considering a jeep, talk me into it

[mustangwarrior]

for those of you who lurk around the domestic full size section, you may already know that i'm the proud owner of a '96 F150, its sees some mud and dirt roads but not much trail time, well i've been considering selling the truck and buying an suv because i have no use for the huge bed, want more passenger space than cargo room, i don't tow and if i do its only a small landscape trailer for the quad, i drive 40+ miles a day and i'm tired of driving my escort daily, so i'm looking for a DD that i can toy with on the weekends


so that brings me to looking into a mid to late '90's cherokee, i was thinking explorer but i know the aftermarket for jeeps is way better, what i'd like to know is what kinda mpg's are you guys getting with around a 32" to 33" A/t?
is the interior somewhat roomy? (i'm 6'5") and does the grand cherokee have a straight axle and is it bigger than a cherokee?

 

[Black Dog]

Interior space, you should be good. you might bump your head on rough roads but tall people drive little cars like Miatas all the time. Interior space of a grand compaired to an XJ is pretty similar, the main difference is that the XJ is a lot simpler interior without all the bells and whistles and creature comforts, but you can find some fully loaded decked out luxury XJs if that suits your fancy. And as far as I know, most grand cherokees came with the same dana 30 axle found in an XJ, with probably a dana 35 or a Chrysler 8.25 in the rear, which is the desirable axle and is identifiable by the big flat spot on the underside of the pumpkin.

 

[Purzell]

space

You are definitely going to want to get some seat time in an XJ and see if you fit. My buddy who is 6'5" spends alot of time in my 1997 XJ and he finds it pretty short on leg room. And don't even ask about rear seat leg room. My Jetta has more of that. The back is short for almost anyone.
But I love the Jeep otherwise, no complaints.

 

[jeepdreamer]

I gotta agree...

As much as I love my XJs I gotta say you'd be hard pressed to enjoy one for very long at your height. I'm 6' and do fine. One of my buddies is about 6'4"ish? and he says he feels a little squished. Head down to a car lot and take one for a spin. Try to give it the benifit of the doubt/open mindedness...its different than the 150 for sure. Sadly I think that dollars for doughnuts the XJ is an outstanding value that is often over looked. Avoid the Dana 35. Find one post 91 and pay next to nothing for over 100k on the odo...Most folks think the thing is DOA waiting to happen since it passes the 100k mark. Not so with a 4.0!
*edit* Just had another thought...you may try looking at a 2 door XJ too...IIRC they are the same wheelbase but have bigger doors and you may be able to move the seats back even further for your height...? Maybe?

 

[Mr. D]

my brother in law has owned 2 grand cherokees and enjoyed them both. He and I are both under 5' 9" but his dad drives one and is closer to 6' and never complains. good luck

 

[Ford Prefect]

The WJ would be a GREAT jeep for you if you like jeeps. That is a Grand Cherokee, I have one and I am 6'5. I have enough room for my legs, comfortable, great head room too, I can wear my cowboy hat while driving!
Get yourself a 2"bb plus some JKS disconnects and that thing will impress how well it does off road, and how nice it is on road. Get some good tires on there, some BFG AT or the like.

I will tell you to STAY AWAY from the jeep wranglers of current model years. There is no room for a guy our height. Roll bar cracks me in the back of the head just sitting there, can you imagine what would happen in an accident? (Everyone tells me to lower the seat, but obviously I did that already.)

Personally I do NOT fit in the Cherokee very well. They are super nice, and my brother who is 6' loves his, but to me it is very tight and does not ride as nice as my WJ.

By the way, you should be able to pick up a wj in the 4.5K plus range, so they are not too bad on the budget either.

I love my jeeps, but I will tell you that there are many vehicles that are decent ff road that do not cost as much and get good mileage too. Heck the ruddy Ford Excursion gets 24mpg, so, what can you do?

Good luck.

 

[mustangwarrior]

thanks for the replies guys, idk what i'm going to do, my 150 is regular cab and its starting to get cramped, it probly wont be till next spring/summer anyway till i figure out what my employment situation is like, i like the idea of having a factory straight axle

^^i'd like to know how you get 24mpg out of an excursion, my little 302 gets about 13mpg

 

[jeepdreamer]

other option...

You know... depending on the budget you could look for a Full size Jeep Wagoneer or Cherokee too...:wings:

 

[purdueXJ]

thanks for the replies guys, idk what i'm going to do, my 150 is regular cab and its starting to get cramped, it probly wont be till next spring/summer anyway till i figure out what my employment situation is like, i like the idea of having a factory straight axle

^^i'd like to know how you get 24mpg out of an excursion, my little 302 gets about 13mpg

Diesel probably. Don't expect that great of gas mileage with taller tires, I have 31's an AT and stock gears and I usually get about 12 or 13 mpg's in-town, before I got about 15 in-town. I don't take it on the highway much, but when it was stock I squeezed 21 mpg's on the highway once.

 

[Topgun514]

Id steer you away from a cherokee unless you modded a seat bracket to lower the seat by 3 inches, or swapped in seats that had the "lowering" option on them.

(btw, to the kc0toma, grands came with D35 and a D44a (a for aluminum) Cherokees were the only jeeps I believe (besides some newer ones) with the Chr 8.25)

 

[mustangwarrior]

Diesel probably. Don't expect that great of gas mileage with taller tires, I have 31's an AT and stock gears and I usually get about 12 or 13 mpg's in-town, before I got about 15 in-town. I don't take it on the highway much, but when it was stock I squeezed 21 mpg's on the highway once.

thats what i figured too, probly a 'stroker, and for mpgs i figure they would probly be low too so i may as well just keep my truck since i've got quite a bit of $$$ in it now

 

[Ford Prefect]

Id steer you away from a cherokee unless you modded a seat bracket to lower the seat by 3 inches, or swapped in seats that had the "lowering" option on them.

(btw, to the kc0toma, grands came with D35 and a D44a (a for aluminum) Cherokees were the only jeeps I believe (besides some newer ones) with the Chr 8.25)

The alluminium was only in the D44 on the ZJ, 92-98, the newer WJ and on have real axles in them.

You are correct, however, no 8.25 in any of them.

As for the Ford with the 24mpg. Yeah, no idea, but I have heard it from several people. I can tell you that it almost makes me want one. They are huge but still it might be nice if I lived out where the parking stalls would allow for them.

 

[cocco78]

As for the Ford with the 24mpg. Yeah, no idea, but I have heard it from several people.

I hate when people lie about mpg's...

Anyway, XJ's are great little Jeeps. I'm 5'11" and fit in them ok enough to be comfortable. But I ride with the seat all the way back and you can't really stretch out your left leg on long trips. I'd save up for a WJ, you can get a nice WJ with a 4.7L V8 for $5-7K and are 10x the vehicle... I've owned them both, and as as added bonus the v8 WJ is rated to tow 6500lbs or something like that...