How can I convince my wife that I should trade my daily-driver, a mini-milk truck (Scion xB), for a CRD KJ?

We sat in one on the dealers lot a couple years ago and she thought that the front seats were too cramped. I need to get another 4x4... something with decent gas mileage... the snow is in the mountains and the roads are getting covered with either mud or water. I need a 4x4, again.

My wife is tired of the "bumpy riding" and small SUV and is wanting something larger, I should work out a trade with you and really fix her up. But the lawyer fee's for the divorce would be a killer.

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91 MB 300D 2.5L Turbo. Her's

05 MB E320 CDI. Mine

I'm serious. I really miss having a 4wd.

How is the CRD KJ for a larger family of 4 (two of which are still in carseats. Is the KJ a decent ride for longer trips?

Is it worth buying?

Take control of your household and do it anyway.

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2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 3.6L and A8
*SOLD*2005 Jeep Liberty Limited 4x4 CRD, Bright Silver Metallic, Dk/Lt Slate Gray Leather w/bun warmers, 5 spd auto, 22G pkg, Trailer Tow, 3.73 Rear Axle w/Trac-Lok Differential, P235/70R16 Firestone Destination LE's, Power Sunroof, Selec-Trac 4WD, Infinity 6-Disc In-Dash, Magnaflow #15870 System.

I have a CRD with 2 kids still in booster seats. I drive the Kids to school every day in it. We took it from MN to the Black Hills this summer and it was great. We had enough room in it for all of our stuff and the kids stuff including all the video games and a portable DVD player. One thing that you should consider is safety the CRD is heavy and fairs well in accidents. Plus with the 4wd and the ESP on the 06 it is good at avoiding accidents. Coincidentally when we started talking about trading in my wifes suv and getting something bigger she suggested that she should take the CRD and I could drive the new vehicle.

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Gasoline is for washing parts - Alcohol is for drinking - Nitromethane is for racing - Diesel is for hauling.

2005 CRD Limited 4x4 - Deep Beryl Green - Selec-Trac
Trac-Lok - Skid Plates - BFG Radial Long Trail TA's- Rotella T 5W40 Synthetic.

2007 GC CRD Limited. Silver.

1. Agreed with the above take some control if you feel you need 4wd for the safety and comfort of your family do it.

2. KJ in general is a decent 4wd for all street conditions even unmodified. Thats why I bought one for my DD.

3. Milelage is better than most "SUV"s but given diesel is and most likely always will be more expensive in the winter the cost of driving is about the same as the "crossovers" but you get a real 4WD with low range. My numbers almost exactly match my girlfriends Saturn VUE (P.S. I hate that piece of junk) after the fuel costs are normalized. I just calculated mine from a 300 mile trip (I do not have EVIC) mostly highway but with heavy holiday traffic and i got 30. Not bad but I am fairly conservative on speed (no more than 10 MPH above posted. I was even considering a Suburu Impreza wagon for my daily (I have a CJ8 for the fun stuff) driver but the CRD was actually cheaper and slightly cheaper to run.

4. While it is big enough to travel confortably with a family of four (in my case 2 dogs). However the rear doors are not square and are difficult to get a car seat into. Something to consider for the PITA factor.

5. If you are going to buy one you better get moving as new CRDs are getting scarce and used ones are not particularly common.

I find mine has more than adequate power, being equal to the 3.7 (my parents have one so I have spent alot of time driving the gaser in passing and on the highway and much much better off the line and around town. Overall given its size and torque it is a pleasure to drive. I have had one problem with mine which put it on a rollback but it was electrical and due to a recall. DC did right and paid the towing, renter, fixed it and a number of other recalls within two business days so I cannot complain. I sincerely hope DC offers a decent diesel in the redesigned KJ (Nitro platform?) or better yet the JK when I am ready to trade this Jeep. However, if I keep it for the long run I will put a limited slip in the rear as I find the traction control inadequate offroad.

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06 CRD "Smogger" Dark Khaki, Sport, 22C, tow package, hitch, 6 disc and slightly addictive SIRIUS sat radio.
82 CJ-8 04 Light Khaki, rebuilt 4.0L w/FI on the stand and ready to go in.

Thanks for the heads up on the rear doors to car seat ratio... bummer. That's why we didn't even take the new FJ off the lot. Those backwards rear half doors would have made it a yoga contortionist trick to get the kido's in their seats.

I don't think I could force my self onto a Subaru lot. They have a bad owner image up in the Pacific Northwest. Probably a decent car... I just don't want to be associated with the typical owner up here.


Maybe one of those Suzuki Grand V's or the Jeep Patriot (it sort of looks like an updated version of the ol' Cherokee)

With four of us (one child just out of car seat, and one out for some time now), a 75 lb. dog, and a weeks worth of supplies/gifts, we just completed an 800+ mile Thanksgiving holiday trip. It was not cramped and it was a pleasant ride. Mind you it's not as smooth as my 2002 Mercedes, but I heard no complaints about the trip beyond "are we in Ohio yet?"

As for the difficulty with car seats, with the Liberty being relatively high and the door opening wide, we have had no troubles with car seats. The Liberty has a nice feature in the front seat for times when you may need to have a child up front -- a weight sensored front seat that turns off the front air bag when the weight is less than a small adult (~100 lbs.).

We replaced our 1999 Subaru Outback with the Liberty CRD. We get better mileage, more pep, versatile 4WD, and better safety for about $2500 less than a comperably equiped 2006 Outback. While we liked our Outback, we have quickly come to appreciate our Jeep even more.

Anyway, I hope that this helps.

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Steel Blue 07 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD
Mopar Skid Plates/GDE Programmer/Fumoto Oil Valve
80K+ miles & still smiling

Sold: Silver 06 Jeep Liberty Sport CRD

I put my two year old in and out of the car seat daily and haven't had problems. Actually, she now likes to feel like a big girl by climbing up my rails into the "beep beep jeep" by herself!

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OLD RIDE: 2005 Liberty Sport 4x4 CRD - Inferno Red, Sunroof, Cruise, Tint, Tow Package

NEW RIDE: 2008 Flame Red JK Unlimited X 24S Dual tops, Auto, PW/L, Infinity Sound system, Sirius, Tow pkg, side steps
Added: Black fuel door, 7 pin Trailer lights, uConnect + iPod kit, bikini top, AutoPage 2-way alarm, Flexatrunk

KEEP THE XB! ,We have an 06 XB and Mine ,the CRD the XB is great and will be less of a P.I.T.A. and age and mile rack up. ans I am 6'2 tall and love the Xbox!

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Got Diesel

My two-year old gets her big girl kick from locking the jeep for me with the remote control.

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Thanks,
Ken Jennings
2006 KJ Limited 4x4 CRD, Option Pkg G, Lt. Khaki, Built 1 Feb 2006
Tow Package for myself, EVIC TPM
Side Curtain Airbags for my daughter
http://www.kenjennings.cc/crd/dieselexp.html