[JonJones]

My Cherokee is in the shop to get the damage fixed from when it was hit by a school bus. We called the rental company days ago to reserve an SUV to replace it. Today, in this blizzard, my wife gets there and they try to give her a car instead. I have no idea why, other than that they suck at their jobs. Thankfully, she tells them they have to find her something else and they manage to find a 4-door Wrangler.

I've owned a 2-door Wrangler before, but never a 4, so I'll be very interested to see how the two stack up.

 

[va3rbz]

You'll have fun with it, trust me as a former JKU owner

 

[clew]

I went from a loaner Wrangler Unlimited, to a loaner Cherokee LTD FWD, to my TH. The TH fit nicely in between the 2 as far as feel on road, not as unstable as the Wrangler but not low and car-like as the LTD.

 

[dawhitesTH]

Try going on the freeway. You'll get tons of wind resistance. Cornering sucks and it doesn't take to normal road hazards very well due to its live axles. The rear seats can be a pain to get in/out. And comfort....what comfort?

 

[clew]

Dont forget the noise

 

[va3rbz]

Don't forget the mileage On a brighter note, don't forget the ability to go anywhere.

 

[dawhitesTH]

Don't forget the mileage On a brighter note, don't forget the ability to go anywhere.

Thats the best part! very capable in its simplistic form.

 

[whitebomber]

Try going on the freeway. You'll get tons of wind resistance. Cornering sucks and it doesn't take to normal road hazards very well due to its live axles. The rear seats can be a pain to get in/out. And comfort....what comfort?

We've put close to 80k on our 2009 4dr manual Wrangler, with many long trips. Awesome truck that my wife, it's her daily driver, would never want to get rid of. And the only 4-dr convertible made (at least it was). We also get 24mpg on trips and average about 19 around town. Unfortunately so far my Cherokee has never achieved those numbers.

Plus it's a Jeep in every sense of the word!

 

[dawhitesTH]

We've put close to 80k on our 2009 4dr manual Wrangler, with many long trips. Awesome truck that my wife, it's her daily driver, would never want to get rid of. And the only 4-dr convertible made (at least it was). We also get 24mpg on trips and average about 19 around town. Unfortunately so far my Cherokee has never achieved those numbers.

Plus it's a Jeep in every sense of the word!

Lucky you, my previous 2012 JK 4dr w/ the new pentastar got me these #'s... computer states high 19's, low 20's running 33's, but when calculated.....

i never went north of 22mpg even on the 16' steelies w/ wrangler sra's. No one in wranglerforum can even come close to that 24mpg numbers on the 3.8L. Ur lucky.

 

[whitebomber]

Lucky you, my previous 2012 JK 4dr w/ the new pentastar got me these #'s... computer states high 19's, low 20's running 33's, but when calculated.....

i never went north of 22mpg even on the 16' steelies w/ wrangler sra's. No one in wranglerforum can even come close to that 24mpg numbers on the 3.8L. Ur lucky.

I guess I thought the Pentastar would do better. I'm guessing being stick helps our mileage.

I'm good about checking the numbers pretty routinely and initially was very surprised at 19 and 24. It's maintained those numbers all along though.

 

[Ausgti]

Looking forward to the comparison between the both

 

[dawhitesTH]

^mine was also stick lol

 

[whitebomber]

^mine was also stick lol

Hmmm. So much for that theory!

 

[Ol'Greg]

Lucky you, my previous 2012 JK 4dr w/ the new pentastar got me these #'s... computer states high 19's, low 20's running 33's, but when calculated.....

i never went north of 22mpg even on the 16' steelies w/ wrangler sra's. No one in wranglerforum can even come close to that 24mpg numbers on the 3.8L. Ur lucky.

Just out of curiosity did you re-calibrate your speedo with the larger tires?

 

[dawhitesTH]

Just out of curiosity did you re-calibrate your speedo with the larger tires?

Yes. I had to measure tires by hand instead of manufacturer specs. Turned out my 33's were exactly 32 measured for my AEV procal

 

[JonJones]

Looking forward to the comparison between the both

Alright, got my Cherokee back yesterday and the guys did a great job. Looks brand new again. And I'm pumped to have it back.

As for the Wrangler Unlimited, it ended up being almost exactly how I figured it would be. There were some things l liked a lot. I do like the exterior design, with that military sort of feel. I enjoyed that it is higher than the Cherokee; I had a truck before, so I'm used to being high like that. You also do have the sense that you can go anywhere, though we didn't take it off road or anything since it was a rental.

The engine power felt great, but I'm sure we paid for it in gas.

