 Spec Miata (which caused some folks on here to hector us mercilessly).

Pretty solid for its age so far, except for (a) kinda wonky a/c, (b) a driver's window that has for whatever reason known to Iacocca been eating power window switches for about 5 years, and (c) a now leaking PS pump.

As good a two vehicle as Dad's massive 4wd Suburban2500? No. As fun a driver as my M3? No. As comfly a road tripper as the Suburban or M3. Hardly. As good in snow as my 325iX? Nope. But reliable transport good for hauling a small trailer, large labrador retriever or car parts? Cant be beat. Also, never a worry to park in rougher parts of town...

How'd it do at towing the Spec Pinata? I know probably not ideal, but did it get the job done well enough?

XJ.

Designed in France by the FRENCH LOL!

Mine has been as reliable as gravity. Has 31" tires and a 3" lift. Needs regeared (running original 3.o7 that came with the 5 spd). Poor mileage (I got 20 out of it 1 time in the 11 years I've had it). It will turn sharper than any vehicle I've ever driven save for an early SWB CJ.

I'm looking to swap in a 5.3 LS motor. It isn't really a very popular swap but it has been done.

Celica - It did OK at towing, but it was only an interim solution before we bought an enclosed trailer and big tow truck. Our longest haul was from Miami to Sebring, which is a table flat 2 hour drive, and our trailer was a tiny borrowed single axle with a deck barely wider than the car, with overhang at both ends. A longer trip on I95 or on a hilly route might have been more interesting...

From asking around, if an XJ is going to become a regular hauler of anything other than a small utility trailer, then a transmission cooler and helper springs seem to be highly recommended. Short answer: It did the job well enough, but I think it would wear on the XJ to tow almost its own weight on a regular basis.

Vigo wrote: Where the hell are people getting this stuff? Is yours an XT? Because otherwise you are smoking crack.

To answer that question, all you had to do was click my profile.

Yes, my Forester is a 2004 manual XT.

My 100% stock Forester on street tires was also faster around a rallycross course than some caged, stripped and race prepped Cherokees riding on knobby tires.

Results are for November 13th, the last race of the year. http://www.thscc.com/rallycross/events/index.php?season=2011

Granted, these things were built for some kind of serious off-road trail racing, were a bit top heavy and the course was tight, but I'm fairly aware of what my car can do and what a stock Cherokee can do. It's why I'm looking at buying one.

A Wrangler was faster than I (and quite a few other cars) was, though.

Here is what they looked like:

Here is what I looked like:

The only thing keeping me away is mileage. 5 speed 4.0, what are you guys seeing? My 2.5 wrangler couldnt get past 17 no matter how nice I drove.

Joey

my "real world" xj mileage (4.0 HO, Automatic, 2001 Cherokee Sport): 13-15 running around town. 19-20 pure highway.

Winter, 4wd engaged, lots of "warming up" before driving, etc, as low as 10 mpg.

Still mpg is the only down side of my xj, and I accept that.

thunderzy wrote:

4cylndrfury wrote: Why has jeep become the answer? Buy cheap, Add boost, add lightness, add lower-ness, win /thread

I didn't anticipate this many replies!! I would like more info on the xj pictured above. General performance upgrades as well. Does anyone rally cross their xj? How strong are the manual transmissions?

here's our build threadhttp://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/2010-race-jeep-cherokee-build/27247/page1/, lots of good info in there.
our "XJ-R" wouldnt make a good rallycrosser as it's lost a lot of upward suspension travel with the reduced ride height but it works astonishingly well around the cones on tarmac

i'd rallycross one but i'd keep the ride height about stock and just reduce tire size a bit if necessary and add some roll stiffness. they handle surprisngly well stock and have good grunty power. the AX-15 manual trans is pretty strong as long is its shifted correctly like any manual trans but the AW4 automatic is just as good if not better.

In reply to EricM:

Thats not terrible hwy. And my wife would not let me bring home an automatic...

Joey

To answer that question, all you had to do was click my profile.

