Overview & Reviews

If you're thinking about purchasing a vehicle rugged enough to finesse rocky trails, chances are, one make comes to mind: Jeep. This specialty automotive manufacturer has a long history of producing trucks and SUVs capable of off-highway adventures — so much so that the term jeep is used by many to refer to all SUVs, whether the vehicle in question is a true Jeep or not.

Jeep took root in WWII as the name of the now-iconic four-wheel-drive military vehicle produced by Willys-Overland and Ford for the U.S. Army. The name's origin is somewhat of a mystery; popular belief is that it morphed from "GP," or "general purpose," though others have suggested that it was a nickname derived from a character featured in the Popeye comic strip of the time.

The mid-1940s saw the introduction of the first civilian Jeep, the CJ-2A. It offered many features not available on military versions, such as a tailgate, an external fuel cap and a side-mounted spare tire, and was targeted mainly toward farmers and construction workers.

Civilian Jeeps caught on with the public, and by the 1950s, new models such as the CJ-3B and the CJ-5 had been introduced. The CJ-5 had the longest production run of any Jeep vehicle, continuing for 30 years after its introduction in the early '50s. The company changed owners during this decade as Willys-Overland was sold to Kaiser in 1953.

Jeep broke new ground in the 1960s with the debut of its Wagoneer. Geared toward active families, this early SUV was the first four-wheel-drive vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission. A new "Dauntless" V6 became available as an option on the CJ-5 and CJ-6 in 1965. This was the first time that a Jeep CJ could be equipped with a V6. Packing 155 horses, the engine's horsepower almost doubled that offered by the standard four-cylinder.

By the 1970s, Jeep had changed ownership yet again, with the purchase of Kaiser-Jeep by American Motors Corporation. New models like the CJ-7 and the Scrambler were rolled out. Additionally, the company unveiled some new technology with the introduction of the world's first automatic full-time four-wheel-drive system. Dubbed Quadra-Trac, it was available in the CJ-7 as well as in full-size Jeep trucks and wagons. During this decade, Jeep's fortunes soared as four-wheel-drive vehicles became increasingly popular with large sections of American buyers.

The 1980s saw the introduction of the Cherokee and Wrangler. The Cherokee was one of the first of the new breed of SUVs — high-riding midsize wagons that skyrocketed in popularity as the decade progressed. The Wrangler replaced the CJ series in 1987 and offered the raw functionality of the CJ along with more comfort features. That year also saw the purchase of American Motors by Chrysler, with the Jeep brand becoming part of Chrysler's Jeep/Eagle division. One of Jeep's most popular models, the Grand Cherokee, debuted for 1993. This handsome, midsize SUV offered considerably more comfort and luxury than the smaller Cherokee while still providing stout off-road capability.

Jeep fell under the umbrella of DaimlerChrysler after Chrysler and Daimler-Benz merged in 1998. This partnership resulted in a few new models, such as the Liberty and Compass, though none were able to attain great sales success. In 2007, Daimler sold the Chrysler Group to a private equity firm. It is now under control of Fiat.

More recently, the company has added a couple of enticing models to its lineup (including a four-door version of the Wrangler and the pavement-scorching Grand Cherokee SRT8) and made substantial performance and quality improvements under the hoods and within the cabins. As such, we expect Jeep will not only maintain a loyal group of customers but will also bring new fans into the fold.

User Reviews:

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  Great Jeep - 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By fulbox - May 22 - 2:00 am

  Too high a maintenance vehicle. Long warranty is BS.Need a special bank account to keep maintenance on this vehicle. Ask to see maintenance required and the cost. You make the decision. Most expensive vehicle I have ever owned.(55 years old). This the last Chrysler product I will ever buy.

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  Love to Hate it - 2007 Jeep Commander
  By Michael - May 18 - 4:35 am

  I like the heavy duty heft of my jeep, gas mileage is as expected for a heavy Jeep with a V8 Hemi. I love the way it looks and the 4X4 works great. It rides nice, it is quite and the stereo sounds great. The sun roof does leak but I live in SoCal. My only regret are all of the electrical problems I have had. Stalling on the freeway while I am driving, intermittent starting issues. and the high cost of replacement parts. I am torn if I want to sell it or hold on and hope the last 7 trips to the Jeep dealer resolved all issues.