One of the biggest draws of the Wrangler to me is that I want to take the top and doors off in the summer. We used to have an old one like that when I was a kid, and I loved it. So we didn't get to do that in the blizzard, of course, but I would have enjoyed it.

On the whole, though, the Cherokee is way better. Keep in mind that I like luxury vehicles - BMWs and Audis and such. So I really missed those aspects of the Cherokee. The Wrangler had cloth seats that were better than I thought they'd be, but they were nothing like the comfortable, heated leather of the Cheorokee. Since we couldn't take the top off, there was no sun roof. I also missed things like remote start and Nav and all of that.

If you don't care about those things, though, there were a few interesting things I noticed. For one, the Wrangler felt noticeably worse in the snow than the Cherokee, even in 4WD. I didn't feel in danger, but it definitely slid around more. The Cherokee hardly ever moved, even in deep snow. This surprised me because I figured a vehicle with an off road heritage would be great in the snow, and it really wasn't.

Another thing - and maybe there was something wrong with this Wrangler - was that the wheel felt jerky sometimes when I would turn sharply - even just pulling out a parking like. It would jerk weirdly back and forth. Can't imagine it was supposed to do that.

So, on the whole, the Wrangler is less comfortable, but it is a good, tough vehicle that could be a lot of fun. I think it'd make a good second car - and I still want to buy one for that purpose, as much as this post seems to be knocking it - but I would never want it as a main vehicle. We came away from it overall knowing that we made the right choice when we got the Cherokee.

 

[whitebomber]

So, on the whole, the Wrangler is less comfortable, but it is a good, tough vehicle that could be a lot of fun. I think it'd make a good second car - and I still want to buy one for that purpose, as much as this post seems to be knocking it - but I would never want it as a main vehicle.

I would mostly agree with your assessment. For the last 4+ years our 09 Wrangler was our main vehicle for trips etc. While it's not the most comfotable as you mention it is very cool. We've enjoyed every trip and our mileage has been very good, helped by the fact that's it's stick.

However I do find it more of an effort to drive. For daily driving I much preferred my 2000 Cherokee and now my new Cherokee. That being said the Wrangler has been my wife's daily driver from day one and she wouldn't want it any other way! She went from a Grand Cherokee to the Wrangler and has never looked back. Plus in the summer with the roof removed it's very very fun! We just go for drives constantly. That's partly why we are pushing 80k on it already ... and in our area the Wrangler Wave is alive and well.

 

[Ghostly1]

I have held the belief that road performance can be greatly affected by tire choice. You may sacrifice some off road ability using more radial/road type tires but if it is a daily driver that should be your goal.

When I finally get a TH my Honda will be regulated to snow and backup driving as I am having it fitted with dedicated snow tires, which when coupled with the AWD it should be unstoppable. Some would wonder why I would use my older car in the snow vs. a TH but where I am the other guy sliding into you is a very common thing and I would rather have them hit the Honda then my new Jeep. The thinner tires of the CR-V will cut through better than offroad tires anyway. Not everyone is smart enough to get good tires.

 

[Chris75]

JK's and JKU's excel on the trails and the rocks more than the road. You'll find the inroad manners of the JK not in the same league as the KL.


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[mrmikey32]

I have had old cherokees(92 and 01), 2 dr 07 sahara, and now an 07 rubicon 4 door.
My mom recently got the 14 trail hawk, which is why i am around here.

As an original cherokee owner, I did not like the new jeep being called the cherokee.
It is a nice vehicle, but just a bit too nice for me. The original cherokee was as raw as my wrangler is. It had solid axles, more noise then the wrangler, when it didnt leak oil, i knew i had to add more, and hands down one of the best vehicle i have owned. At one point, i threw a wrist pin, lost the connecting rod and piston, and continued on 150 miles. No jeep can do that now.

As to the comparison.

The trailhawk is a 1000x more comfrotable, luxurious, and easier to operate then the wrangler. It handles better, has better gas mileage, and is pretty much a different type of vehicle then the wrangler. I do not really like the ability to select 2wd or 4wd, but i guess that is something to get used to.

Now after all that, I would still not give up my wrangler. ****, I would not even swap it for a new cherokee with cash offer. I love the raw feeling of the wrangler. Being able to take the doors off, and roof off is always a plus to me. Like i tell people, there is no other vehicle that is as fun in the winter, summer, on road, or offroad.
I guess that is what attracts me to the wrangler.

On top of this, my sister also has a 2013 grand cherokee overland.
This thing is by far even more comfortable then the trailhawk.

I can gladly go into more details on all three if some one wants