There shouldnt have been a question. Trying to compare the XT to cherokee acceleration needs a DISCLAIMER. Sort of like if we were talking about grand cherokee acceleration vs some other vehicle and someone said their grand cherokee blew the doors off XYZ without mentioning it was an SRT8..

And i stand by my point.. that the only way you can compare forester acceleration to a 4.0 cherokee is by sticking a turbo on it.

Ah, I'll admit I was trolling a little. I had a smiley after that, and went back and deleted it. You bit.

I notice the link isn't working. I'll fix that.

Also, anybody who says that Jeeps can't turn never saw one throwing up four rooster tails in a perfect drift. I forget what kind of racing those guys do, but they could drive. The guy in the picture I linked is catching some air, too. Good on him.

Huh, just noticed the results like doesn't work. Pity. I'll put another link there.

Ah, I'll admit I was trolling a little. I had a smiley after that, and went back and deleted it. You bit.

A little trolling in good humor is alright by me.

I'm not exactly sure what my mileage on my Cherokee is, but I know I've gotten about 325 miles out of the 18 gallon tank a few times. I've been told that's pretty good for an XJ.

Economy is definitely not an XJs strong suit so I wouldn't get one for commuting. I work two miles from home so it's not so bad for me. I have a 3' lift and 31" tires on it. Approx. 17 mpg on the highway and 13-14 mpg city. In snow with 4wd engaged 10-11 mpg.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I'm not exactly sure what my mileage on my Cherokee is, but I know I've gotten about 325 miles out of the 18 gallon tank a few times. I've been told that's pretty good for an XJ.

I make semi-regular trips to MD which ends up being almost exactly 360 miles door to door. I still have nearly 1/4 tank left upon arrival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0rCEeWCi5Q

I'll just leave this right here. I know all of you will just say "big deal some jumps and running into some cars my Astro/Blazer/Ford could survive that LOLZ" but I'm pretty sure some angry drunk dudes with a dirt bike course in the woods are probably the best people to determine the actual indestructibility of a vehicle, not you tooling around Suburbia and sleeping in the back occasionally.

And yes, I know, this was filmed in Europe, meaning there's a chance that this is the diesel engine model, but they share the same chassis, suspension, and some of the drivetrain, so that has nothing to do with the car still running after it's driven at 25 mph through a stack of cars and into a tree. These guys give Top Gear and their Toyota a run for their money.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I'm not exactly sure what my mileage on my Cherokee is, but I know I've gotten about 325 miles out of the 18 gallon tank a few times. I've been told that's pretty good for an XJ.

Hell i think the most i've gotten out of mine is 280 miles...

Tom_Spangler wrote: I don't have a use for an XJ since my DD is a full-size truck, but I can see the appeal of a cheap go-anywhere vehicle that can do some towing and hauling. But I must ask, are they that much simpler or more reliable than say, a first-gen Explorer, similar vintage Blazer, 4Runner, etc? Seems to me that when you are looking that cheap, it's best to select a type of vehicle, then pick the one that's in the best condition that you can find. And there's a lot of vehicles in that type (small-midsize truck-based SUV that can tow). Exploders in particular were one of the best-selling vehicles of the 90s, so they have to be even easier to find than the Jeeps.

similar vintage. s10 blazer 2 door 4 runner 2 door bronco II 2 dore first gen explorer that's real competition, but smnaller engine less power untll the secnd gen. oh yeah why do we call them exploders(?)

I had an 87 (5 speed) and would regulalry get 22 mpg on ling trips, took it off road. I have a 99 relaibale as an anvil

bought the 99 for my wife she is SMALL and she could drive it.

the competigion for these suvs was never meant ot be a full size truck. please compare it to a small truck, s10, ranger... (4 seats no way) but here we are comparing ti to FULL SIZE TRUCKS AND VANS

compared to the compact suvs and trucks thre eis n ocompromise and no question which i would rahter own.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I'm not exactly sure what my mileage on my Cherokee is, but I know I've gotten about 325 miles out of the 18 gallon tank a few times. I've been told that's pretty good for an XJ.

