We tested a whole bunch of trucks for next purchases, and being professional drivers we analyzed and critiqued the living daylights out of EVERYTHING.
I've read most of the posts here about the Wrangler, and it seems the complaints that people make are unresearched. Trendy and too long.
JK's are trendy cuz they are the newest thing out there....and immediately recognizable.....next to a Police Car....the Jeep Wrangler has the MOST recognizable silhouette of any other vehicle in the world....you can literally look at the profile and say "Thats a Jeep".
Complaining that wheel base is too long on the Unlimited JK in my opinion is sheer inexperience (sorry, I don't mean to be offensive)....having the longer wheel base is in fact a HUGE bonus when offroading.....the complaint of a long wheel base usually brings the "Break over angle" complaint when asked why its a problem....a little lift and its solved.
Having a short wheel base is a problem, and that was proven three weeks ago when took a group out the trails, the guy in the TJ Sport nearly flipped over backwards going up a steep climb AND nearly rolled over sideways on a side hill.....while the longer wheelbase JK unlimiteds just cruised along without weight dispersion issues at all, and that where the longer base comes in very useful.
The storage space on and in a JK unlimited is unprecidented....and if you add a full length roof yoour looking at another 300-500 LBS of storage, who cares if it rattles....that OPTIMUM storage space....a good rack wont rattle either...Garvin, Wildboar and Gobi all make outstanding Adventure/Expedition racks for the JK.
Now, we tested the FJ Cruiser, Hummers H2 and H3, 4 runners and Land Cruisers, Libertys and Land Rover Disco 2's as well.
All were excellent EXCELLENT vehicles....but really at the end of the day they all seemed the same, and had very similar ups and downs.
Ultimately we chose the Wrangler Unlimted Rubicons....out of the box extreme capability, longer wheel base, more storage, AND more aftermarket products available than any other of the above listed vehicles...with exception to the Land Rover which equaled in aftermarket amounts....PLUS the fuel mileage on the Wrangler was BETTER than the rest....running regularly at 15-18 MPG loaded with equipment.
We do this professionaly like Scott here at Expeditions West.....we agree with him and others that Toyotas are world class offroaders and certainly worth every penny you spend on them, and they will last you lifetime without question.....but out of the box capability, storage limits, appearance and VERSATILITY led us in the direction of the Wranglers.
Another point (last one).....I read a few posts indicating "sensability" and "practicality"...I'm sorry but when you're shopping in the full-size SUV market....sensability gets thrown out the window.....you want to be sensable get a SMART car....this is offroad, this is expedtion driving, this is adventure......sensability and adventure do not combine.....theres no such thing as a sensable and practical adventure.
Even still, sensability award goes to Wrangler in our books.....best fuel mileage and versatility of the group.
Anyway....to answer the question to this post, all you will get is personal opinions from owners. Your best bet is to go out to each dealer and test drive the daylights out of each one and crawl around in each one thouroughly until you find what fits YOU ultimately.
They're all great trucks....take your time choose whats right for you, not whats right for someone else.
