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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  Seems Good - 2006 Jeep Liberty
  By Mike from Mass. - February 6 - 4:10 pm

  I bought my Liberty 4 months ago and I put about 8000 miles on it so far. I have not had any trouble with the Jeep. The seats are horrible at getting stained, even water will leave noticible stains. Its not a luxury ride, somewhat rough seats while driving. I havent had any trouble with the windows (knock on wood). The only maintenence I have done is oil changes.

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  You get what you pay for - 2006 Jeep Commander
  By LD - January 31 - 6:16 am

  I was looking for an inexpensive truck to fit my family of 6. I found it in the Jeep Commander. However after having it for 3 months I realized I am spending a fortune in gas. My fathers 1974 Cadillac got the same 12 miles per gallon as my 2006 Commander. Its hard to believe that in this day and age Jeep cant produce a 6 cylinder engine that gets better than 12 miles per gallon. In addition, after the whole family gets in it becomes very tight fitting. No more room for any extras. Oh, and if you are going to buy the Commander make sure you have really skinny arms or you wont be able to reach down between the driver seat and the door to adjust your seating. You get what you pay for.

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  TRANY IS JUNK - 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By NICK - January 26 - 6:10 pm

  bought this vehicle Jan 09, with 17000 miles on it and thought I had purchased a good vehicle. have owner several jeeps before without problems , all being wranglers so I would consider myself a loyal Jeep owner. The transmission light on the dash has came off and on several times but has never acted or done anything weird and went out. Just prior to reaching 22,000 miles the transmission just died. I could manually shift in 1st 2nd and reverse and thats it. just took it to the dealer and they have to rebuild it. as I was looking through these posts I think this wont be the last time either. DONT buy this vehicle. If the trany drops after 22,000 miles I cant wait to see what else will happen

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  Read all the facts before you buy! - 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Matt - January 26 - 5:33 am

  This was my first significant buy when it comes to an SUV and it was the BIGGEST mistake I could have made. I have owned the Jeep for 29 days and it has made 4 trips to the repair shop! Many difficulties with it not starting up, but just cranking and cranking. The shifting from Park to either Reverse or Drive is a real hard shift and makes me wonder if there are problems with the design with the transmission. The reliability for Jeep is garbage! I use to own a Jeep Wrangler and I was a die hard fan of JeepÂ…not so much anymore. I am taking mine back and buying a Nissan Xterra. Read all the other reviews and you too will see there are many problems. BEWARE!!

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  Its decent. - 2002 Jeep Liberty
  By Gixbusa - January 23 - 5:00 pm

  I used to build show cars and trucks but I ended up leaving all that for a stock vehicle. I bought the liberty a few years ago, have not been to happy with it to be honest. all the a/c vents have broken and fallen out, need repair. The light in where the shift column went out and i have to bump the box for it to come on (short in wire). A/c, radiator, window regulators, overhead light, radio wire all needed to be replaced. The driver and passenger seat levers broke off in my hand trying to lean back. I have been trying to sell it for the past 7 months. I have 108k miles on it now and it makes a weird sound when i turn at low speeds.

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  Liberty doesnt measure up - 2005 Jeep Liberty
  By jeepster - January 16 - 6:53 pm

  We had 7 flat tires. Recall on ball joints and transmission turbo charger. Have had egr airflow control valve and gasket replaced. Now it is leaking power steering fluid. Flat tires occurred with bad tire sensor valves and inferior equipped tires. The automated tire sensor system needs some work. If you buy this vehicle, purchase the extended warranty. You will need it. Also brakes make grinding, moaning noise. Friends who own Liberties have this problem also. Safety commission is investigating fires in dashboard.

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  cheap drive train - 1995 Jeep Cherokee
  By jjsilber - January 12 - 2:00 am

  We were so lucky that we purchased an extended warranty because with 74,500 miles on the car (500 on the warranty) the transfer case broke. Apparently, Jeep used a cheaper metal for a few years to save some $; transfer case problems are quite common for this year.

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  Nice But Little Things Add Up - 2012 Jeep Wrangler
  By chesshorse - January 9 - 5:42 am

  I bought the top of the line Sahara with every option available thinking all will be great. Within literally 100 miles the engine started knocking, the driver seat squeaks so bad, the A/C is luke warm, the driver side windshield visor pops off, the painted hard top has haze marks all over it, the windshield makes a whistling noise, driver seat seatbelt area rubs and makes a load noise, and the driver side seat adjuster is making a rub mark on the leather to list a few! Now it has 3,500 miles and I still am trying to make an appointment to get it looked at. I have canceled many appointments because of my work schedule and the service department have limited hours! I am defiantly disappointed!

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  Drives well, but.... - 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By SusanX - January 6 - 10:00 am

  I had a 1988 Cherokee Pioneer and loved that car. However, I have been disappointed in this Jeep. The power windows have each had to be repaired at least twice. The weatherstripping keeps falling off and although I have had it in twice for the rear window weatherstripping, it still leaks. Ive also had to take it in for at least four recalls in the last three years. It also has blind spots due to the thick window supports -- Ive nearly gotten into two accidents because I havent seen cars coming toward me on a curve. Would I buy another Jeep? Not on your life.

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  My JGC 2007 is a problem. - 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By jayyme - January 2 - 1:00 am

  Between 40-45mph my JGC 07 stops accelerating. Hesitates for up to 10 seconds, then finally gets going again. After owning the car for 6 weeks, I was turning onto a highway and all the power cut off. Pulled over and couldnt get it to start. No electricity either. Let it sit for a few minutes, and it started again. Took it to the dealership and they said they couldnt duplicate the problem, so they didnt fix anything. Today, it jerked hard when I put it into drive. Barely got down the street at 20mph- turned around- and it sluggishly made it back to the driveway. This is a 2 year old car! We owned 2 other Jeeps that were great. This one is undependable and Im pretty disgusted.