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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  Rough Start - 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By A.Park - May 28 - 2:56 pm

  This car was bought new in 05. The first week I saw that rain water would leak into my interior through a hole in the pillar to the left of the windshield. We took it in and got it fixed, stopped the leaking. A few months later the first transmission problem occurred, slipping and then losing power after third gear. We got it fixed and it happened two more times throughout the next year or so. Almost right after I passed the 30k miles, one of my interior LEDs behind the instrument panel died. Now I am not having any problems, except I am bugged that any small splash of water on the seats (cloth) will leave a nasty white stain. But being my car, Ive grown fond of her.

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  Worst Car I Have Ever Owned. Never Again - 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Skeeter - May 22 - 1:43 am

  Where to begin...bought as a 1 yr lease turn-in. In the first 36,000 miles, had to replace transmission shifter, ignition system, and car would sputter and stall (a well documented issue with the 3.6L engines on two other jeep models). Was told multiple there was no problem and that it was normal (dealerships and customer service). At 45,000 miles, airbag light started randomly coming on. Dealership could not tell me what was wrong. Power windows would come and go. Miles-to-empty tracker is completely sporadic. Do not trust it, find a gas station immediately after the light goes on (within 5 miles)! Cloth seats stain and spot with water. Wrangler tires are terrible, loud and ware unevenly.

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  Blah - 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By m_family - May 16 - 1:46 pm

  Ok we have had this thing for a few years now, thought that the 4.0 and the hard to find 2wd "Select Track" would give us some ok returns in MPG....yea....NOT. Some are saying they are getting decent milage but we get 15mpg NO MATTER WHAT! My Charger R/T is turning about 400 HP at the crank right now and I get 25mpg with THAT! What the HECK! Ive tried EVERYTHING and I work on cars quite regularly including major repairs so Im no slouch on a vehicle. The window cables are junk too, replaced 2 of them. Otherwise its not a bad suv, its just GUTTLESS as a dead horse. Dont expect the 4.0 to have the power to get out of its own way. V8 is the ONLY way to go, gets better MPG in these too....

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  small problems that add up - 2005 Jeep Liberty
  By J. Doni - May 14 - 5:06 pm

  Bought the jeep in 2005 for 21000 does not hold value at all it is worth less than half what I paid 4 years ago. Brakes squeak even though I got the expensive replacements. It is unstoppable in 4wd snow dont stand a chance thats a plus. Had 2 recalls fixed 1 with transmission 1 with ignition. I will not own one again even though it is semi reliable. I should have got one 3 years old and saved 10000 dollars.

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  Bad Window Blues - 2006 Jeep Liberty
  By Patrick - May 8 - 4:20 pm

  I wanted to buy an American made car for solidarity sake, but Im starting to pay the price. Knock on wood, there hasnt been major drive train problems, but 3 of my 4 power windows have failed. Seems to be a common problem. The power window system has a serious design flaw, causing the window bracket to break and the window to fall down into the door. IÂ’m convinced this is no coincidence, more likely a poorly designed window assembly. At $500 a piece for the dealer to fix, this will be a costly design flaw for me!

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  The Worst Vehicle... - 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By stressedowner - May 7 - 10:00 am

  As others have stated, this is the worst vehicle I have owned. This past Sunday, it went to the dealership on a tow truck for the 6th time in the past year (yes, 6th time). The first 5 times were because it would not start - as in completely dead! The battery was replaced 3 of the 5 times. This last time was for the transmission. According to the dealership, the filter cracked and the transmission needs to be rebuilt. They are waiting for a part to come in. Lucky for me, it has all been covered under warranty. I am, however, now afraid to drive it anywhere but local for fear of it failing again and leaving me severely stranded!!!

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  poor american quality - 2004 Jeep Liberty
  By scubajohn - May 4 - 10:00 am

  with about 300 miles on vehicle engine light came on took to dealer said it was a transmission code he cleared code and said probably do to the temp change that week but come back if it comes on again next day transmission was slipping took back a shifting switch in the tranny was bad. it still shifts like crap after being fixed its a automatic,over head cpu keep resetting it self to metric 2 to 3 times a week, loud vehicle idles very rough

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  started out good.... - 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By windm001 - April 30 - 9:06 am

  I have always been a Jeep owner and proud but I bought a 1993 Grand Cherokee Laredo with 64000 miles two years ago and have had nothing but trouble! I have paid more in garage bills than I have in payments for the vehicle itself, everything started off good, just regular maintence here and there and like over night it went from one thing to another and is still running rampant through my wallet, I honestly think because of this vehicle I will never own another Jeep.

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  Another Rotor Problem - 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By whasupdoc - April 28 - 10:00 am

  I agree 100% with kselle (6/30/04) posting. At ~25k miles my car started to vibrate. I brought it to Meineke and they said the rotors were warped and should be fixed under warranty. Chrysler 1400 Motors of Nashua, NH would not replace the rotors under warranty and said it was at my cost. They did replace the leaking rear joints & right front shock leak. Theres no end in sight for Grand Cherokee rotor problem until enough people complain to make a new design manditory by Chrysler.

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  Feeling its Age - 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Amanda - April 23 - 3:13 am

  I bought my Jeep Grand Cherokee about a year and a half ago and it has been nothing but problems. About every two to three months, something will go wrong with it. (Something different every time.) I almost have a new car by now.