Dilemma of which to KEEP.... Wrangler or Grand Cherokee

[redthies]

Do your big drive in the JK, then you will be in a better position to decide. The JK is in my mind a refined enough vehicle to do it all. If you NEED more creature comforts than the JK has, maybe it's time to re-assess your life priorities, although it sounds like you have started doing this already.

 

[SSF556]

Do your big drive in the JK, then you will be in a better position to decide. The JK is in my mind a refined enough vehicle to do it all. If you NEED more creature comforts than the JK has, maybe it's time to re-assess your life priorities, although it sounds like you have started doing this already.

I wonder how many people really utilize the JK to its fullest potential? or in that case the GC.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Septu]

I wonder how many people really utilize the JK to its fullest potential? or in that case the GC.

Define full potential? I would assume that doors off, top down counts in that direction. If one is only doing mild wheeling, then a GC with mild mods would probably be all that one needs. Honestly I could see this being a tough decision. I know if I was rich, I'd gladly have one of each... one as the DD with limited slip in F/R diffs (perfect for snow and icy roads) and a JK loaded up with all the goodies for wheeling, etc.

 

[Garbinator]

Wife and I have recently experienced this realization after spending hours on the road in our 12 JK 2 dr. It has the bells and whistles. Best derned Jeep I've ever had bar none! But when my back began hurting, sciatica kicked in starting to ping the right bun, I knew I was heading to pain city. I tried re-setting seats positions several times, including turning the seat height adjustment wheel up for a higher seat position. Since then, I added a dead peddle just to the left of my brake peddle. While that has helped, I honestly believe it would not matter one bit on an extended road trip. Just plain ol' discomfort for the wife and I. But? We both are closing in on 60 in a not so distant future.

Regards the Grand Cherokee? We've been spied test driving these great machines. The V-8 power is quite joyful for a guy whose spent most of his life puttering the country via under-powered (high mileage) mini trucks. In short there are no One size fits all...

Here are some suggestions.

1) Visit American Expedition and research adding their V-8 package, plus upgrade seats.

2) Go with GC, leave the junk off the roof, go with an expedition type (as light-weight as possible) trailer. Have ALL the comfort, and Grand off-road capability.

In the event you come upon a popular well known rugged trail you wish to explore? Rent ah Wrangler! Designed to take the hits and scrapes!

And lastly? Have the time of your life!

<<GC>>

 

[wanabxtrm]

I feel your pain, we have a 08 JKUR which we bought new with the intent of keeping until it rusts apart, or they put a diesel in it. We also have a 08 WK CRD we bought used 6 months ago. It's a tough decision for sure, I love taking my doors off and the utility of the Gobi rack is great for pretty much everything. But the CRD costs less to maintain, but is more difficult to so, is more powerful, tows better, gets substantially better mileage, and is far more comfortable. If when we ever need to swap one out for a minivan or otherwise it'll be a tough decision. Currently I'd still stick with the JK, but the CRD temps me routinely...then again if they throw the new diesel in the new JKUR with fancier interior I think I'd be sold.

 

[TripLeader]

Keep the Rubicon with the 3.6 Pentastar.

 

[lysol]

This is the way I look at it. If you could rate both platforms by offroad ability, the JKUR would probably be like a 9/10 and the GC would probably be an 8/10 (I realize my rating system is probably flawed, but you get the idea). The thing for you to do should be to take a good look at what your typical driving looks like, and whether or not it's of value to you to have that extra 10% capability. If you use your vehicle on-road or off road in milder situations, then the GC would probably be a good fit for you. If you're planning on tackling the Rubicon or similar, then take the JK.

There's other things to consider as well. The GC has a little more payload capacity than the JK (important for overland), but the JK has removable top and doors, as well as killer aftermarket support. JK probably has better resale value. All depends on where your priorities are, I guess.

Also, I don't know if you have it on yours, but the GC has those air-conditioned seats available that are just flat-out amazing (not to mention the lumbar support, as you said previously).

My dad has a '14 GC (just replaced his '12 GC), and I have a '13 JK. I drove both before I bought mine, but I obviously decided that the extra capability was more important to me than the comfort and other advantages of the GC.

