I'm strongly considering a Liberty... ???

LibertyFever said:

Okay I'm probably going to take heat for saying this but here it goes...
If you want a daily driver or something with comparable towing capacity of your pickup truck then I suggest a Cherokee, maybe even a Grand Cherokee.

If I'm not mistaken a Liberty & Cherokee weigh about the same and the Liberty's gas mileage isn't very good. The Cherokee's have a higher towing capacity, more interior room, you can get a V8 in a Cherokee and there's more aftermarket support.

But if those points aren't that important too you then go for it, buy a 4WD Libby. They are quite capable on the trails, fun to drive & other than the occasional window regulator problem, quite reliable.

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I really appreciate your honesty, but towing capacity doesn't matter to me, as I'm coming out of a regualr cab Colorado and never tow anything. I'm most interested in a reliable daily driver... Something with a backseat that I can drive for a long time without sinking a bunch of money into.

Honestly, I sorta had my heart set on the Cherokee until I started looking at both and found that I could buy a newer, lower mileage Liberty for basically the same money. Now, I'm confused, lol.

LibertyFever said:

Okay I'm probably going to take heat for saying this but here it goes...
If you want a daily driver or something with comparable towing capacity of your pickup truck then I suggest a Cherokee, maybe even a Grand Cherokee.

If I'm not mistaken a Liberty & Cherokee weigh about the same and the Liberty's gas mileage isn't very good. The Cherokee's have a higher towing capacity, more interior room, you can get a V8 in a Cherokee and there's more aftermarket support.

But if those points aren't that important too you then go for it, buy a 4WD Libby. They are quite capable on the trails, fun to drive & other than the occasional window regulator problem, quite reliable.

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The Cherokee XJ does not have more interior room. At least not that I have seen.

LibertyFever said:

Okay I'm probably going to take heat for saying this but here it goes...
If you want a daily driver or something with comparable towing capacity of your pickup truck then I suggest a Cherokee, maybe even a Grand Cherokee.

If I'm not mistaken a Liberty & Cherokee weigh about the same and the Liberty's gas mileage isn't very good. The Cherokee's have a higher towing capacity, more interior room, you can get a V8 in a Cherokee and there's more aftermarket support.

But if those points aren't that important too you then go for it, buy a 4WD Libby. They are quite capable on the trails, fun to drive & other than the occasional window regulator problem, quite reliable.

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I'll be needing some of what you be smokin' p:
Libertys weigh more and are built way better than a Cherokee
Libertys get better mileage than a Cherokee
Cherokees do not have a higher tow rating than a Liberty
You can not get a V8 in a Cherokee from the factory
from owning both the Liberty is way better as a tow vehicle or a DD than the Cherokee

now pass that over before you smoke it all yourself:icon_twisted::whip:

I always wanted an xj and when I finally sat in one my dreams were crushed. My neck was at a 45 degree angle because I needed at least 2-3 more inches of headroom. Heck, I couldn't even get a sunroof in my liberty for the same reason. One of the many drawbacks of having a ginormous head...

Boiler said:

I always wanted an xj and when I finally sat in one my dreams were crushed. My neck was at a 45 degree angle because I needed at least 2-3 more inches of headroom. Heck, I couldn't even get a sunroof in my liberty for the same reason. One of the many drawbacks of having a ginormous head...

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Should,ve put one off to the side so you could just let your head poke out.:smokin:

I bought a brand spankin' new, '02 Liberty Limited for my wife... it's got all the bells and whistles available that year and has been dead reliable. With the exception of the ball joint recall, the only visits to the shop have been for regular maintenance.

My only regret (hanging my head in shame), is that I bought a... a... two wheel drive. I know, I know... I've been flogged repeatedly.

I would definitely buy another (4x4), if we ever needed to... but this one's so bullet-proof, I doubt that it will an issue anytime in the foreseeable future.

... I forgot to mention that my wife swerved to avoid hitting a kid in a parking lot and ended up punching a Liberty shaped hole in a stucco wall... up to the base of the windshield.

