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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  IM NOT KIDDING.. 17 JEEP ENGINE SHUTS ITSELF OFF - 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Ron - July 13 - 7:51 am

  I owned my first grand cherokee for 17 years. When I decided it was time for a new vehicle I looked at all the different 2017 SUVs and cross overs on the market and decided that for me, Jeep was still the way to go. My priorities were, comfort, style, towing capability, storage capacity, and a luxurious interior with great sound (if you get the 600 watt sub woofer option). The jeep came the closest to meeting all of these for under $50k. I took my first 1,500 mile trip last week and was very pleased with all the above mentioned (other than I haven’t towed a trailer yet). HOWEVER..... The 3.6L ESS engine (ESS stands for electronic stop/start) is designed to SHUT OFF EVERY TIME YOU COME TO A COMPLETE STOP LASTING MORE THAN A FEW SECONDS. ). It does start back up when you release the brake but only after a noticeable delay. This is to save a few drops of gas, but think about this the next time you’re inching along in traffic, waiting in line for a hamburger, or wanting to make a quick right hand turn at a red light. Also keep in mind that when your engine shuts off so does the heating and cooling. (the sales guys will try to give you all kinds of BS about this major design screw up and will tell you that you can turn it off, BUT you have to turn it off EVERY time you start your Jeep) Now the GOOD NEWS. there is a solution on the internet that just takes 3 seconds to plug in your maintenance port and allows YOU to decide if and when you ever want to use this extremely annoying feature (I did drive the first 500 miles with the ESS feature enabled and it was very annoying to both me and my wife). I would not of purchased a jeep if I hadn’t of already found a great solution to overcome this design flaw at http://www.smartstopstart.com/ . NOTE: Jeep is not the only manufacturer that uses this dumb stop/start idea so educate yourself before you purchase any car.... 2018 will be even worse. I love just about everything about my new 2017 GC jeep, but would NEVER recommend it to anyone without the smart stop/start module. ($125)

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  IM NOT KIDDING.. 17 JEEP ENGINE SHUTS ITSELF OFF - 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Ron - July 13 - 7:51 am

  I owned my first grand cherokee for 17 years. When I decided it was time for a new vehicle I looked at all the different 2017 SUVs and cross overs on the market and decided that for me, Jeep was still the way to go. My priorities were, comfort, style, towing capability, storage capacity, and a luxurious interior with great sound (if you get the 600 watt sub woofer option). The jeep came the closest to meeting all of these for under $50k. I took my first 1,500 mile trip last week and was very pleased with all the above mentioned (other than I haven’t towed a trailer yet). HOWEVER..... The 3.6L ESS engine (ESS stands for electronic stop/start) is designed to SHUT OFF EVERY TIME YOU COME TO A COMPLETE STOP LASTING MORE THAN A FEW SECONDS. ). It does start back up when you release the brake but only after a noticeable delay. This is to save a few drops of gas, but think about this the next time you’re inching along in traffic, waiting in line for a hamburger, or wanting to make a quick right hand turn at a red light. Also keep in mind that when your engine shuts off so does the heating and cooling. (the sales guys will try to give you all kinds of BS about this major design screw up and will tell you that you can turn it off, BUT you have to turn it off EVERY time you start your Jeep) Now the GOOD NEWS. there is a solution on the internet that just takes 3 seconds to plug in your maintenance port and allows YOU to decide if and when you ever want to use this extremely annoying feature (I did drive the first 500 miles with the ESS feature enabled and it was very annoying to both me and my wife). I would not of purchased a jeep if I hadn’t of already found a great solution to overcome this design flaw at http://www.smartstopstart.com/ . NOTE: Jeep is not the only manufacturer that uses this dumb stop/start idea so educate yourself before you purchase any car.... 2018 will be even worse. I love just about everything about my new 2017 GC jeep, but would NEVER recommend it to anyone without the smart stop/start module. ($125)

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  Absolutely the worst vehicle ever! - 2008 Jeep Commander
  By Atlanta Guy - July 13 - 3:30 am

  Purchased my Limited 4x4 w/HEMI in 2/08. Just turned 3,900 miles (>6 months later). Remember that, as its a clue. Since purchase my brakes have gone out (entirely, while driving) and they replaced the Master Cylinder. The vehicle has totally died (engine and electrical) on numerous occasions (It is in the shop now getting its 3rd ignition system replacement). Beyond that, there have been numerous other electrical problems with the MyGig system and Navigation. To date the car has been at the dealer for 37 days (and counting) since I picked it up brand new a little over 6 months ago. Currently my attorney has written a demand letter to Chrysler for repurchase. Its a piece of junk!

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  Truck Died on Testdrive - 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By saxguyck - July 12 - 11:13 pm

  So I will say that I always absolutely loved the grand cherokees until I got to drive one; the quality is horrible. I went to test drive a beautiful black 05 4x4. For the first 5 minutes of the test drive, I was in love. The car was cool and looked good from the outside and the interior was nicely appointed. Then when I stopped at a traffic light, all of a sudden, the certified pre-owned truck died and had to be towed. We went back to the lot and I picked out another one and this other one wouldnt start. At this time I decided to leave and forget about buying a Jeep at all. Again, these were 2 certified pre-owned jeeps with less than 30,000 miles that broke down while I was trying to buy

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  Follow-up to Jeep for Family of 5 - 2007 Jeep Wrangler
  By Skylandry - July 11 - 7:13 am

  Well after 9k miles and several trips off road and I still LOVE my Jeep. It performs flawlessly off-road. Just like the "old Jeeps." As far problems, I have had two strange occurrences. Once I lost all power while driving 45 mph. The Jeep cut off for about 5 seconds then restarted (mileage 2k). The second was my traction control like came on to indicate a failure. I had both issues checked. Jeep said the power thing was not a known issue and it has not reoccurred. The EPS light issue went away but Jeep did say they have had some issues with a sensor for the braking unit. They ordered me a new one but I havent got it in and the problem hasnt reoccurred.

