JK as a family vehicle

[Andy G]

For those with kids and dogs (or just kids), what do you think of the JK as a family vehicle??

We took a new '09 for a test drive last night and I'm totally in love with it. Still reminds me somewhat of my old '48 CJ2A, as well as my '98 TJ that I had.

Now with a 6 year old, and a baby on the way... we are looking at getting another vehicle...and I most definitely want a new JK.

So...thoughts for use as a daily driver (stock for now)?

Thanks much!
Spicy

 

[haven]

As a family vehicle, the Wrangler is marginal, IMO. Sure, it's got plenty of room, but it's a farm implement compared to vehicles designed for family errands.

If your wife will be the primary driver, then let her choose the vehicle. If you're driving it most of the time, then you can live with the bouncy ride, poor gas mileage, wide turning radius, and other side effects of being "trail rated." I'm not picking on the Wrangler here, all the off-road-oriented SUVs have similar shortcomings.

The tall tires do have the advantage of making you bend over less when putting the little one into the car seat. The six year old can climb in without assistance.

A friend's father insisted that they own a car large enough to take the entire family to the airport for their annual vacation. So they were stuck with a huge "Blues Brothers cop car" sedan for the 364 days they were not taking that trip to the airport.

I suggest that you consider how often you will be using the Jeep for off-road adventures and camping trips, versus how often you will need a nimble, economical grocery-getter. If you must have a Jeep to wrench on, buy an inexpensive used model.

Chip Haven

 

[Scott Brady]

My sister uses a 4-door as a mom machine. Two boys and her run all over Phoenix in it. They love it.

It actually has more useable space than the GC they replaced.

 

[Zeero]

I agree with Scott....my partner in Overland doubles our second JK 4 Door Rubicon as a "Baby Bus" and even in its modified form it still does great.

If you drove it once and love it, then its the right choice for you.

:victory::sombrero:

 

[Taz]

I sure wished we had waited 6 months before buying the Liberty as the Unlimted JK would have been a much better all around SUV. It gets about the same gas milage, rides about the same if not better, costs about the same yet is a far more capable plateform. I would take the JK Unlimited over any of the other Jeep brands for a family vehicle.

 

[The Swiss]

When I traded my Jeep Commander for a JK Unlimited, my wife was less then thrilled and announced that from now on, her Nissan Maxima will be used for family trips. So much for that. Our 4 door Rubi established herself very quickly as the primary family vehicle. No problems at all.

(BTW, our family consist of my wife, me, 2 teenage boys and 4 Yorkies)

 

[FlexdXJ]

I say go for it throw a 2in OME kit on it and some 33's on a nice 17in rim, If your feeling "adventurous" throw an RTT on it. I like them because they remind me of an XJ with a removable top! You can actually carry stuff along with people in them!

 

[alosix]

I had a 4 door rubi when they first came out (nice rescue green, but I digress).

For the ride and handling, they are noticeably better than a TJ wrangler. They still drive like a solid front axle truck, but they are much more refined.

With the 6spd, we would get about 20mpg on the highway. I was quite impressed with that. The new stability controls also stop you from doing any stupid in it.

The nice tall top, and the higher doors to me would be a help with kids. bending down to help them in would hurt the back more. With this thing you can do it standing up.

Jason

 

[Outdoorsben]

do it. It's the best riding wrangler ever. Very livable on street performance and I get 18mpg city.

 

[ox4mag]

Yep, I agree if you like it and your wife is cool with it, go ahead and go for it. My wife and I recently purchased a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the CRD engine because we wanted a vehicle capable of carrying the family on off-highway excursions with ample room and still be comfortable when driving around town. We LOVE the CRD engine and are running B100 biodiesel exclusively, and at 21mpg in town and 23mpg on the highway, it has been perfect for us.

With that said, the 4-door JK has capabilities our GC doesn't have but the cost-benefit, at least for us, was worth it.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

I agree with the first post. I drove one for the first time last weekend and was less than impressed with the power vs. my over-tired and under-geared XJ with 150k on the I-6. The ride was fantastic for a solid axle vehicle. That being said: the one I drove belongs to friends who a have a large dog and just had a baby; they love it! Even more than the Nissan Pathfinder and GC they traded in for it. So although it might not make sense to some, if you love it. You love it!







BTW: After driving one, I would not buy one due to the lacking power.

 

[Outdoorsben]

I agree with the first post. I drove one for the first time last weekend and was less than impressed with the power vs. my over-tired and under-geared XJ with 150k on the I-6. The ride was fantastic for a solid axle vehicle. That being said: the one I drove belongs to friends who a have a large dog and just had a baby; they love it! Even more than the Nissan Pathfinder and GC they traded in for it. So although it might not make sense to some, if you love it. You love it!







BTW: After driving one, I would not buy one due to the lacking power.

I'm assuming it was 3.21 gear unlimited maybe an auto. All that needs to be done is re-gear which will solve that problem. The 3.8 and 4.0 are very similar engines in output.

 

[booger]

BTW: After driving one, I would not buy one due to the lacking power.

i had the same opinion of an 09 Rubicon that i drove. my 07 Commander with the 3.7 felt like it had more pep.

i'd buy one, but only to replace one of my current Jeeps if one was totaled.

 

[durango_60]

I find my JK a perfectly acceptable daily driver for taking my two kids to school every morning and still allowing me to live a fantasy life on the weekends. That being said, I don't live within 100 miles of an Interstate and rarely hit 65 miles per hour so a lack of power for acceleration/ maneuverability is not an issue for me. If I had a commute that required merging into traffic and other crazy things like that I think I would want a different vehicle.

 

[Zeero]

Wow, this under-power argument is old...and unfortuneately totally inaccurate.

The JK has a modelling program in it that adjusts itself to the driver. It usually takes about 3000 km's for the JK to adjust itself to the drivers style of driving, then adjusts output accordingly.

So if you're heavy footed, then it will adjust for max HP output, but it will cost you in fuel mileage, just as an example.

Mine, driving now at 54,000 km's on it drives like a dream. Picks-up when I need it to, keeps my mileage in check and runs smooth and clean all around.

These things aren't race cars anyway....if you want an SUV that goes fast then get a BMW or Porsche baby bus. These are Jeeps, not the latest edition of Juan Fangio's race car.

The torque with the 4.10 in low range is far more than adequate, what else do you need??

:victory::sombrero: