cb1111
Member
I searched and found several "almost on point" posts, so here goes.
I'll be changing jobs soon and will be back in the "24/7 on call regardless of road conditions" mode, requiring me to possibly drive about 80 miles, at night, in a blizzard on unplowed roads.
But, like saying "I'm only buying this thing to go off-road in the wilderness", you still have to get there.
I'll be going on several 1800+ mile trips several times a year (often in dry conditions) and the last time I did the DC to Santa Fe trip in a stock 2016 2dr Wrangler, I was ready to shoot myself. Highway driving in the Jeep was just painful - between the twitchy steering, the wind noise and the buffeting.
So why am I looking at a 4R over a traditional SUV? Two significant things - the real AWD capabilities and the near bulletproof'ness. I'm getting too old to swap vehicles frequently so this'll probably last me 15+ years.
After far too many years of German cars that are magnificent when they run, I went over to the dark side 7 years ago and bought an Acura TSX wagon. It too has old'ish tech but has needed nothing but regular maintenance. When a Mercedes decided that it wanted to occupy the same space 5 years ago, I immediately replaced it with the identical car (a year newed, but really the same). The biggest problem in 100k miles was an almost failing battery replaced under warranty.
So, my only concern is the daily driving part. I know that if you're on a forum that you either hate the car (and are here to complain) or you love your car, warts and all.
I don't see the usual gripes that you hear on the usual forums even amongst fanbois (I was on the Wrangler forum for a year or so and the issues - water leaks, that twitchy steering and other significant stuff - took up most of the forum) so, aside from wheel balancing issues that affect some, but not all, owners, there don't seem to be any systemic issues. Am I overlooking something?
So, the bottom line at the bottom - how is this thing at being a daily driver? Is a cross country jaunt just that or is it a chore - like driving my sister's Wrangler to Santa Fe?
I'm looking at a Limited but hate the front end, so I'll be something with that down the road.
Oh, and a final question - are there any differences (except for color and minor bits) that have changed since, say, 2015? I'm talking infotainment, mechanical or driveability? Any of those years to avoid for some reason? I normally buy new, but with these there may not be an issue if you find one where the biggest hurdle it had was a speed bump in the subdivision.
TIA. Snide comments about searching aren't appreciated but I have my flame suit on :bounce:
I'll be changing jobs soon and will be back in the "24/7 on call regardless of road conditions" mode, requiring me to possibly drive about 80 miles, at night, in a blizzard on unplowed roads.
But, like saying "I'm only buying this thing to go off-road in the wilderness", you still have to get there.
I'll be going on several 1800+ mile trips several times a year (often in dry conditions) and the last time I did the DC to Santa Fe trip in a stock 2016 2dr Wrangler, I was ready to shoot myself. Highway driving in the Jeep was just painful - between the twitchy steering, the wind noise and the buffeting.
So why am I looking at a 4R over a traditional SUV? Two significant things - the real AWD capabilities and the near bulletproof'ness. I'm getting too old to swap vehicles frequently so this'll probably last me 15+ years.
After far too many years of German cars that are magnificent when they run, I went over to the dark side 7 years ago and bought an Acura TSX wagon. It too has old'ish tech but has needed nothing but regular maintenance. When a Mercedes decided that it wanted to occupy the same space 5 years ago, I immediately replaced it with the identical car (a year newed, but really the same). The biggest problem in 100k miles was an almost failing battery replaced under warranty.
So, my only concern is the daily driving part. I know that if you're on a forum that you either hate the car (and are here to complain) or you love your car, warts and all.
I don't see the usual gripes that you hear on the usual forums even amongst fanbois (I was on the Wrangler forum for a year or so and the issues - water leaks, that twitchy steering and other significant stuff - took up most of the forum) so, aside from wheel balancing issues that affect some, but not all, owners, there don't seem to be any systemic issues. Am I overlooking something?
So, the bottom line at the bottom - how is this thing at being a daily driver? Is a cross country jaunt just that or is it a chore - like driving my sister's Wrangler to Santa Fe?
I'm looking at a Limited but hate the front end, so I'll be something with that down the road.
Oh, and a final question - are there any differences (except for color and minor bits) that have changed since, say, 2015? I'm talking infotainment, mechanical or driveability? Any of those years to avoid for some reason? I normally buy new, but with these there may not be an issue if you find one where the biggest hurdle it had was a speed bump in the subdivision.
TIA. Snide comments about searching aren't appreciated but I have my flame suit on :bounce:
eep:, but some of the nannies might be interesting if they work as intended.