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  I Love Jeeps... BUT! - 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By zrubin1 - July 10 - 9:03 pm

  I have had this JGC for 10 months. Within that time I have had to send it in for 2 major repairs. This car has already cost me $1,700 to fix and according to the mechanic, who just replaced my starter, servos and battery, I will be needing a new Water Pump soon. Thats another $600 fix. In addition to the mechanical fixes there are several issues that I have let slide, including burnt out LEDs in the dash ($150 to repair), window motor broken, AC not getting cold, and door lock getting stuck. This Jeep has been a NIGHTMARE. Ive owned 4 jeeps and will probably never buy another one again.

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  They just keep getting better - 2003 Jeep Wrangler
  By Jeepinspence - July 10 - 10:00 am

  The owner of two previous Wrangler models a 99 and 01 I was ready to price a brand new 2003 Wrangler. I truly enjoyed both of my previous Jeeps ,but, each lacked something that I needed to drive for a long time to come. Now in 2003 Jeep stuffed the venerable 2.4L and 42RLE 4spd auto. This combo gains a net of almost 30HP, and an extra OD gear for the tranny. This combo not only really bring the little "cheap Jeep" option to life ,but, seems to have helped considerably in the economy dept as well. 1200mi since purchase and I have managed 19MPG in mixed driving. My 2001 by comparison was lucky to break 14mpg.

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  Wrangler Rubicon - 2004 Jeep Wrangler
  By Matsjp2000 - July 10 - 10:00 am

  I love my new 04 Rubicon everything is perfect on it. I have had Jeeps for the last 8 years since i turned 16. This is truly the best Jeep Ive ever had.

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  DO NOT BUY THIS CAR - 2017 Jeep Compass
  By Melanie - July 9 - 4:30 am

  If I could rate this car zero stars I would. Just leased it a week ago 4x4 latitude with all the gadgets etc. Anyway, I was driving down a busy street and It was a red light so the "start stop" system which turns off the engine at stop lights to save fuel started working (You can turn it off by hitting a button everytime you get in the car, but is that really the solution to hope this never happens again). Normally, this system has worked fine. HOWEVER, as I felt the engine turn off, all of a sudden, the car went CRAZY. The parking brake was on and I couldnt turn it off, the wheel wouldnt move, the gears would shift but they flashed, the screen turned on and off, and I COULDNT TURN THE CAR OFF. I was sitting in the middle of a busy one way street on a green light, people were honking, and I couldnt move. I was stuck and couldnt do anything about it. I tried to hold the push to start button down but to no avail, my car WOULD NOT MOVE NOR RESTART. I was sitting in the road for about 10 minutes freaking out and about to call AAA. It was like the car was off, but it was on. Cars wouldnt move around me so it might even be possible that the emergency lights that I turned on werent even on. Suddenly I tried the on button again and it worked. So I turned the car around and gave it to a dealer and explained my problem. They said it would be done in a day. TWO WEEKS LATER, I still do not have my car. No one could figure out what was wrong with it. They told me since the car was so "new (It came out in feb and its July) that they didnt have the technology to figure out what the problem was. The had to call Chrysler who STILL hasnt send over the parts. It was a computer problem, but it took them a week to figure that out, when I told them that the first day. I am very upset that a new car would just stop working like that and I could do nothing about. The dealership and even the own JEEP company didnt know anything. Its scary to think that when they get the replacement part they are going "to fix it" but yet they couldnt even figure out what was wrong with my car. Before leasing this car I checked what people had to say about it, and not once did someone say it stopped working. Well that happened to me and I want everyone to be aware before they think about the New Jeep Compass. (By the way the replacement courtesy vehicle they gave me was NOT sufficient at all. It was a base model with no backup camera, no blind spot, and no automatic headlights. The vehicle I brought in was equipt with everything, even a sun/moon roof. It would be nice if they gave me a car to drive that was somewhere close to that. If I had brought in an SRT Jeep GC would they give me a Dodge Dart?)

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  Terrible with a dash of confusion - 2008 Jeep Patriot
  By buckleyjohn - July 8 - 1:03 pm

  First off, I have to agree with everyone here that this is a terrible Jeep. Now, I bought my 2008 Patriot 4x4 Sport with the automatic CVT and 2.4L in New Mexico used in 2010 with about 40k on it. Two days after I bought it, the transmission overheated. They tried to blame it on the fact that the tires didnt match. The front and rear were different profile sized. So, I called them retarded and made them service the transmission by changing the fluid and filter and give me a set of new tires. About 3 months went by. Same thing transmission overheated at 70mph on the highway in the middle of no where. Had to sit in the hot sun for about 3 hours for it to cool down.