I have an '05 Sport CRD with about 19k miles. I changed out the tires to Michelin LTX last fall. I am generally positive about the car, but was somewhat wary about what would happen in very bad driving conditions.

Yesterday, I had to drive to northern VT due to family obligations. The round trip was about 400 mi in blowing/drifting snow with very cold temps. During the trip I saw literally dozens of cars spin out, go in the ditch, and generally have a very hard time. The cars with problems included many 4wd vehicles as well. One time I had to brake hard due to a spin out in front of me which left the car facing in my direction. In fact, I called in several wrecks on my cell during the trip.

I ran the whole time in full time 4wd and was able to keep a steady 45-50 on most of the trip. Only 1 time did I fish tail on some black ice, but was able to quickly recover by steering alone. I have to say, I am now very impressed with the Jeep. It certainly is as good in the snow as any other car/truck I have ever had. I think the Michelins were a good choice, but don't believe that I would have had the same experience with the OEM tires.

With an average temp of 12-15 F I got just over 22 mpg (with no additives). The heater was great as well. During the day, when I had the Jeep parked for about 3 hours at 10F I was very suprised when the glow plugs did not activate when I went to start. The engine retained enough heat not to need the boost.

Just an FYI from the north.

Hi, I'm up here in Superior, Wisconsin. I went through the same weather conditions with mine the week after I bought it with the original tires and had no problems. Drove 65 MPH through a steady 6" of snow for 75 miles straight. My wife has an 04 and is the same way. These Liberty's are just plain stable in all weather.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2254161


2005 CRD Black
Plow & 9500# Winch
Front Hitch
Custom Fabed 2" Receiver Licence Plate Bracket
3" billit lift
245/75-16" Bridgestone Rivo's.
Predator Performance Module.
Wifes
2004 Jeep Liberty Columbia Addition.
Front Hitch
3" lift. Built by Me

Ok, I grew up in north-central Ohio, where it snows often during the winter. I learned to drive in the stuff, and now living south of the Mason-Dixon line, yet where it snows at least once every winter, I've observed that a LOT of people who have no clue about how to drive in slippery stuff buy a 4WD SUV rather than learn how to drive. Thinking their ride can handle anything, they are widely astonished to find themselves in the ditch with their 4 wheeler as often as they would have been before purchasing it. Duh!

In any case, I'm pleased to hear how competent folks are finding their Libbys. We've had only one 3-inch snowfall and one 1-incher this winter, hardly a challenge to any vehicle, so I've not had the chance to go play and check for myself. But next time we do have one worthy of the trip, I'll be sure to take along a towing strap to lend a helping hand to the neighbors.

I was actually impressed with the new 2006 vs the 2005 we had. I went out this weekend and found an empty unplowed parking lot with about 4 inches of snow on the ground. I intentionlly put the jeep into some oversteer situations with too much throttle and observed what the ESP stuff did. It was actually fairly impressive to see/feel it brakeing individual wheels depending on the condition. Our 2005 was a V6 6-Speed, without the trac loc. so pretty much open. in 2wd mode, it was easy to spin one tire even while trying to be careful. On the new 2006 CRD the traction control works great even when in 2wd modes. In 4wd Full time and ESP on its quite a force to be recond with in the snow. Our old 2005 did not recover as well in the oversteer simulations. Two thumbs up for ESP.

I've run our old 2005 thru some really deep snow, snow that comes up past the frame and was very impressed, I can only imagine what the new one is capable of These jeeps kick butt in the snow!!!

Summary, MUCH improved traction/control thru electronics.

I had the benefit of learning how to drive in the snow in my 1987 RWD Mercedes. It amazes me how inept people are at driving in winter conditions around here ... the weather is lousy every year, so it isn't like they have an excuse for not learning. It's not that people are stupid (well, some are), but that they just tend to go with instincts that often result in worsening the situation, or they freak out and tense up. And there are ALWAYS those people who decide that their vehicle is capable of a lot more than it actually is. Where I used to live we'd get flooded roads a lot, and I can't tell you how many people tried to fjord ridiculously deep "puddles."

Anyhow, I have been very impressed with the Jeep in bad conditions. I did have to get used to it simply behaving differently than the RWD ... after driving something for a long time you come to expect certain behavior. I only had one bad incident in the CRD, and that was one night when the road was an absolute sheet of ice (no exaggeration ... you could have ice skated on it) at 2 a.m. and they didn't bother to salt. I made the mistake of going my usual way home down a very steep hill and ended up sideways halfway down the hill. Never one to panic, I got it straight and crept down the hill. Most women would have rolled it or crashed into a tree or something.

As far as snow goes, this thing butchers the white stuff ... I love it. You don't have to shovel out of your parking spot ... just get in and VROOOOM.

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2005 Liberty CRD Limited, Light Khaki on Slate - 142,000 miles
1987 Mercedes-Benz 300D - 314,000 miles
1978 Mercedes-Benz 240D 4spd manual - 371,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze 1.6L turbodiesel, 6spd manual - 58,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4spd manual - 132,000 miles
1994 Mercedes-Benz SL500 - 94,000 miles