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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  From Sales to Support Dodge Chrysler Jeep NIghtmare - 2013 Jeep Wrangler
  By zamarrda - February 20 - 11:05 am

  Bought a new 2013 Wrangler. Was very excited. Loved Jeeps, not anymore. Electronic Stability Control went out on me 3 times("and fixed") on the freeway. Went into Limp mode(kills the engine) and was almost run over by a Big Rig. Chrysler willing to do nothing. Had to get a lawyer and lemon law it. Worst company and service EVER. Jeep are iconic and I know thay are appealing BUT they are not run by the same people anymore AND the service is on par with cable companies. Be very careful. ruined my summer and almost killed my family.

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  One of the worse vehicles I have owned - 1993 Jeep Wrangler
  By Firefighterjake - February 18 - 1:40 am

  I bought this Jeep shortly after graduating from college . . . guess I shouldnt have believed the hype about it being the ultimate off-road vehicle since it was the biggest lemon I have ever owned. In fact, it was this vehicle that made me decide to never own another Chrysler product (well that and my experience with a Dodge Omni and a Dodge Aspen.) Where do I start? Broken motor mounts, terrible service at the local dealership, a blown motor, a broken windshield wiper motor (I know of no one who has ever had to replace their wiper motor!) . . . and this was with minimal off-roading (i.e. old dirt roads). I will admit however taht it was a blast on warm summer days with the top off.

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  good looks poor performance - 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By lou - January 5 - 9:43 pm

  Bought this suv with 20,000 miles and thats when the problems started the biggest problem is sometimes when the traffic light changes from red to green and I try to accelerate it wont go it needs 3-5 secs to finally go, very poorly designed interior very BASIC (like a car from the 80s) no options, seats also stained very easily. Dont like the gas guzzling all wheel drive all the time I would Rather have the shifting option, sadly based on dealership customer service and Chrysler products this is the last Jeep Ill own.

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  😒 - 2015 Jeep Patriot
  By Neki - November 30 - 5:24 am

  Electrical problems on a brand new truck 2015 not even 2months in Im not understanding smh......

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  NOT A SAFE CAR - DOES NO HANDLE IN WET - 2007 Jeep Compass
  By sunshine - October 28 - 1:50 pm

  This car is almost 3 years old and since the beginning I have told the dealer it slides when braking and taking off on wet roads - badly. They always have said nothing is wrong. Now they tell me it must be the tires and I should spend $600.00 on different tires, to my reply was so you sold me a car with unsafe tires. I got a shrug of shoulder response. This coupled with horrible rear and rear sides visibility due to huge v shaped metal between rear and side windows and non-movable headrests make it an unsafe vehicle. I will not even take it on a trip or out if it is raining or about to rain.

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  Would not recommend any Jeep product - 2015 Jeep Patriot
  By Patty - October 15 - 8:16 am

  Jeep has poor service when it comes to recalls. Have only 3700 and already has a recall on the vehicle. After seeing other reviews on here I think we will be trading it in and it wont be on any Chrysler product. Chrysler and their dealerships dont seem to care if your vehicle is fixed or not. They have a bad attitude and could care less if they fix your vehicle.

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  Do your research first - 2016 Jeep Cherokee
  By Henry Reed - August 3 - 3:57 am

  First of all after purchasing this car I feel like the stupidest person alive. I assumed there would be a spare tire or at least a donut which there is none, all you get is a tire pump filled with a one time use sealant where the spare should be. You think i wouldve checked before buying. The Uconnect voice commands only understand you 5% of the time, worthless. I purchased the Lifetime Warranty, which i assumed would be forever as long as Im in ownership of the vehicle and breathing. This is not the case the Lifetime warranty becomes void as soon as the repair cost becomes more than the vehicles value at the time, I figure 10-12 years according to what i see on Blue Book Values, not to mention deductibles on warranty repairs which greatly affects warranty price. Last but not least, bring a calculator with you on any new car purchase and take the time to recalculate the dealers figures, mine offered me $1000 trade-in on my hunk of junk without even seeing it, which now that i think about it. He probably gave me nothing and made it seem like he did. Live and learn. I have only owned this for 3 days, so i dont know very much on performance and reliability, but from what Ive seen so far, I think im in for a very bumpy road ahead. My first choice was a 2016 Hyundai Tucson, shouldve went back.

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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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  Piece of Garbage from Day. 3 - 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Jan - June 14 - 9:31 pm

  This is my 5th, and LAST Jeep brand new Grand Cherokeee. Never can get parts and needs $500. And. $2500 repairs ALL the time. My son still drives my 2000 Grand Cherokee but since 2011 they have been horrible! I am done forever with A JEEP Product!!!

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  Poor Quality throughout the vehicle - 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By FormerJeepOwner - May 14 - 10:00 am

  I am telling myself NEVER, NEVER again buy a Jeep vehicle. Over $4,000 in repair costs in just over 2 years. Leaks in hoses, blown water pumps, power windows completely failed & had to replace, many electrical & mechanical malfunctions & defects, defective sensors, major transmission & engine problems....etc. Dont forget to consider the extremely poor resale values due to Jeeps reputation for poor quality & reliability. Ive concluded it would have been more inexpensive to have bought a BMW or Mercedes sports car than the Jeep...at least those have high resale values.