Well, I have owned my 2008 JK for about six months now and just finished my first road trip to the beach in Seaside, OR for a week and then to Ike Kinswa state park in Washington for a few days of camping.
If you ask me, the Wrangler has to be the worst handling car ever made. It is as fast as a three legged hippo and as graceful as a drunk bear. Add to that a ride that can make your ass feel like it ran afoul of a pack of teamsters and it is definitely not for everyone.
I bought the JK as a play vehicle but soon after I handed over my 2012 Mazda3 to my better half and the 2010 Prius went into storage for when my oldest son gets his license this year. The JK is now my daily driver.
This may sound weird...but even though the JK is unwieldy, rough, slow, and you will never know true fear until you have to slam on the brakes in a wrangler at 65mph on the highway...I absolutely love it. In fact, whenever I am driving anything else it feels like a missed opportunity. I would rather wrestle my Jeep down the highway any day than glide along in any other vehicle.
Yup, it is probably the worst car ever made...but then again, it ain't a car...it's a Jeep.
You should trade your 2008 Jeep in for a new one. My 2013 Jeep JKU actually rides and handles pretty good. It definitely takes a little longer to stop than my wife's Toyota Highlander, but it still stops pretty good. We recently took the Jeep on a 10 hour road trip to Disney and nobody complained about the ride or comfort of the Jeep.
Agreed 85 more hp then the 3.8 and 3.73 gears makes a huge difference. I have the 3.6 3.73's and a 6 speed manual and even with my beefy 33's it still hauls ass down the road pretty good.
the brakes system i find in jeep arent great... but then again dont every vehicle have their bad flaws. handling is not the best either but i like it lol , i hate the death wobble hate it. what can you do though hopefully they will make it better in later years!😀. oh this is for 2 dr btw , i think 4 door is just fine!
I'm on a trip for a few weeks in Phoenix. The A/C in my daily got unreliable the week before I left. So I brought the Jeep (2015 JKUR). I've put almost 1,000 highway and street driving in on this trip and the only place I've suffered so far is in MPG...and that's just kind of a given.
It is light-years ahead of my old XJ's, especially my 1984 (made by AMC!) - no brakes to speak of, you had to remove the A/C compressor to replace the #1 cylinder spark plug, the oil filter sat right above the starter motor so you either dumped oil all over the starter, or heaven forbid you dropped it - it would land right on the main battery cable to the starter and send out fireworks, while the oil filter welds itself to the starter.
If you had to replace the clutch slave cylinder, you either followed the factory manual which had you drop the transmission, just so you could access the top-most bolt on the slave cylinder - or do what I did - cut a access panel thru the carpet/sheet-metal on the passenger side of the transmission hump.
Not to mention that half of the parts on the '84 were from GM and Ford, especially all the emissions/PCV crap.
I sure do miss the XJ's though. A perfect size for the off-roading, hunting, fishing, etc that I did. I'd buy a new one in a heart-beat if they still made them!
I would think you would appreciate that it is very "Glocklike". It's blocky, has a bunch of plastic crap on it, and when you need something that will work in all conditions, it's your "go to". Good to see you somewhere other than YouTube.
I have heard many old schoolers say any certain car rides like a Cadillac. My 2015 JKU does not ride like a Cadillac. I feel every short, choppy bump in the road. These small bumps do not jar you. It is just a bump. If I hit a major pot hole I may hear it but will not feel it.
My JKU has the high performance suspension. It does not ride like a luxury car. I don't care. A Wrangler is what it is and you must accept its limitations.
I gave up a silky smooth ride for a Jeep that makes me feel like driving to work every day is an adventure. Priceless!
*edited because my autocorrect is idiotic (or maybe it's just me!)
Well as and old man a jk rides way more better then many of my previous jeeps. CJ rode rough. Yj a littlle more better my tj even more better and my xj even more. Yep my JK does ride like a caddy compared to the early stuff. And as brakes. Way way way more better the my xj. At least these stop in reverse down hilll. Have had quite a few scary times. Love my jk
Cameron
As long as anyone going into Jeep ownership understands many of the "Jeep traits" noted by the OP, they know what they're getting into. I've had my 2014 JKU a little more than a year now and have zero regrets for getting it. There's something that just feels "right" when I drive my Jeep.
We have a 2014 JK Willys Wheeler. When we test drove it I was surprised it rode as nice as it does, pretty darn quite for a Jeep with loads of power as far as I'm concerned. I luv driving our Willys.
I sit and read the OP's description of how the JK rides and I'm thinking, what did the engineers do in 5 years to mess up the Jeep? My '03 Rubicon has none of the traits described except maybe not the best ride for a long trip, but smooth and steady.
Now, for long trips I take the Sahara, the extra 10" and the seats make a world of difference. I have described it in other posts as the best long range highway vehicle I have ever driven. Growing up in Texas, I became a Road Runner, after all growing up in Texas, the next state west was 770 miles away (I-10 mile markers).
