I liked working out of my Jeep Cherokee. Wish they still made that vehicle
The old XJ Cherokee? I loved those. My friend had a 98 back in college. Bulletproof engine and transmission.
Wish they still made that vehicle
Jeep claims they do still make it, but it is unrecognizable as a Jeep Cherokee now. Looks (and is priced) like every other SUV on the market. I haven't looked, but I would seriously doubt they have the ruggedness/durability of the old ones. I have seen some videos of people testing a version called the ?Trail Hawk? out. It seems to have some limiter that was shutting it down when trying to power out of some areas that would have been a minor mud puddle to the older ones.
An older gentleman I surveyed for has one of the older style that looks pristine. I once asked if he would have any interest in selling (apparently not the first one to ask him).
@jimcox Averages 16.7 mpg, but its geared very low. Mine is the 2017 Recon version with electronic switches to lock all four wheels, and to disengage the front suspension for rock climbing etc. Has all the bells with navigation, leather seats, temperature controlled heat/air. Sorry, don't have any pics.
Averages 16.7 mpg
Ouch!
Nice truck, but that's worse than I already get at present.
No longer want 🙁
They are not known for their reliability at all. I was just talking to an excavator on site the other day, he drives one of those fake Cherokees, we got in the topic of crazy prices of vehicles and stuff and he told me the rear end failed at 50k miles on his Cherokee. It looked to be about a 2017 or so.
The preferred rig for the independently wealthy "Gentleman Surveyor"
but its geared very low
Yes they are! A friend got one of those. He was very particular about his vehicles to the point where if he went to trade in, the dealership would ask if he had just had it professionally reconditioned before trading in. But I managed to convince him to go out in Land Between the Lakes (LBL) and at least go on some of the less traveled roads. He put that thing in 4W Low and took his foot off the brake (no gas applied) and that Rubicon version would just slowly climb up any grade we were on.
Yeah, I would definitely use a Jeep Wrangler over a "baby" Bronco. Jeep doesn't make a "baby" Wrangler for a reason. A Jeep Wrangler unlimited 4 door with the rear seats taken out could make a great vehicle. And on sunny days, take the doors and top off for faster access to equipment.
However, if you do get a Bronco Sport, definitely let us know how it works for you.
Jeep doesn't make a "baby" Wrangler for a reason.
I would bet that reason is just that they haven't seen enough of a market to do so yet. If/when they do, they won't hesitate.
They currently have the Gladiator as a truck offering. But do you remember the truck they used to make? It was a compact truck - the Jeep Comanche. Would really like something like that from them again.
It's not so much a "baby bronco" as it is a ford focus disguised as a Bronco, but with all wheel drive. It's not something you want to take off road. It's based on a ford escape and they are not known to be very good even in deep snow. They're also having a lot of issues with the 4 cylinder EcoBoost engines cracking blocks which requires a complete engine block replacement (not repairable). The truck EcoBoost engines are much more reliable, though they do have some issues with timing chains and turbos.
Probably the only ford I would buy would be a 2015-2017 f150 with the 5.0 and the 6 speed auto.
@jon-payne I also had another 2017 Jeep Wrangler, but it was the Sport model. The gearing is completely different on the Sport. I got around 20 mpg on the 2dr Sport. Rubicon's are built with completely different undercarriage and axles.
The Escape I had was a good "city" survey vehicle. It was a poor "rural/construction" survey vehicle.
I like that both the Bronco and the Gladiator come with a manual option.
Unfortunately, mine was the exception, and threw a rod at 130k miles. Still liked it, for a while, ha
