Yesterday I read a review of the Jeep Liberty on
The Truth About Cars Web page. The reviewer, Johnny Lieberman, did not thrash the Jeep as badly as I would have expected from a car publication that has such a heavy on-road / track bias. I was difficult for me to tell whether the article was new or a recycled old critique. The dateline indicated that it was a current review but the pictures that accompanied the article were of an ’03 or ’04 Renegade. I think the article is relatively current since the author compared the fog lights to KC lamps, which sounds like the bumper-mounted fog lights that Jeep started putting on the ‘05 Renegades (continued on the ’06 model as well).
The author quoted Enzo Ferrari who said that Jeep was, “America’s only real sports car.” As ironic as it sounds there is a lot of truth in this statement. Jeep’s high-torque engines provide instant low-end power and their suspensions are world class for travel and articulation. Like the Italian exotics, Jeep’s are all about sport and fun and performance within their respective realms: Ferrari’s on pavement and Jeep’s in the dirt.
Lieberman thrashes the Renegade’s interior. He compares the fake leather and carbon fiber plastics to mats found under sinks at Taco Bell. Whatever that means, it is not a compliment. I think most Jeep guys would recognize that unlike most on-road centric vehicles that the choice of these materials is not because Jeep is being necessarily cheap but because they know that the interior of the Liberty has a higher likelihood to be exposed to damaging elements such as dust, mud, snow and water. The surfaces are meant to resist this kind of abuse and to be easily cleanable.
The author also criticizes the Liberty’s driving position as too cramped and that the foot well lacks a dead pedal for the driver to rest his left foot on. I somewhat agree with this criticism, although my Liberty does have a dead pedal. The space is perfect for me (6' tall) as long as the seat is all the way back but if I were much taller it would be a problem. My biggest complaint is the lack of lumbar support.
Finally, Lieberman criticizes Liberty’s acceleration as being too slow and the ride feeling like being on top of a malfunctioning washing machine. As for the acceleration, if find it wholly adequate for normal driving. I really love the fact that under full load and with the drag of luggage on the safari rack up top that the Jeep can maintain highway speeds going up major inclines. I recently read a review of the Honda CRV and the reviewer observed that the large Honda I4 engine could not do the same. This is one of the reasons why I stopped considering the CRV, Toyota RAV4 and other smaller SUVs – because I wanted the Liberty’s V6 torque. I did not buy the Jeep to race it. I did buy it to haul heavy loads.
The ride criticism is too subjective to address. Some reviewers criticize the Liberty’s ride as too stiff and others for it being too soft. My wife thinks the ride is too harsh when driving over bumps at slow speeds. It is, but I am grateful that same stiffness when cornering at higher speeds. I don’t imagine that there is a worse feeling than thinking that your car is going to roll onto its side while cornering at 60 mph because it is leaning so much. The Liberty does not feel so tippy and top heavy as other vehicles of its height. That said, I have toyed with the notion of removing the rear sway bar before any prolonged off-road driving.
On the positive side the Lieberman praised the Liberty for being… a Jeep. To his amazement it pulled him out of a quagmire after he “sank the Liberty to its doors in mud” thanks low-gearing, plenty of engine torque and the “suspension geometry’s massive articulation,” which he said never let him down. In conclusion, Lieberman wrote:
Quote:
The new Jeep Liberty Renegade is the real deal: a genuine mud-plugger with, um, limited on-road acumen. Despite the SUV feeding frenzy of the last decade or so, only the Renegade’s Wrangler stable mate and Nissan's pricier Xterra can claim this level of off-road authenticity. Saturn Vue? Toyota Rav4? Ford Escape? Land Rover Freelander? BMW X3? Posers. No low gears means no sale for consumers who buy their SUVs for their intended purpose-- or the bragging rights derived there from. On broken, mangled or mushy paths, roads where no Italian vehicle would dare tread, the Jeep Liberty Renegade is an F430 at the Nürburgring. The Liberty may be a bit woosy and disjointed around the edges, but it’s still a Jeep. ‘Nuff said.
Now that reads like something that I would have written.
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William C Montgomery
The Truth About CarsThe Truth About Guns'05 Sport 4X4, 3.7L - Black | Frankenlift II Premium, JBA KJ Lifted A-Arms 4.5 | Cooper Discoverer A/T3 - LT245/75R16, Load C
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