I work with people who can afford really nice automobiles. If I wanted, I could own a really nice automobile. However, I choose to drive a Jeep. I have had more than one person tilt their head to the side and say, "Why did you get THAT?" Because it is awesome fun to drive and play with. Read on to learn more about why you might want a Jeep (and also why one might not be right for you.)

Why Get a Jeep?

What goes through the mind of someone who drives a vehicle like this when he can afford a Lexus or a BMW like all of his coworkers?

It is a fantastic on-road and off-road vehicle with 4WD which is very fun to drive, has a convertable top, a huge fan base, is American-made, and is very flexible. Also, there are tons of upgrades available for it, and unlike most American cars, these boxy little things seem to just keep on running.

Some people get Jeeps specifically for going off-road on trails, in mud, and riding around in wilderness areas where motorized vehicles are allowed. They pull them behind their cars on trailers, and otherwise they drive a normal car. Not me. I use mine as a DD (daily driver). When I bought mine, I specifically wanted a small cabin area, comfortable seats, maneuverability, and a convertible top so I could ride outdoors in the pretty sunshine. Everything else was secondary.

Pros and Cons

I've been driving a 2004 Wrangler X Automatic with a 4.0L 6 Cylinder engine on stock tires with 3.73 gears in the rear axle for more than a year now on my 60 mile round-trip commute. There are some downsides to Jeep ownership, and there are some upsides. Nothing is perfect, and perfectionists beware - this vehicle is tough, and it is built to last, but some things on it are utter crap! It's awfully lovable crap, though.

The Cons...

Noise - the TJ is incredibly noisy for a modern passenger vehicle. The soft top rumbles and gives off a sub-sonic vibration makes yelling back and forth at high speeds necessary. With the top down, it's noisier, because the wind is in your ears. Keep in mind that the Jeep Wrangler is not designed to be a modern passenger vehicle.

Mileage - 19 on the highway - 15 in the city. As the spark plugs come to the end of their life, 14mpg in the city. TJ's suck down gasoline something terrible compared to your regular car type vehicle

High Velocity Power - It's no mustang. Above 35 mph, the TJ is no longer in its world, and it can be a little unresponsive. If you get an automatic, the motor and transmission rattle at 45mph going up a hill. It doesn't like that. Turning off overdrive helps.

Wipers - The windsheild wipers on TJ's stink. Rather, the entire windshield system is flat and fairly upright, so every bug you come across is plastered to it, and any oil or crud you drive through goes straight on the windshield. Deflectors don't help. The wipers will then start chattering and leaving rubber trails on the windshield. You'll find there's a reason that people call a Wrangler windshield a "Bug Catcher."

Lights - The lights on a Wrangler are substandard crap, that's for sure. The headlights provide terrible lighting, and the turn signals are small in front. The tail lights are crummy trailer lights. They do not have a yellow turn signal portion like most modern cars. Instead, while blinking and braking, no blinking. The reverse lights are pretty dim as well.

That's it for the cons as far as I can tell.

The Pros... AKA "I LOVE MY JEEP!"

Top Down! - If it is 57 degrees or warmer, and the sun is shining, that top is coming down. I can de-top my Jeep in 1 minute and 30 seconds. I will go out to it for lunch, and if it's pretty out, the top comes down - even for just an hour. I love driving it with the top off. It's an entirely different vehicle with the top pulled down, it even looks better.

Doors Off - When the forecast says sunshine all day and nice temps, I pull the doors off in my garage in the morning. After initially removing the nuts that hold the door hinges together, I now only finger tighten them so I can finger remove them. I can pull the doors off in a couple of minutes and drive around town with my foot hanging out the left side on my nerf bar. YEAH! I love driving around with no doors and no top on the jeep. It is the safest motorcycle ever made.

Driving Fun - Beyond just removing parts and enjoying the weather, the Jeep is a fun little car to drive. It corners very tightly (too tightly - be careful!) and fits into little tiny parking places without any trouble. The turn radius is shockingly small. U turns are very easy. It handles really well, and with stock tires, has a peppy little ride.

4WD - when the streets are inches deep in water and it is raining cats and dogs, I put it into 4 HI and it acts like it is on railroad tracks. It handles great.

Heater - In Winter, you'd think I'd freeze in my soft top. The heater is so effective in it that within 2.2 miles of driving, it is at full temperature around 205 degrees, and it gets so hot in there that I crack a window. It's really, really a strong little heater.

Mod-ability - There are huge catalogs full of stuff for Jeeps. Frankly, I can order any part, including a transmission, axle, or engine, for my Jeep myself. I've never seen anything like this for another vehicle. I ordered old style mirrors and mirror movers, and put my mirrors farther forward on the frame so they don't go away when I pull the doors off (not that I use those things anyway).

Easy to Work on - Before I purchased a Jeep, I couldn't change my own air filter. I used to pull into a Jiffy Lube or just about any other mechanic's shop, and I was their goat-boy. They owned me. You could see the little, wicked smirks start on their faces as I stared at them blankly when they talked about how I needed a new blitzerkreigeloffenheimmer. My heart would sink, and I felt like a girly-man, since they may as well have been speaking Chinese to me. Well, no more. My Jeep has everything clearly labeled, and because everything on it is so easy to access and understand, due to simplicity of design for maximum off-road reliability, any dork can do lots of self-maintenance with just the smallest bit of coaching. Now, I know exactly what is done to my vehicle when maintenance jobs are performed, and I do almost all of them myself.