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OK, I picked up my new Rubicon this afternoon, and have 150miles on it to date. Here's my impressions:

Driveline/Suspension

1. The steering is very tight, the slightest tweek on the wheel and the JK is swerving back and forth in the lane. It took a little getting used to, now I can keep it centered without much thought.

2. The Throttle-By-Wire is quite annoying and I still haven't gotten used to it. When applying the throttle at a light or stop sign, there is a pause. Not anticipating this pause, I have stalled it 3 times while letting out the clutch. I feel like a rookie again! I'll get the hang of it.

3. The 6-speed shifts smoothly, and I haven't noticed the shifter bobbing around as others have complained about. It took a few tries to learn how to get it smoothly into 6th gear, I would just pull back, and would end up in 4th gear sometimes. The trick is to pull back WHILE pushing the shifter towards the passenger seat to get 6th every time. Again, now it comes automatically and is all but forgotten.

4. The power from the V6 feels adequate for every day driving. Those who like a lot of power under their right foot will be disappointed, but for everyday driving, it gets the job done. Driving in the mountains of Western North Carolina, she will NOT get up hills in 6th gear, and it has to be floored to get to the top in 5th gear. Mind you, at 60mph in 5th gear, the RPMs are only 2300, and the power seems to come on stronger at 3000 RPMs and above. I think the exhaust mods, Air Box, and Performance Chip will be added soon. Living in the mountains, I will appreciate the extra power.

5. My JK had 7 miles on the Odometer when I picked it up, as I left the lot, the average MPG showed 18.0. By the time I got home after driving 150 miles, 90% being on the highway with the cruise set to 60mph, my average MPG read 20.1 on the dash. Mind you, this was merely the computer reading. I topped up the tank before I hit the road until the gas was actually full to the top of the filler neck... so it'll be easy to get the same amount in next time I fill up to get accurate mileage assessment. On a side note, once the gas station nozzle clicks, you'll be hard pressed to squeeze even $1 more of gas in it, so once you click, stop at the next rounded dollar. Any more, and you'll be wiping gas off the side of your new JK as I did on my very first fill up. Lesson learned.

6. The BFG MTs are surprisingly quiet on the road. Crossing railroad tracks, the bumps are soft and smooth, no jarring at all.

7. The suspension is very docile on the road, it almost feels like you're driving a car, not a Jeep.

Body/Exterior

1. I found 3 small scratches in the Rescue Green paint as I was looking it over before I signed all the papers. Nothing serious, and I didn't expect it to be perfect. And for those who are curious, YES there is still paint missing behind the door hinges on my JK. Only time will tell if this is going to become a problem with rust. My salesman agreed to get me a Touch-Up bottle to fix the scratches. I also got my wheel locks installed, free of charge. Even trade to me.

2. I picked up my first chip on the windshield after only 45 miles after some idiot passed me, then cut in front of me and kicked a stone out of her tire. Geez, I couldn't even get it home without at least one blemish. But again, this isn't a prize, it's a Jeep, and made to be driven, and driven hard to be enjoyed.

3. The Jeep sounds and feels very solid driving down the road. I have no squeeks, rattles, whistles, knocks, or unusual noises at any speed.

4. Now for a problem. Those who were complaining about the headlights, honestly weren't kidding. I usually drive around with my parking lights on, even in broad daylight. When it's cloudy or dusk/dawn, I usually have my fog lights on as well. Well, I had them on during the trip home. As dusk set in, I turned on the headlights and felt that the light projected in front of me wasn't as bad as I had heard. Then, on a whim, I turned off the fog lights to see how bright the low beams were. What low beams?!?! Who ever said the fog lights were the JK's saving grace wasn't kidding. When I hit the high beams by pulling the stalk TOWARD me and holding it there, the light was barely adequate for driving because the fog lights stay on. If you push the stalk AWAY to KEEP the high beams on, the fog lights go out and (in my humble opinion) driving at posted speed limits becomes UNSAFE!!! There is NOT enough light. I think this is going to have to be one of the FIRST mods I do. I had 80w/110w headlights on my XJ, and I think I'll do the same, or put 90w/130w bulbs instead. Legal or not, I'm not putting my family's life at risk because DC can't get it right or is trying to cut corners.