Just be honest with yourself about your driving habits and plans for the platform. You can do a surprising amount of stuff with a trail-rated rig from Jeep. See the recent post on ExPo about the Patriot project.

Yea, we have the cooled seats. They technically aren't A/C seats though since they just suck in air from under the seats directly so in the summer time, they just suck in warm air. With that said, if you remote start the GC, by the time you get in, you will have nice cool air blowing.

Thanks everyone for the tips. The towing capacity of the GC is definitely quite nice.

Pretty much to just paint a better picture. We want to pretty much "Live" out of our chosen vehicle. All I want to be able to do is pull a small off-road teardrop camper. The Wrangler could pull it fine. The GC would pull it great. lol. We like to go to places where most people can't get to. The Wrangler would allow us to do just that. The GC I'm sure would as well. I've been thinking how I would outfit the GC to fit our needs as well. I guess I could just throw some thick skid-plates under the GC and that would solve the clearance issue. I can't fit much more than a 31" tire though, otherwise they will scrub when in the lower suspension settings.

The nice thing about the GC is that it is all-time 4WD. It has 4LO. It doesn't have any lockers though. I have to say the best feature of the GC is the adaptive cruise control. I love being able let the GC pace the vehicle up ahead and not have to use the brake nor gas.

We are leaning toward keeping the JKUR for our Overland Vehicle though. I just want to keep an open mind and way all the options.

 

[sf jakey]

Sell both and buy a 4 runner trail. After much deliberation after selling my 06 LJ, I have decided the 4 runner is the best of both worlds and can be mildly built.

 

[lysol]

Sell both and buy a 4 runner trail. After much deliberation after selling my 06 LJ, I have decided the 4 runner is the best of both worlds and can be mildly built.

You know... I have always liked the 4 runner platform. I used to have a Tacoma SR5. Back when we were shopping for her SUV, we were back and forth with the 4Runner and the Grand Cherokee. If I had more say in it, we would have had the Toyota... lol.

All in all, the Wrangler is a great platform for us. We are driving 8 hours in it this evening so this will be our first test in semi-long range comfortability. We do know that we're pretty sure we want to hang on to the Wrangler. It might not have all the creature-comforts, but we're sure that it will be more than enough.

 

[highlandercj-7]

Easy decesion, JKUR! I wanted one vehicle that does everything and does everything well, so I bought a JKU. We have logged over 28K miles the first year alone.

 

[lysol]

So, the wife and I put about 1500 miles on the JKUR this past week. It actually didn't drive bad. I will say that I am on the hunt for a Lumbar Support feature. I'm thinking about adding those pump-up bags inside of the seat. Or maybe I can find an electric one from another vehicle. Other than that, the JKUR handled fairly well.

 

[brownmule]

Sell the GC & keep the JKU most definitely!


&#127482;&#127480;

 

[Justincredible]

For the daily grind the GC is the better/more comfortable vehicle, obviously.

But if you two are truly going to ditch the desk jobs and spending more time traveling and visiting the remote places of the country, the JK would probably be your better option. It's simpler, much easier to modify, and cheaper to maintain.

The miles add up when you do a lot of road trips and a Quadralift suspension part kicking the bucket, out of warranty, and away from home is not fun.

 

[stuggin]

The miles add up when you do a lot of road trips and a Quadralift suspension part kicking the bucket, out of warranty, and away from home is not fun.

That is an extremely valid point.

 

[jscusmcvet]

Having been a jeeper for 20+ years, I have never regretted selling a Cherokee (I have had three) and I have regretted each cj/wrangler based vehicle that somehow I have let go. 82 Scrambler (duh... my worst vehicle move ever) 89 YJ, 03 Rubicon (my best jeep ever... vehicle fire... RIP).

trust me, I get it about the level of comfort, etc... but sitting here after a few new years eve beers (forgive) I have to say a jeep is a jeep... not an suv

Disclaimer: No offense was meant or intended to those who have found that an suv suits them and their needs better. To each his own.