Hell i think the most i've gotten out of mine is 280 miles...

Yeah that's about what Psuedosport told me that he got in his '94 2-Door.

Mine was mostly country miles, so lots of open roads with a couple stop signs in between.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I'm not exactly sure what my mileage on my Cherokee is, but I know I've gotten about 325 miles out of the 18 gallon tank a few times. I've been told that's pretty good for an XJ.

Hell i think the most i've gotten out of mine is 280 miles...

Yeah that's about what Psuedosport told me that he got in his '94 2-Door. Mine was mostly country miles, so lots of open roads with a couple stop signs in between.

280 is what i got on a nothing but highway tank, and that came out to just over 20mpg when i filled up.

Maybe i have a smaller tank?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I'm not exactly sure what my mileage on my Cherokee is, but I know I've gotten about 325 miles out of the 18 gallon tank a few times. I've been told that's pretty good for an XJ.

Hell i think the most i've gotten out of mine is 280 miles...

Yeah that's about what Psuedosport told me that he got in his '94 2-Door. Mine was mostly country miles, so lots of open roads with a couple stop signs in between.

280 is what i got on a nothing but highway tank, and that came out to just over 20mpg when i filled up. Maybe i have a smaller tank?

Wow! Really?! I'm not kidding when I tell you that I can drive from my house in CT to Frederick MD, which is, by my route, 360 miles and I still have enough gas to drive around town for the weekend. I fill-up again for the drive home. I don't know my tank's capacity, but I know I've never put 18 gallons in it.

carzan wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I'm not exactly sure what my mileage on my Cherokee is, but I know I've gotten about 325 miles out of the 18 gallon tank a few times. I've been told that's pretty good for an XJ.

Hell i think the most i've gotten out of mine is 280 miles...

Mine is bone stock. Are you all running oversize tires etc? Yeah that's about what Psuedosport told me that he got in his '94 2-Door. Mine was mostly country miles, so lots of open roads with a couple stop signs in between.

280 is what i got on a nothing but highway tank, and that came out to just over 20mpg when i filled up. Maybe i have a smaller tank?

Wow! Really?! I'm not kidding when I tell you that I can drive from my house in CT to Frederick MD, which is, by my route, 360 miles and I still have enough gas to drive around town for the weekend. I fill-up again for the drive home. I don't know my tank's capacity, but I know I've never put 18 gallons in it.

I don't think i've ever put more than 15 gallons in mine.

Soo... who knows.

I used to have 2 XJ's. Bought both new. First in 96 and second in 98. The 98 was better built than 96. No so much the specs, but those particular ones.

I loved my 98. I drove it everywhere and put a 4" lift on it. There was no place it would not go. It hauled what I needed, but did poorly towing a car. It was adequte on short distances, but that was it.

I would get about 19 mpg on the hwy with 235/75 R15 tires and an auto. I got only 17 mpg when I put 31x10.5 R15 tires and my 4" lift. Part of that was tires and part of that was the roof rack I left on it. I put 80k on it and was happy with it. Sold it back in 2004 to get someting more comfortalbe on the hwy since I stopped off roading it.

Twin_Cam wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0rCEeWCi5Q I'll just leave this right here. I know all of you will just say "big deal some jumps and running into some cars my Astro/Blazer/Ford could survive that LOLZ" but I'm pretty sure some angry drunk dudes with a dirt bike course in the woods are probably the best people to determine the actual indestructibility of a vehicle, not you tooling around Suburbia and sleeping in the back occasionally. And yes, I know, this was filmed in Europe, meaning there's a chance that this is the diesel engine model, but they share the same chassis, suspension, and some of the drivetrain, so that has nothing to do with the car still running after it's driven at 25 mph through a stack of cars and into a tree. These guys give Top Gear and their Toyota a run for their money.

didn't watch but I know the one you're referring to. It was filmed in England. They only trashed it because it was too rusty to pass its MoT.