I'm relatively new to the world of 4x4. My JK is the first jeep I own. Lately I have heard some old school jeepers say that the JK is the most fragile wrangler to date. "They don't make them like they use to." speech.

Say it ain't so!

 

Don't believe everything you hear or read....

 

I agree 100%, but how can I defend the honor of my JK. I need a arguement.

 

That's a bunch of BS, they have more off the floor offroad capability than any previous. We see this with every new incarnation of the Jeep.

here is what has been said with each new version.

• YJ's were ridiculed for being too nice inside with things not needed and what's up with the headlights.
• TJ's were ridiculed for coil springs and what's with all the nice luxury items, that dash is just too nice
• JK's have a bunch of stuff I don't need and why did they get rid of the 4.0.

As you can see there is the repatative "it's too nice/soft" with every release, yet each one gets more capable.

Just take your friends out and show them what it can do. That usually shuts them up.

 

Don't need to say anything, just take them wheeling.

 

Like said above, take em wheelin!

Ive seen stock JKs do things lightly modified TJs could and sometimes couldnt do. Also a lightly modified JK (33s and lift) can keep up with some of the more modified older Jeep. So while yea, some things like the sheet metal are a bit more fragile, the abilities of it have only improved

 

im tellin ya the sheet metal may be paper thin, and the paint even thinner, but the frame under these jk's are incredibly well built

 

They improved a lot of things that on the TJ weren't that great. Instead of getting the best of both worlds, they went and screwed up the things that did work well on the TJ, throwing reliability out the window. Can't win em all During the evolution of the Jeep, things were always improved from one model to the next. The things people complained about were usually about esthetics and tradition. This was so till the TJ. The evolution to the JK, this also occurred, but unfortunately the things that people are complaining about are no longer esthetic or traditional. There are some serious reliability issues with bad quality parts. Not design issues. The concept and design of the JK are great. Unfortunately the reality is a little different. Kind of reminds me of Land Rovers. Great design... very poor quality materials.

 

Can't forget which one, but one of those car rags (car and driver or something) rated the JK 5 out of 5 stars in their November issue; one of only a handful of over 50+ vehicles they rated. Their comment was "Still the real deal." FJ cruiser got 4, hummer 3 got 3.5. The only truck/SUV type vehicle to get 5 stars was the JK.

 

One of the reviews I read online by a 4x4 magazine (not sure which one, but do some searches on JK reviews) did a very good job of dispelling the "myths" of the new JK in comparison to prior Jeeps.

Bottom line, they concluded that nearly every gripe when compared to the fact was just a prejudice or uninformed comment when the facts were compared on all the models. The final conclusion was that in stock form, the JK (both 2 and 4 door) was superior to prior models in nearly every way....and was cheaper than prior models to boot.

So....I bought a JK larger based on this forum and that article which I thought was well done.