Anyone read the claptrap C&D comparo article that came out today?

19168 Views 150 Replies 26 Participants Last post by Khan Adda, Oct 17, 2021

SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · Mar 11, 2021

If you haven't, not much to bother with.....pretty much full hate-on for the Cherokee for some reason.

Apparently the interior is dated...not really sure if they've actually ever even been in one...lol
Seems a little Piers Morgan on Meghan Markle to me.........

"Plus, the angle of the wheel itself made us feel as if we were driving a bus." - do they not understand how the steering wheel is adjusted?

Take 'em out in the bush and do a full test, let's see who comes out on top......

Tested: 2021 Ford Bronco Sport vs. Jeep Cherokee vs. Mazda CX-5

Pitting the Bronco Sport against two bookends to see where it lands on the compact-SUV spectrum.

www.caranddriver.com

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 11, 2021

I rent a lot of different vehicles with my job and I haven't really come across anything I would rather ride in.
The infotainment system is absolutely, hands down the best....the one in the Mazda is horrendous, you can't even use the touchscreen in motion.
I love the seats, I actually have found them to be even more comfortable than GC's I've driven.
It's why I've owned two Cherokee's

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 11, 2021

Tyler-98-W68 said:
Not sure why everyone compares the Bronco Sport to the Cherokee, the direct competitor is the Compass/Renegade and from an offroad perspective the Bronco Sport is doing much better than the Renegade and Compass, factor in a proper engine (2.0T) that you can't get in a Compass/Renegade it's obvious the Bronco is a decent vehicle, compared to a cherokee not so much If I wanted actual offroad capability the Cherokee is the easy choice

It's the more closely associated. The full size Bronco is a Wrangler competitor. Like it or not, the Cherokee is only a minor difference in size to the Compass and competes in the same class. I can only imagine how much hate they would have piled on the Compass with the 2.4 multiair.

On a side note, as of February, the Cherokee nation has called on Jeep to change the name.

Chief of Cherokee Nation Says 'It's Time' for Jeep to Stop Using Name

The CEO of Jeep's parent company now says he is open to ending the company's use of the name.

www.caranddriver.com

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 11, 2021

I don't visit much these days....there's a lot of negativity?
I still love my Cherokee and have often recommended one to friends or family. Inevitably people will read one of these "professional" reviews and conclude I am trying to steer them wrong. To which I just say "drive them all and make up your own mind...I did"

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 12, 2021

arudlang said:
Sad but true.

It's way worse, in my opinion, over at the Compass forum Feels like a new member joins every day just to make their first post about what's not working properly on their Compass. My Compass has spent weeks in the dealer service department trying to be sorted out. At this point going on four years later it is mostly sorted...

Sadly so far I cannot say that I recommend Jeep to any friends or family when they ask and I am totally honest with them. Friends have been listening to my stories and then buying similar vehicles from competing brands. If a friend asked me about how I like my Compass right now I'd have to point them square at the Bronco Sport if I'm a real friend at all.

The jury is still out on our 2020 Cherokee, wasn't too thrilled about that defective relay issue but pretty minor in the scheme of things. The current version of the Compass I can't really recommend at all unless you are willing to put up with an awful lot of stupid issues just for the big win in the looks department. The best redeeming quality of the 2nd gen Compass is its looks, its even sharper than the Cherokee...

The compass sucks? I thought they were fairly decent although not very powerful......

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #20 · Mar 12, 2021

Tyler-98-W68 said:
The problem is that in Canada the Compass/Cherokee pricing overlaps sometimes.....and you can get a Cherokee cheaper than a compass

Yeah, that was the case before for sure.....they seem to have jacked Cherokee prices a bit now. I find comparables spread about $7-$8K more for the Cherokee these days. Mom and Dad were looking at possibly a Compass in the next year, may have to deter that...

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #26 · Mar 12, 2021

AtlCade69 said:
Coming from the tarted up Bronco Sport stablemate (the Escape.) The steering wheel in the Cherokee is much more adjustable, both in tilt and telescope, if I had a complaint, it would have been that the front seats could use a little more bolstering in the wings. If they wanted a fair comparison, they probably would have done better with an ADII Limited with the 2.0T, this would have eliminated the 'lows' of the 6. The Bronco Sport, while somewhat refreshing in appearance, is probably a bit late to the party, think Liberty/Renegade design... The Mazda is simply a suburban mall cruiser, and very good for that purpose, but should not have been part of the test, perhaps the Chevy Blazer would have been a more apt part of the trio.