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  Cheap PLastic Parts/Beware of RECALLS - 2004 Jeep Liberty
  By Sweetxoxo - May 16 - 2:00 am

  Truck Vents,Plastic body parts/mud flaps fall apart.Beware of NOT getting Recall notices promptly! Ball Joint recall found by Chrysler in 12/03, My Ball Joints failed unexpectedly in 2/04.They never sent recall notice until mid Feb. The company takes their sweet time contacting you, very uncooperative with the assistance I needed.This was a serious issue that was not approached immediately by this company and they say "You had Bad Luck"?? I say I had good luck cuz this could have cost me much more than $$ it could have cost my life when it fell to the ground while driving, without warning.

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  Lemon of SUV - 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By jk - May 13 - 10:36 pm

  Everything that can go wrong went wrong with this vehicle. From transmission, brake to window, doors,seats,etc.,everything seemed to fall apart. On average, it lasts less than 900 miles per dealer service day. Just repaced all rotors less than 30,000 miles, after two re-surfacing.

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  Dont buy a Liberty ! - 2006 Jeep Liberty
  By Mark - May 1 - 6:26 pm

  Bought used at 13k miles. Both rear windows have failed - window just falls into door when driving along. Its a massive safety issue. Dont buy this car if you have children or animals. Its just not safe. Chrysler want to wait for somebody to die before they think about doing something. Currently they charge $450+ to fix - even though the fix will just fail again. Its just a matter of time. If Chrysler had any small piece of care for their customers they would recall this design issue. But instead they are looking at it as a revenue stream. Im never buying another Chrysler.

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  Worst car I ever Owned - 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Chris - April 30 - 11:16 pm

  I bought the car with 25,000 miles. I have 92,000.00. Between 55,000 and 92,000 I have replaced rear end, two power steering units, 2 water pumps, and transmission. I have a 96 Honda Accord with 190,000 I gave to my daughter Ive replaced tires and a battery.

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  Problems - 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By gobob - April 27 - 10:00 am

  I have a harmonic groan that comes from the drivetrain. Dealer cant fix it and Chrysler wont do anything about it. Filing for Lemon Law help. Wouldnt buy another one.

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  Worst car EVERRR!!! - 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By heather2007 - April 25 - 7:10 am

  I purchased my 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee brand new right off of the lot so that I would not have to worry about having car troubles. This car has been nothing but troubles! First it started stalling right after I would begin driving. I took it in and they replaced the ESM module. Then one year later it began stalling again, once while I was going 70 mph on the highway! So, I took it in again... and they replaced the ESM module... Again! I filed a complaint with Chrystler and they said that if it happens again they will look into it. Well, 6 months later, my car randomly wont start and is stalling more frequently than ever. They say they cant find anything wrong with my car. It wont start!!

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  beware jeep falling apart from day one - 2005 Jeep Liberty
  By darlene11 - April 23 - 5:14 pm

  I purchased this jeep less than a year old. I have had to have the front end replaced three times within 5 years. The air conditioner breaks every single year, had the compressor replaced twice. There have been several recalls on this jeep. One of the recalls was for the windows and was only an extended warrante where you had to pay $100 to have your windows fix when they fell down and stopped working. So here I sit now with a window down and the Jeep dealer is telling me oh your too late for the extended warrante if you want your windows fixed it will be $400 a window. Well you know what I think? I think Chrysler is a junk company and should have stepped up from the beginning and fixed then

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  Known Transmission issue that Jeep denies exists - 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By zootstinsky1 - April 16 - 6:23 am

  first 3 gears shift so hard that it will snap your head back. Took to dealer 3 separate times. They all say there is no fix and that it is normal. Google this issue. You will see that a lot of 2014 jeep grand cherokee owners have this problem. It feels like the transmission is slipping in the fist 3 gears. Even the service guys at 2 dealerships admit there is a problem but no fix and Jeep says its normal. Ive been driving cars for 22 years and I travel for work and rent cars every week. This problem is like no other Ive ever experienced in any other car. The GPS with voice controls is also worthless and system also does not work with messaging and iPhones. The most popular phone!