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Besides the JK, what is jeeps most off-road capable vehicle

7K views 37 replies 25 participants last post by  DWDK 
#1 ·
Curious what the JK owners feel is jeeps most capable other vehicle (currently in production)...based on app/dep/break over angles might the renegade be second place in the jeep lineup?

I know I had a 2008 WK with quadra drive 2 (the gerotor diffs) and it was dang good within its limitations, but now it's out of production.

On paper, I think the renegade might give the wk2 a challenge, off road.

Goofy question, I know, but share your thoughts...
 
#2 ·
From what I've seen of the new Cherokee, I would think it would be limited by suspension. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of it off road where it isn't carrying a tire in the air. So I am not convinced the Cherokee is all that capable.

I really don't know anything about the Renegade, but I don't think you can judge capability by statistics, on paper.

We have owned several Grand Cherokees, and each version gets less capable than the version it replaced. I remember back in '95 I was taking my Grand Cherokee Limited on Pritchett Canyon trail, in Moab. Of course that Jeep had a 5" lift, 33s, Dana 44s at both ends, and ARBs. Our current 2014 Grand Cherokee is pretty fun to go four wheeling with , or relatively smooth dirt roads. It is fun to try the different transfer case settings to see if they make a difference. It is very limited in ground clearance though, and when you scrape the belly with a unibody vehicle it makes a whole lot more noise than scraping the frame on a Wrangler.
 
#15 ·
It depends on the terrain. On rocks or major obstacles where flex is king to maintain your tires on the ground no other Jeep matches the Wrangler. On trails the GC does well and I would assume the new Cherokee follows suit.

Just don't try to take the top or doors off either one. :D
 
#20 ·
Those were quite capable out of the box. My wife had two, both kept stock and I wheeled them in places where lesser vehicles got stuck. I miss having one around.
 
#24 · (Edited)
The most capable, next to the Jk, well, I really liked the capability of my old CJ5....:thumb:

View attachment 1509513

^^^But this one, is un-stoppable.........:crazy:
 
#25 ·
We have a Cherokee TrailHawk (2014) as well as a JKU Hard Rock. That trail hawk is amazing for what it is. 4wd low, rear locker, hill asst, tires, 1" lift, etc and it does a REALLY good amount. We had 7 miles on it and were already off road and filthy.

Yes the JKU is a better off road Jeep, but that Trailhawk is still quite cool!





 
#26 ·
We have a Cherokee TrailHawk (2014) as well as a JKU Hard Rock. That trail hawk is amazing for what it is. 4wd low, rear locker, hill asst, tires, 1" lift, etc and it does a REALLY good amount. We had 7 miles on it and were already off road and filthy.

Yes the JKU is a better off road Jeep, but that Trailhawk is still quite cool!
I'm impressed with the Cherokees. I drove a Trailhawk in sport mode the other day.....very strong.
 
#28 ·
Two of the present Grand Cherokee models are the most capable off road, after the Wrangler, based upon their off road features. Diesel engine, selectable 4 wheel drive modes , including rock crawling, limited slip differential, quadralift suspension which at its maximum height (10.7 inches) exceeds that of the stock Rubicon and you can increase that by putting on 35 inch tires. The drawback of the Grand Cherokee is the width-too many off road pinstripes for a $55,000-60,000 vehicle. I looked at and drove every jeep model over the last 6 years trying to decide on a replacement for my 1998 Cherokee and finally settled on the Wrangler after testing them all, but the Grand is extremely capable and will have lots of aftermarket goodies to increase its capability. The new Cherokee is limited and I found the Trailhawk to be a wannabe and could not even be compared to the capabilities of the old Cherokee.
 
#33 ·
I had a 2012 Grand Cherokee with all the off-road options before buying my JKUR a month ago, including the QDII rear diff.

I had taken it all over Colorado - Mosquito Pass, Kingston Peak, Mt. Antero, Hayden Pass, etc. I always enjoyed the looks I got from people in their lifted JKs.

The 4WD system was excellent, I never had any traction problems, and the full-time automatic locking rear diff was great. Ground clearance with the air suspension was great also - significantly better than the Rubicon actually because the front differential is not hanging out.

Reasons I sold it:

1) Ride quality sucked due to poor suspension travel and articulation, especially at higher ride heights.
2) Too much complicated gadgetry in the interior that I always worried about when banging around off-road. Squeaks and rattles from the panoramic sunroof, etc. Just a very complicated car.
3) Interior too nice - I don't want to worry about getting mud on the leather and wood trim.
4) Too much expensive painted trim near the ground, i.e. front and rear bumpers. Always had to worry about scratching them on rocks, shrubbery, etc. Also, as someone else mentioned, too wide for many trails.
5) When the power steering rack failed on a trail at 38,000 miles and cost $3,000 to replace, I began to worry about long-term reliability when used seriously off-road, and decided Wrangler was a better choice.

Also, I hit a deer last year, and discovered Jeep had placed the air suspension control valves right behind the passenger side front bumper. Deer cracked off one of the plastic connectors, leading to all air leaving the system, and the vehicle undrivable, resting on the bump stops with essentially zero ground clearance. Had this happened on the trail, I would have been screwed. As it was, needed a tow to the dealer and $3,000 to fix (luckily covered by insurance, unlike the steering rack).
 
#35 ·
^^ LOL, my wife hit a dude who ran a red light. She t-boned him in his pax side doors. Did $10,500 worth of damage to the GC. And here's the good part:

All of that was in front of the hood! Yep, neither the hood nor either of the two fenders had to be replaced or even painted. That damage was to all the stuff that is located out there in the front: AC condenser, radiator, air suspension components, various brackets, and the $2200 radar unit for the adaptive cruise control.
 
#37 · (Edited)
^^ Hmmm, not a fan of the 17" Rubi takeoffs on the XJ. I had two and love the boxy look, and I like larger tires like that on them, just not 17" wheels. Something about it just looks a little off. Prime candidate for 15s. Especially since the brakes are so sucky on the XJ, you might as well take advantage of the one benefit of tiny brake rotors! :D

 
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