Personally I think it looks a lot like a first generation Escape on the side profile.....not exactly innovative......

See less See more

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #33 · Mar 12, 2021

Lindy said:
Yeah, I didn't think of that, their mpg figure makes sense if they were in Sport mode all the time. Still, it's misleading to their readers if they don't mention things like that.

Sounds good, but I'm not really buying it anyways as they complained about the V6 being sluggish and in sport mode I certainly wouldn't call it that.

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #53 · Mar 16, 2021

MUEngineer08 said:
I'm not claiming the CD review was fair, but I'm not surprised a Mazda was the favorite.

My family drove Mazdas for a long time for a reason. For one they are FUN to drive, two they have higher quality interiors and better styling than Hondas, Toyotas or Nissans and three they are reliable. The RX-7s my parents had were awesome vehicles and the 626 turbos they drove later were good too. My last Mazda 3S was a very nice small car and it handled like a slot car.

I can't think of an American vehicle that has made the 10 best as many times a Mazda has with the Miata alone.

Mazda just topped Consumer Reports ratings for the most reliable brands and it rates pretty high in JD power 90 day and 1 year owner satisfaction.

I've driven a few recent Mazda rentals (CX5 and a CX9); while they drive nice enough, I would never even consider one given the nanny nature of the electronics in the things. They lock out the touchscreen as soon as you start moving and force you to use the stupid dial thingy. I honestly found myself far more distracted trying to figure that ridiculous setup out. Then, to top it all off you start the car and are just sitting there in park getting things organized and the stupid seatbelt chime starts beeping at you.....in park. Absolutely ridiculous that you have to put your seatbelt on sitting in a parking spot with the car running......needless to say, I won't rent another one, and I certainly won't buy one.

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #56 · Mar 16, 2021

Someone needs to stuff a 3.2 into a Compass.........

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #58 · Mar 17, 2021

And Motorotrend tested the Bronco Sport (BS for short....hahahaha) against the Compass TH in full off-road capacity

Small Rugged SUVs Face Off! Ford Bronco Sport Badlands vs. Jeep Compass Trailhawk

If you want to drive out of the showroom and onto the trail in a small SUV, should you choose the Jeep Compass Trailhawk or the Ford Bronco Sport Badlands?

www.motortrend.com

Quite frankly that was the one they should have thrown the Cherokee version into the mix.

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #103 · Mar 23, 2021

The Cherokee and Renegade would have had matching tires from the factory, but the spare wheel on those is a steelie, not a matching alloy rim.

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #123 · Apr 5, 2021

praq1966 said:
View attachment 214009

It's a cute pic, but it's complete BS when you think about it.
The original General Purpose vehicle as shown in that shot was probably built by Ford.
Willys and Ford shared production of the GPW 1/4 ton and there are only subtle differences between them. If anything it could be considered a common ancestor....
Willys didn't release an official "Jeep" until 1945 in the CJ-2A
As far as history of the Bronco is concerned, the bloated OJ Simpson model was a long way from the original concept.
The first Gen bronco ('65) was actually a pretty badass rig that didn't change much right up until '77

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #134 · Aug 21, 2021

Flybynightcru said:
Welcome from Utah!!! Also I happened to catch, what I believe was your second post that was strangely removed. Not sure what the hell that was all about, as I saw nothing inappropriate about it. I've seen much worse. Congrats on the new Trailhawk. I personally find little, to no comparison between the KL and Bronco Sport, and the KL is FAR superior on and offroad IMHO, and I'm a Ford guy. I was thoroughly interested in the full size Bronco Badlands, until I actually got to see, and test drive one on the trail at this year's Moab Easter Jeep Safari. I found the quality, and value for the money extremely disappointing compared to my TH/E. About tires, I'm not sure what part of Canada you are in, but I think most of our Canadian friends do run dedicated winters, simply due to the extreme cold temperatures. I'm in Utah, and though we do get our share of snow, we don't have the extreme sub zero temperatures, and I've never deemed a winter tire necessary for here. There's a lot of information about the subject around here though, so just search around. I personally run Toyo Open Country A/T III's in 245/70/17's, and really love the them, both on, and offroad. I also have a 2" lift on mine. The stock Destinations were not a bad tire, but I wanted something a little more aggressive...😎