So driving 900 miles in one day is not a rarity for me, but in past vehicles it was usually accompanied with back aches and neck pains when done. Not this last trip in the Sahara, the seat is upright and has good side and back support.
Worst car ever? I dunno. Compared to my '69 LTD, with 4 wheel drum brakes, my JK stops on a dime. Fast? My 78' Marquis takes a week and a half to get up to cruising speed. Cornering? Either of those cars make my JK look like a Ferrari. The ride? Ok, you got me there. But my JK holds up pretty well compared to some of the compact cars I've owned.
But as the OP says, the Wrangler isn't a car, it's a Jeep.
69 LTD and '78 Marquis...both have a far more comfortable ride, will go a hell of a lot faster in a straight while maintaining steering, and will go around a corner at 45mph without losing traction. Both would still win in an on-road long haul.
I have a 2014 Rubi X and I just did a 5500 mile trip in it.
Never thought it was under powered or rough riding.
I had a great ride and never once felt stoved up or worn out.
I think it might be a matter of being set up correctly, i.e. tire pressures, alignment, etc..
And yes, I've owned a new Porsche 911 (997) and a ZX14R so I know what a great ride and handling feels like.
I plan on driving from Phoenix to MOAB in October for the Jeep Jamboree
The OP's Jeep is a 10 so it has the 3.8 in it so yeah it's gonna feel under powered (especially if it has 3.21 gears) as it has 40% less hp then the 3.6 but other then that the JK has been unchanged suspension wise since it's inception in 07 so the handling and ride will be pretty much the same, but like stated already, it's a Jeep not a car so it is what it is.
If you ask me, the Wrangler has to be the worst handling car ever made. It is as fast as a three legged hippo and as graceful as a drunk bear. Add to that a ride that can make your ass feel like it ran afoul of a pack of teamsters and it is definitely not for everyone.
I bought the JK as a play vehicle but soon after I handed over my 2012 Mazda3 to my better half and the 2010 Prius went into storage for when my oldest son gets his license this year. The JK is now my daily driver.
This may sound weird...but even though the JK is unwieldy, rough, slow, and you will never know true fear until you have to slam on the brakes in a wrangler at 65mph on the highway...
Yup, it is probably the worst car ever made...but then again, it ain't a car...it's a Jeep.
It is surprising to hear that anyone could be other than 100% pleased with the amazing attributes of a Wrangler, but things can sometimes go wrong at the factory - I suppose.
It was most definitely not designed to be anywhere near as fast as a three-legged hippo. (Those things are quick!)
Something is certainly amiss with the suspension if it is as graceful as anything - the word 'graceful' is carefully and without exception omitted in all sales and technical specification materials - you can fact-check that if you wish. (I hope that you did not actually get a bear drunk in order to make your comparison.)
It is less than clear from your post (or by any stretch of my less than vivid imagination) exactly how one’s ass is meant to feel during any type of meeting with a pack of teamsters or how it could conceivably ‘run afoul’.
In any case, there are obviously a number of significant faults with your vehicle and it should be fully tested immediately. Our testing facilities and proving grounds here in Sweden are open year-round and if you contact me we can arrange for you to ship your Wrangler here for an extensive series of tests (shipping would be at your cost, unfortunately) to be conducted over the course of all four seasons (thoroughness is key). If no faults are found you would also be responsible for the return shipping costs.
Hopefully your ‘oldest’ son is getting his driving license later than usual otherwise forcing him to drive a Prius may be something that could be reported to a local child protection agency - and the fact that you made a post which led to the death of not less than three kittens (and, possibly, forced a bear into inebriation) will not be in your favour or look good on record.
* It is most likely that your post was merely in jest; do you really expect anyone on a Wrangler forum to believe that you were able to attain a speed of 65 mph on the highway in a 2008 JK. Or, maybe there really is something terribly wrong with your Wrangler after all! You should make the shipping arrangements immediately!
I don't have an issue with the ride. In fact, after coming from a '97 TJ to a 2015 Willys, my family and I are all of the opinion that it doesn't even feel like you're in a Jeep. At least not the jeep we were used to. . It just feels plush by comparison. I guess once the new car smell wears off and I pick up a couple of dings and spill a couple of Sonic fountain drinks on the carpet, then it will start to feel like a real Jeep again. In the meantime, running doorless helps
The engineers will never overcome physics. It's a short wheel base with live axles. My only real complaint is the overly sensitive and intrusive vehicle stability system. It kicks in way to early especially if the ground isn't perfect.
i am coming off a 14 year stint with an F150. Bought that one with 10 miles on it, traded it with 208,000. My 2012 Wrangler Sport rides just as nice (actually nicer) than my truck ever did. The two REAL distinctions are the handling (I can actually pull into a parking space and make a 3 point turn in a normal travel lane) and when the top and doors come off - its just a beautiful thing. Today I drove in to work with a suit on and the top still off. I felt something is out of place, the jeep was acting weird on the ride in today .... she was more uncomfortable than me.
dude, you are doing it wrong. jeeps aren't for everyone.
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