4x4 jeep

biffo

Well-Known Member
I've had a Grand Cherokee before which was pretty good for the money given all the bits you get on it. Handy for long runs and good for shooting and stalking. But I'm now considering a 4.0 litre wrangler jeep for running around in and a bit of green laning, so maybe it will need to be a little bit more off road focused but still sensible on the road.

anyone had one and can give an honest opinion on their road handling and general reliability.??
 
I've had a Grand Cherokee before which was pretty good for the money given all the bits you get on it. Handy for long runs and good for shooting and stalking. But I'm now considering a 4.0 litre wrangler jeep for running around in and a bit of green laning, so maybe it will need to be a little bit more off road focused but still sensible on the road.

anyone had one and can give an honest opinion on their road handling and general reliability.??

​anybody?
 
I only know of an estate that runs two Grand Cherokees and they say they are fantastic. It's not just the odd track they go on there's some pretty muddy rutted areas and they seem fine. Have heard similar things about the Wrangler but can't comment.
 
I know a chap who has one. He reckons you can get about 25 mpg if you drive it carefully. I don't imagine you are worried about that though. You can take the top off and have somebody standing in the back. He also has an original willis jeep and an Austin champ so the wrangler will be pretty modern by his standards.
 
It's a tough call for me as I know the grand Cherokee is a good vehicle all round and I can get a good used one for a reasonable price, but the jeep wrangler looks the dogs and most of the mileage is relatively low on these, but I'm just not sure about all round use.
 
I'm on my third Grand Cherokee and am really pleased with it, they are a lot tougher than they look. I have always considered the wrangler to be the American version of the Defender, the exception being that they are more comfortable and everything works, they seem to do well on the Moab trails which is the off road area in the states.

John
 
Long ago I came to the conclusion that Jeep are just as poorly built as Land Rover but spares are 5 to 10 times more expensive ! I had a brand new G Cherokee diesel , engine rattled away at 60k miles ,rear diff failed , turbo failed , A/C failed , never again , a friend had the later 5 cyl diesel , engines died at less than 70K .

Let me google that for you
 
Long ago I came to the conclusion that Jeep are just as poorly built as Land Rover but spares are 5 to 10 times more expensive ! I had a brand new G Cherokee diesel , engine rattled away at 60k miles ,rear diff failed , turbo failed , A/C failed , never again , a friend had the later 5 cyl diesel , engines died at less than 70K .

Let me google that for you

Hmmm dunno about the diesels but the petrol straight six just goes one .............................. and on ............................. and on providing normal oil changes are carried out. Ours had the AW4 auto tans with the 2WD transfer box option that could also run in 4WD on the road. The smaller engined ones had a different transfer box and had less options. Often owners of these ignore the labels and as a result blow up he box. It's not the vehicles fault if idiots drive them and as a result wreck them.

When the Cherokee first came to the UK many suffered diff failures simply down to idiot owners misusing the transfer selector. Most of these were the "Knightbridge" yuppie types BTW.

In fact we only sold the Cherokee due to the small rear passenger door openings and the deep sill which made it difficult for mother to get in and out of. In the years we owned it it only required normal service parts and a small bit of welding on the rear part of the sill. It was on a "K" plate so old. During our ownership it had new brakes on the front, a new rear box on the exhaust and a new radiator apart from plugs and filters that was it.

The Frontera that replaced it however was nightmare and parts for that did cost a fortune. We ended up importing parts from the US for it.
 
Thanks guys , food for thought. Yes, I think of wrangler as similar to defender but a bit more useful in the summer as a fun runabout.
 
Long ago I came to the conclusion that Jeep are just as poorly built as Land Rover but spares are 5 to 10 times more expensive ! I had a brand new G Cherokee diesel , engine rattled away at 60k miles ,rear diff failed , turbo failed , A/C failed , never again , a friend had the later 5 cyl diesel , engines died at less than 70K .

Let me google that for you

My current one is the 2.7 Mercedes engine gearbox, 91000 miles and in good shape, as long as I look after it, it seems to look after me. The trouble with any vehicle nowadays and the internet is that the people can very easily air their grievances and USUALLY the numbers of these in comparison to total numbers sold is very small, its just that the volume of internet complaints are punching above their weight, a bit like noisy anti's :D. The truth is all cars are a gamble.

John
 
. The truth is all cars are a gamble.

John

Aint that the truth , the best 4x4 ever made in my view was the Nissan Patrol 4.2 , no turbo , no cam belts/push rod engine , cast iron head , no ecu , very HD drive train,good for at least 300k miles without lifting the head , shame they dont sell them in the UK anymore.
 
I have a 2.7 Cherokee van 05 plate , 28mpg combined over 2000+ miles auto box gave way at 64000 (common occurrence )this is the same box as in the v8, this is the Italian gearbox and engine, I.e. 4 speed and overdrive, apart from that it goes anywhere.
 
Hi Taff,
Are you sure the 2.7 Diesel is Italian? Pretty sure its a Merc unit. The older 3.1 was Italian and was a tug. I am always prepared to be corrected though mate.

Yorkie.
 
hi yorkie, all I can go by is what the people who replaced the gear box said, I was under the impression it was a merc drive chain as well.
 
Hi Taff.
I just noticed you wrote Cherokee and not Grand Cherokee. Have you got the 2.8 Diesel in a Cherokee? If so you are correct in saying it is Italian. The Gearboxes are weak on those.

Yorkie.
 
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