I know half or more of the fun of owning a Wrangler is modding it. I've owned two CJs, both modded. I've even modded my JK, temporarily. There's clearly two divisions of owners, and lifestyles for the JK. The off-roading experience is shared and celebrated here daily, to everyone's delight. I'd like to weigh in on the other side.

Reason Purchased: I bought my 2011 JK Sport new, after experiencing three vehicles in the shop at the same time back in 2011. After looking at a variety of cars, trucks, and SUVs, I opted for the best combination of:

Resale value - Wranglers are great
Entry cost - 25K for a new vehicle is about average
Mileage - you laugh, but I'm getting over 20 MPG, as measured, not relying on the hokey computer - and switch off the traction control!
Fun factor - the Wrangler is the only vehicle designed with a removable top and doors: better than a convertable
Off-road ability - While I don't off-road right now, I used to, and still hunt in sticky areas. I need 4x4 occasionally
Nostalgia - I loved having my old CJs, but they made no sense as daily drivers for me. The JK is a different animal all together.

I've owned mine for 30 months. I've got about 26K miles on it. Its a stock 2 dr Sport, with a hard top and the 16" steel pizza cutter rims with street tires. 6 speed, 3.21 gears, and 54/14 springs. Most of those miles include no top or doors - my preferred way to Jeep. I had added the following:

Trek Top and soft doors
Rubicon 60/19 springs
Rubicon shocks
Rubicon 32" MTs and rims

I noticed two things with these mods: my mileage dropped drastically, and noise levels on the highway were sub-optimal. I usually like the sound and feel of mudgrips, but that was on the old CJ, which was so unrefined, street tires made no difference. It also barely fit thru the garage door also, so no additional lift will work.

After a year or so, I enjoyed driving it so much, I was driving it to work, 30 miles away. For a flip, I decided to put it back stock. A few things happened: My mileage is now about 20.5 MPG after discovering the OFF button for the traction control, I can actually enjoy the quality of the sound system, acceleration is now decent again, and I was able to navigate out of a axle-deep stuck with the street tires, contrary to modern belief. So it still retains its basic jeep-ness and off-roading ability, combined with some civility. Oh, and it takes me less time to remove/replace the hardtop, than the soft top. So changing with the weather is not a big deal, even though it stays in the garage with the doors and top off most of the time.

Conclusion: In its stock form, even the base form with the 16" steel 29" grips, the JK is a true marvel of development and optimization in a Jeep for broad usage. If you were a former CJ, YJ, or TJ owner, you'd know there was no civility, no decent sound system, apologetic mileage, etc with those vehicles. They were primarily a rough rider waiting to be modded, then trailed. But with the JK, you can have a decent handling vehicle (I have no problem overtaking others on off ramps), with decent acceleration (the key is the 29" stock tires and 6 speed), good sound isolation with the hardtop, and reasonable mileage (again, the key is the 29" tires with their low rolling resistance, and no lift to worsen drag and air under the vehicle) and very capable 4x4 ability. I keep a second set of 32" MTs for trail use, but frankly they havent been back on in a long time. Combined with a removable top and doors (which I can remove by myself in about 17 minutes), there's no other vehicle available even close. It really does it all. About the only two negatives, are the less-than-GT acceleration, and reliability issues. Its not reasonable to buy a jeep, and expect Mustang acceleration, so we should ignore that one. The final negative is the reliability, which I've been fortunate to avoid the popular major issues. One last weakness is the anemic look of a stock JK with the 16" wheels and 29" tires. I added nerf bars, which help a bit. It regains some more coolness with the doors and top off. Maybe I'll get 3.73" gears and 32" tires when I trade for the new body style in 2017?

So hail to the little stock JK - Its a mighty mite.

 

Well said. My first jeep experience was my dad's cj7. It was awesome, soft doors, flapping soft top, droning tires and all. I've had three jks, and they are still awesome. And a lot more practical.