5. Driving down the road, this Jeep gets LOTS of stares. Gassing up the tank, more stares, every where I went, even out to dinner at Olive Garden, people stop in their tracks to watch it drive by, EVEN GIRLS!!!

Interior/Electronics

1. I was honestly amazed at the quality of the sound from the stock radio. I never had to turn it up beyond setting 25 which was a little over 1/2 volume. I wasn't sure how or where I was going to wire an amp in once I yank the stock radio to stuff in my new Pioneer Avic Z1 (once it gets here). Now, I really don't think it needs a new amp. The bass is fine, as is midrange and treble. The subwoofer, on the other hand, is barely adequate. You can feel it thumping at higher volumes, but just barely. More power, or a larger subwoofer would really improve the sound. Not sure if I'll replace the stock speakers or not. By the way, if you play around with the fader, you'll find (as others have posted) that the vast majority of the sound comes from the front speakers. If you adjust the fader until the sound is balanced between the front and rear speakers, you won't be left with much volume.

2. For those who use an iPod or XM radio, trust me on this one and trash the FM Modulator if you use one. I bought the Belkin iPod adapter over a month ago, and used a cheap gray Radio Shack 12" mini-stereo cable to hook the iPod power cable to the auxillary jack on the front of the radio. The sound quality from this set-up which gets its iPod signal from the main output at the bottom of the iPod is 1000% better than using the headphone jack hooked to an FM modulator. An aside note for those who haven't ordered their JK yet. In my humble opinion, I wouldn't bother getting the 6-disc radio, CDs are getting to be old school. Why bother loading only 6 CDs (you don't even have a random button that works) when you can use an iPod and get virtually CD quality sound with over 100 CDs at your fingertips. I think the choice these days is either the basic radio (you NEED the Infinity speakers/Amp), or MyGiG. I've used nothing but my iPod since I got in, not even sure if the radio works!! I never had any problems with the radio cutting out, nor any problems with dash lights or other lights flashing or going out.

3. A new complaint I haven't heard yet, was the size of the footwells. I was wearing RedHead boots and they sometimes had a hard time finding the accelerator pedal. I found myself pushing on "something" under the dash, and had to fish around to find the pedal with my foot. Is this just me or what?!

4. The interior is as quiet as you've been told. You can carry on a normal conversation with the hardtop and panels on at 70mph.

5. I do not seem to have a footwell light, nor an underhood light. There is no harness for an underhood light. I haven't looked under the dash yet to see if there is a harness for a footwell light or not. In DC's defense... they took these two items off the window sticker. There is no longer any mention of these items as stock items, so you have no leg to stand on if you want to demand them from the dealership.

6. The seats are pretty comfotable. I drove 150 miles straight, and had no problems with stiff/sore back. Mind you, these aren't Volvo seats, but not bad for a Jeep. As for the headrest, yup, it's hard as a rock!! My head doesn't go anywhere near it while driving. I never noticed it until I remembered others complaining, so I tested it with my head. To simulate getting rear ended, I even tried slamming my head hard against it to see if it was only hard superficially, but softer under a harder blow. It isn't/wasn't! I don't recommend trying that unless you premedicate with some Ibuprofen or Aleve. :naw:

7. Lastly, when changing lanes, I usually give the turn signals one quick blink. As some may have read in the owners manual, that is now very hard to do. If you lift the stalk for one quick blink, you get 3 consecutive blinks. I found that if you hold it JUST THE RIGHT DURATION, you can still get 1 blink, but hold it too short, you get three, and too long, you get two. It takes practice to get only one blink. Not sure this battle is worth the effort.

In summary, I like it. :yup: Drives like a car on the road. I had no chances to go off road, didn't even get home till 9pm. I still managed to get it in 4lo though. At the Olive Garden parking lot, there weren't any open spaces, so I drove it over the curb at one of the corners, and up the STEEP bank. It was steep enough to need 4WD. When I left it and walked toward the restaurant, it looked like a Jeep commercial, and garnered even more stares.

I promise to post pics (took about 100) tomorrow...
I took pics of everything, and from every angle, so if I find ANYTHING wrong, the date in the corner of the pic will prove if it was something I did, or was done before I got it. Also had the dealer order the parts for TSB for flapping hard top, and new seals for Freedom Top.

Tom
Bryson City, NC