After it was backed out, under it's own power, we took it to a very reputable repair shop. The technician was amazed that the entire repair consisted of replacing/repainting the front bumper cover, the front fender flairs, the grill and one headlight. He had the hood buffed... that's it!

He told me they put it on a frame jig, just to see if there'd been any tweeking... none, even the alignment was within specs.

His opinion was that the collision would have totalled any other small ute...

Beaver said:

...

Honestly, I sorta had my heart set on the Cherokee until I started looking at both and found that I could buy a newer, lower mileage Liberty for basically the same money. Now, I'm confused, lol.

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That was one of the issues I had when shopping for a 4wd vehicle. All with all the vehicles I was considering it seemed like too much $$ for older "higher mileage" vehicles. And then I found the Jeep Liberty's. Lower mileage for basically the same money. I'm now a happy Liberty owner (07 Sport, Auto, stock). I'm getting 20mpg combined city/highway- and that's about 48 miles daily driving. A manual trans would probably get a better mpg, but I didn't want one.

TrvlnMn said:

That was one of the issues I had when shopping for a 4wd vehicle. All with all the vehicles I was considering it seemed like too much $$ for older "higher mileage" vehicles. And then I found the Jeep Liberty's. Lower mileage for basically the same money. I'm now a happy Liberty owner (07 Sport, Auto, stock). I'm getting 20mpg combined city/highway- and that's about 48 miles daily driving. A manual trans would probably get a better mpg, but I didn't want one.

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Yep, same here. I was actually just looking for a 4WD pavement pounder. I liked the Ford Escape that my bro's wife had and thought I'd check around. Couldn't get anything with less than ~70K miles for under $13K around here. I saw my Liberty for sale at a local dealer for $10K and change, only had 59K miles on it. Looked super clean, had new shoes all around, so I took it off their hands.

I wouldn't say it's the most comfortable thing I've ever owned...and coming from a 6-spd manual, I don't particularly care for the auto ****** in this thing...however it gets the job done. Haven't had any serious issues that I couldn't fix myself. I'll probably just keep this as my spare vehicle even if I ever get a small compact sporty DD (with a stick of course).

Beaver said:

Honestly, I sorta had my heart set on the Cherokee until I started looking at both and found that I could buy a newer, lower mileage Liberty for basically the same money. Now, I'm confused, lol.

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Here's another opinion

Over the years I've had a 98 Cherokee, 06 Wrangler, and an 01 Cherokee. I liked the Cherokees a lot, except for the 01, which had 125K miles on it when I bought it, and it would have cost more than I was willing to invest in a 9 year old vehicle. I sold it and bought an 06 Liberty.

I've only had the Liberty for a few weeks, but really love it. Compared to the Cherokee, it rides better, handles better on the road, and is quieter. I have driven it once in snow (hard packed snow in Yosemite), and it held the road like glue (no doubt thanks in large part to the tires I installed). However for me the gas mileage is a little lower on the Liberty than on the Cherokees. But it feels "tight" on the road, with just a couple minor interior rattles. The older Cherokees sound like a bucket of bolts on rough roads.

I haven't taken it off road yet, but all reports say it is very capable.

To me, the Liberty looks & feels like a much more modern vehicle (well, and it is, considering all the electronics on board... which some like, and some don't). I am in the camp of those who like these features (so far, anyway, until they start to break :thumbsdown.

The Cherokee was a good vehicle, but at this point the newest one you can find is 9 years old, so most have a ton of mileage on them. They can last a long time, but only if they are impeccably maintained. So with an old used one, you take your chances. Since they were so popular, they're demanding a premium price, especially if you find one in good shape with lower mileage.

So it depends what you want ... but for me the Liberty was the way to go. I got my '06 with just under 55K miles ... which is lower than many/most I saw, but you can find them. It looks and feels like a new ca... oops, Jeep .

I guess if there's a downside to the Liberty, other than the gas mileage it's the 42RLE auto-transmission. I'm more used to manuals anyway, and this auto in particular can be annoying.

But I'm still very pleased overall with my choice.

Good luck in your decision

I'd have to agree about the gas mileage not being that great. That said, I love my liberty and am sad to have to sell it. It has caused me no problems and is a good size, not too large, not too small. Versatile!