Apples Versus Oranges
Oberkanone wrote:
If there was a choice between Wrangler and Liberty with the 2.8L CRD, would you still pick the Liberty?
Depends on what you want it for.
I have a 2000 Wrangler (TJ) and just bought a 2005 Liberty CRD.
The Wrangler's for the trail, and the Liberty's for the highway.
My Wrangler
The Wrangler is an excellent 4WD truck.
I suppose folks could put the kinds of mods on their Libertys that I have on my Wrangler (Rubicon Express 3.5" lift w/long control arms and tucked skid, ARB on a Warn full-floater Dana 35 rear axle drop-in, 4.10 Sierra Gear differentials front/rear, Tomken bumpers with class III hitch receivers front and rear for my Warn XD9000i cradle-mounted winch, 33x12.5 TA/KOs on steel rims, Viair on-board, etc. etc.) but I'm not sure why someone would want to do that.
I bought my Wrangler for the trail and outfitted it for the trail. I've had it five years and it has less than 30,000 miles on it. I promised myself it would never be a pavement princess, and I have kept that promise.
I have a hardtop on it and keep it on, but on the highway the Wrangler is a noisy beast on the best of days. I suffer it for highway driving as far as it takes to get me to the place I hit the trail, and no further. And it gets lousy gas mileage with all the heavy add-ons, the 4.10 diffs and those mondo tires.
But it eats the toughest trails for breakfast and asks for seconds.
I have taken my Wrangler places I can't walk and most people have never heard of -- I specialize in multi-day camping runs in the desert wildlands of the Nevada interior -- and despite what I call “Stupid Jeep Tricks”, I've never gotten into a situation I couldn't get out of.
My only complaint is that it doesn't have a diesel engine. The 4.0l inline six is a nice engine with a respectable torque curve for a gasser, but ever since I got it, I wished it was a diesel -- mainly because that gasoline engine eats way too much fuel on the trail.
Despite the fact that I have so much invested in this particular unit, the availability of diesel Wranglers will have me keeping an eye on them in the coming years, and I am very pleased to see Jeep planning to offer more diesels in the future.
My Liberty
The Liberty is an excellent 4WD SUV.
I bought my CRD for mostly highway use -- for touring, running into town (about 85 miles each way) and as a “scout car” for my Wrangler.
It offers the perfect mix of features for my needs: great mileage (diesel), great highway performance (the CRD hauls butt) and good cargo/passenger capacity combined with the ability to handle rough weather conditions on the highway.
It can also take me out on dirt roads (I live on one) and the occasional jeep trail when I see something I want to check out while driving on those remote Nevada highways (in its “scout car” role).
I love my new CRD passionately, but I think it would be silly to try to turn it into the unstoppable trail monster that my Wrangler is. Sure, people can go that way if they want to, and God bless 'em, but I'm not one of them.
For me, the Liberty is better suited as a general-purpose sport utility vehicle. That means mostly pavement, occasional easy trails and no rock-hopping, stump-jumping or mud-bogging.
The Right Tool For The Job
Opinions about these things vary, and that's fine. These are my opinions speaking as an owner of both a Wrangler and a Liberty.
The reason I own both is because I consider each to be the very best vehicle available for what I use them for. And by that I mean the best, period.
I could afford a Hummer (H1 or H2 -- or both) if I really wanted one, and I looked at them. I also looked at Land Rovers and various other alternatives, and while I respect them all and the people who choose them, for me it simply comes down to a Jeep, and so far, I have no complaints.
Your Mileage May Vary.
P.S. As for towing, neither the Wrangler nor the Liberty are my first choice as tow vehicles. They're fine for towing a utility trailer, motorcyle/ATV trailer or a small boat trailer, but for anything bigger than that, the right choice is a full-sized diesel pickup truck, in my opinion. At least, based on what I've seen, people who want to tow big things will be a lot happier if they go that route, rather than try to use a Jeep as a big rig.
