A pretty lengthy review in the paper today... written by a man who obviously has no interest in off-road driving and may be incapable of having fun at his age too

Well I was reading along thinking yeah, mmm-hmm, Ok and then I got to the end and got a bit PO'd. The author reported(according to Jeep I think) that 80% of buyers didn't consider any other vehicle(THAT'S ME!) and that's good for Jeep, but that people like me are blind loyalists who maybe should have considered such vehicles as H3, Xterra or FJ due to their better ride quality and mod-excellent off-road capabilities. This guy just doesn't understand.

The next time I drive up Lion's Back with no top and beautiful blue skys I hope I don't stop to think how much better it could be if only I was in a H3!

 

I don't suppose you have an email address for the guy? I bet this group could do a pretty good job of convincing him further that we are a bunch of blind loyalists.

BTW, I've never owned a wrangler before, and I never even considered an H3. I did consider an FJ Cruiser (for about a minute).

I’ve never bought a new car, and thought that I never would. I’m just too cheap. But I HAD TO HAVE A JK.

I bought the JK for my son. He’s two.

 

I too would like some contact info on this person..

 

This is my first Jeep. I looked at the FJ Cruiser and the H3 and they both turned me off so much, I decided to wait 6 months for the JK to come out even though I had no car and was paying every week for a rental!

IMHO, there was simply no comparison.

 

I have not read it yet but here is a link to the article.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...r_N.htm?csp=34

Just went into KZ status. I wonder how long until I can write my own review.

 

Just read the article. The writer has a chip on his shoulder or something.


P.S. Lions Back is closed, someone bought the approach ground.

 

I read the article, not as bad as you might think. I expect my Solid Front Axle with coils/shocks Jeep to ride bouncy on the road, that is a no brainer. They could have softened the Jeep with torsion bars/IFS,CV's, and made the ride much smoother and more refined like an H3, but give me a break, it is not what the vehicle was made for.

These comparisons are just stupid by writers. Because Wrangler stays with the Off Road First approach doesn't make them less refined, it is a conscious choice to give the Jeep buyers what they want. No posers need apply.

The only thing Jeep can be knocked on is the terrible initial build quality results and poor JD Power showings. Those ratings come from owners, not writers. I don't expect my Wrangler to be up to the build quality of my recently departed Silverado, but there is no reason it should not be. It's a Jeep thing is no excuse for poor engineering or build quality. But I will hold my thoughts on that until I recieve mine to give a fair review.

 

Ya, its not that bad... Just what we already know..

 

I think he wrote a good review "for the masses" - it pretty clearly drives the point home that, if you're not actually interested in being able to go off-road in your vehicle, or in open-air driving, you'll find smoother-riding, "more refined" SUVs elsewhere.

The only flaw I found with the article (keep in mind the audience he's writing to - any piece of writing must be tailored to its audience!) was that he compares the Wrangler Unlimited to other "SUVs." As others have written, Jeep chose to stay loyal to its hard-core crawler base, rather than softening and cushioning things to the point of lessening the Jeep's abilities... this does NOT make for an "SUV" for the masses - it makes for a WRANGLER.

I think Jeep's next marketing campaign should be: CRV and RAV4 buyers need not apply. That's that - my $.02

 

I heard thats what happened. Sounds like moab is really getting bought up. But, thats a topic for a different thread.