Topic: CD Article: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

[chrischasescars]

I think there are a lot of assumptions being made to suggest that we always have the opportunity to test a vehicle in the environment it was designed for. I would have loved to take the Wrangler mudding, but the truth is I didn't have an opportunity to. It's too bad, cos it would've been a lot of fun.

But, as some have mentioned here, I think there's a lot of value in using a vehicle like this for daily driver duties, as I wound up doing. I drove it on the highway; I drove it in rush hour; I packed four people into it and listened to them b1tch about how uncomfortable the back seat was and what a f***ing pain it was to get in and out of the back seat.

I also would have loved to take the hardtop off and use the convertible top, but I have nowhere to keep the hardtop.

Even if I could have taken the Wrangler off road, I'm no judge of what a truck can and can't do off-road; my off-roading experience is limited to driving an FJ Cruiser over some rocks at the press launch for that truck. I think it's safe to say the Wrangler is probably as capable off-road as its forebears, but it would be up to the people buying them and taking them into the brush to decide that.

Sadly, I don't get to decide what I review. I wanted to be an automotive journalist because I like cars in general. I think off-roading is cool, but like I said, I have no experience and the week I had the Wrangler was a very busy one, with no chance for me to get out to a local Jeep club outing (which, trust me, crossed my mind and would have been a sh**load of fun for me). Next time Jeep throws a Wrangler my way, I hope I'll be able to do some mud bogging.

I really do wish I could use every vehicle for what it was designed for, but it's hard to drive a Porsche to its limits in the dead of winter, and also tough to find terrain I could use a Jeep for its intended purpose on without being charged with trespassing. We're a publication that targets the average consumer, and while many average car buyers buy things like Jeep Wranglers, many of them also don't use them for anything other than I did. Taken in that context, I think my review is perfectly useful.

Thanks for reading, as always.

[Benhaze]

I thought the author was bluntly honest about his lack of experience for evaluating this vehicle. He did point out a few concerns that Jeep indeed needs to address. And let's not forget his conclusion despite all his reserves through his article:

Despite the fact that I've just spent close to two thousand words talking about the stuff I didn't like about the Wrangler, I'd gladly drop 30 large on one

That does represent the "city" type customer point of view for this vehicle. Wrangler production is all accounted for...

That said. The 2-door Wrangler with a manual transmission is the least representative Wrangler model of the entire line purchased as a daily driver by the urban crowd IMO. I think it's completely unfair to judge the Wrangler line daily driver capabilities based on a 2-door with a manual trans. Make it at least an automatic, and preferably a 4-door, for this type of assessment. The 2-door manual customer is typically the hard core type guy (or gal) that will modify the Wrangler and couldn't care less about its daily driver pretentions.

Snowy has a few good points. The only part of Wing assumption #4 applicable to the Wrangler is the damage liability one could make with a Wrangler on a private property. I'm not quite sure how a "city" journalist can hurt a Wrangler after you see what they can do on the Rubicon trail. I'd even venture the vehicle is far more capable than the journalist courage on this aspect. And again to Snowy's point, one serious about off-roading would leave the FJ in the driveway (or Toyota dealer's parking lot) after comparing these two from under a hoist...

At last, this review completely missed the Wrangler appeal of being the only 4-door convertible on the market, and one of the most affordable 2-door convertible (it's the base model for god sakes!) that is begging for a winter storm...

[Snowman]

I know an automotive journalist who is on the testing/review circuit and judging by the condition of the cars I have seen I would say the vehicles are driven extremely hard. I’m talking about $130k German performance cars not $30k Jeeps so I’m still struggling with point number 4. Perhaps one can drive the crap out of a car but cannot report that they did.

Are the majority of CD reviewers/journalists working part time? Does this impact the scheduling of vehicles and complicate logistics? Who is the keeper of the schedule and is it detailed enough to see ahead enough to plan properly?

[PJungnitsch]

Interesting and well-written review. I think the off-road prowess of the machine is a given, but they seem to be the most popular as an agile and 'different' runabout for city folks, almost always shiny clean. Chrysler did a masterful restyle, looks like they still have some room to improve the day to day function.

Good point too about the attraction of the 'Jeep thing'. In the latest CR this latest generation (the four door, anyway) is at the bottom of small SUV reliability and at the same time the top of owner satisfaction.