I know several that just run all-weather A/T's (myself included). I've never had any issues in our lovely Saskatchewan winters (they can be brutal). There is a very good sampling of all the different brands and if you ask for an All-weather A/T tire recommendation you'll get at least 10 different answers...lol.
I believe the Falken A/T3W is one of the more popular choices in a P rated tire and the BFG KO2 is also popular, but is only available in a heavy LT version.
I'm running Sumitomo Encounter AT's which have been very good in our winters, but I'm fairly certain I'm the only one who's used them. They were a decent price locally (Kal Tire), reasonably quiet on the road, good in snow and ice, and after 2 years of use still have lots of tread.

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #138 · Aug 21, 2021

Khan Adda said:
I saw what you did there "if you would slide by or not".

I've heard that there are some really bad experiences with the Cherokee - that kind of experience based bashing is completely warranted and reasonable. I agree it shouldn't be a new normal on any vehicle. It's the other bashing by people who've spent an hour test driving on pavement, or who looked at something else and decided the Cherokee looks dated by comparison, or who drive a Bronco Sport Badlands and Cherokee Trailhawk down a packed gravel road then and call it a "Face-off", or complain how a 3.2L V6 is less economical than a 2.0L in a lighter, less equipped vehicle, or who make arbitrary statements like "You can adorn a bland crossover with all the off-road goodies you want, but capability isn't the same as character" without recognizing that off-road capability IS the character.

If you're one of those who's had a bad experience you've earned the right to bash, but I hope you're able to get things worked out.

Pretty much.

I had a very negative experience with my first Trailhawk (2015 V6). It had oil usage issues and check engine lights like crazy for the first 8 months of ownership. Jeep stepped up and replaced the engine and everything was perfect after that (except the niggling A/C leak that had to recharged EVERY spring). I still loved my 2015 so much we traded in and bought a brand new 2019 shortly after they came out (V6 again, still love this motor). I didn't like the headlights on the previous models as they were just too dim at night...the new LED ones are amazing.

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #144 · Oct 16, 2021

Dan Burby said:
My 2020 is great in the snow, but loose the stock tires while you can still get something for them?! Also as for oil usage? I know this may be over kill but I changed all my fluids to Amsoil after the first 3000 miles, and I now have 20,000 on it still with Amsoil and no fluid issues. Happy Jeeping 😃

I 2nd the sentiment...I dumped my stock tires the first two months I owned the 2019, having already experienced the full glory of the Firestone's on my 2015 for a year. Just ordered a set of Hercules Terra Trac AT X-Venuture's to replace the Sumitomo's (which were decent in the snow), which I will actually be receiving today. (TPMS rated of course)

Khan Adda said:
There were never days of 250,000 miles of trouble free operations. In fact, in the older cars (My first car was a 1973 beater) the odometers only went up to 99,000 before rolling back to zero. That said, I just met a guy who has a 2015 KL Trailhawk with a 2-inch lift and 32-inch tires who has 250,000 kilometers on it (I know that kilometers are different than miles, but still).

Just turned over 60,000 trouble free kms on my 2019, is probably one of the first vehicles in my life that I haven't gotten bored of and traded in or sold within 2 years...(I've had a LOT of vehicles...lol)

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #148 · Oct 16, 2021

Lindy said:
Yes, I believe it is.

Whether we are talking about cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, etc. the one motor oil myth that just won't die is the one stating that you need conventional oil for break-in purposes. The thing is, you don't, which is why manufacturers routinely have full syn oil in their vehicles when they come off the line.

I hope this doesn't turn into another oil thread..... 😲

The other myth is babying the vehicle for the first 5K...BS...drive it like you stole it, the additional cylinder pressures help seat the rings better avoiding blow by in later years.

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SpeedtekTH

Discussion Starter · #150 · Oct 16, 2021

yep

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