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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  Third-World Car - 2006 Jeep Liberty
  By Tennessee - July 25 - 10:00 am

  My husband has one of these lemons. Hes just dealt with his 5th window regulator issue. Stained seats are a total embarrassment. Congratulations to Daimler Chrysler for selling a piece of junk that looks and performs like something youd find in the third world. I intend to get results from customer service, or the CEO and board of directors WILL be receiving some very nasty, frequent communications until this is made right for us.

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  Look elsewhere - 2011 Jeep Compass
  By J - July 18 - 1:55 am

  I had my compass not even 2 weeks after I bought it before I had transmission issues. Every time I tried going on a road trip and it went past an hr of driving, the transmission light would come on, the rpms rose and the speed decreased.... It has been in the shop 9x over the last 7 months and between the dealer and Chrysler I cant seem to get them to realize the importance of having a car that you are paying on (ins and car payment). It has been at a dealership waiting for Chrysler to give the go ahead for a new transmission for 3 weeks now... A nightmare! If they hadnt guaranteed me a manufacturer warranty on the transmission I would be responsible. But the car is under the 100,000 mile warranty mark. Problem!?! The car and the fact that I was sold a Canadian car without my knowledge and that is the loophole that is screwing me. Do yourself a favor, dont think twice about a compass and make sure it wasnt brought over the border!!!

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  MY JEEP MADE MOTION SICK!!! - 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By JD - July 17 - 12:43 am

  I purchased my Jeep 2015 Grand Cherokee Laredo last September 2015, and I was very happy about it cause I was purchasing an American made vehicle. It was my first jeep. After driving for one day, I went back to the dealership service department to find out what that little motor sounding noise was under the hood. Dont you know that no one there could tell me what it was? This sound comes and goes and I was stuck living with it thinking it was just something normal about it. Then after driving for a week or two, I felt as thought I was driving a manual car. When slowing down and coming to a stop, the transmission would shift kind of weird. As it was shifting down and I could feel that jerky motion it in my head and it was making me motion sick. This went on for a while and I wasnt sure what to do. So I took it to service where it was determined that my car needed a "software update". But after getting my car back, it was back to the same old thing. So I wrote to jeep about the problem and was told to take it back to service. So I did just that and I had two service people drive with me while I drove my car. The first person tried to blame the problem on the road surface. But then the second person, who told me that he too experienced motion sickness during his life and he drove with me and I told him about the transmission and how it was kind of jerky when I slow and brake to a stop. He told me that Jeep had changed their transmission to eight speed and that eventually will be going to a nine speed transmission. And these are his words, "the new transmission is more jerky". I had to agree with him. So after this, Jeep consumers office contacted me and told me that they were unable to help me because my car was okay and there was nothing to repair. What a joke I thought. I spend all this money for a lousy car that I thought was high quality when in fact it wasnt. Since I couldnt drive this car anymore, I had to trade it in for a more reliable "Japanese" car and I know Ill be happy with it. And at lease I wont have to get "software updates" for it. Im so happy with that. Jeep, youre history for me!!!

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  Stay away from the cheap jeep - 2008 Jeep Patriot
  By alanhatesjeep - July 7 - 2:06 pm

  The most expensive car to maintain I have ever owned in 34 years. Like everyone, I have replaced tie rods, and ball joints continuously since I bought this jeep new in 2008. I also replaced the engine in 2012, due to a broken connecting rod, at 118,000 kilometers. Chrysler refused to warrant, as it was past 100,000 km. Thought I would just run it into the ground after I paid over $6,000 to have a used engine installed. Guess what? At a 130,000, a pin in the driver door snapped off and now the door will not close. Probably not a big repair, but enough is a enough. It is no longer insured.

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  The worst vehicle I have ever seen, bar none. - 2008 Jeep Liberty
  By sal42 - May 6 - 7:30 pm

  We bought it new in 2008 and it was the worse mistake my family ever made on cars, EVER. On the test drive the dashboard was literally coming out and you could see the wires and tubing under the dash. I pleaded with my father to not buy it, yet he was swayed by the exterior styling. During 3 years of horror (aka vehicle ownership), 3 of the window motors broke leaving the windows stuck in place, the plastics/materials are horrendous and the dashboard popped out twice. Besides that the seats were the most uncomfortable I have ever sat in, like sitting on concrete!!!!! The car is crampt, and the MPG figures are A LIE!!! The car barely got 10 MPG in the city, and maybe 16 or so freeway.

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  Do yourself a favor and DO NOT BUY a Jeep Patriot - 2010 Jeep Patriot
  By B Means - March 18 - 9:20 pm

  I usually buy cars/SUVs/pickups and drive them into until the wheels fall off. I like having at least 2 years without a car payment to really get my moneys worth. I bought my Jeep Patriot with 15,000 miles on it and ran well for a year. From then on it has been mechanically unreliable. When I began having trouble with it, I looked up problems and found many other owners of Jeep Patriots with the same issues I was having. We live out away from any large city, so we drive a lot of highway miles. Very little stop and go traffic. COMMON MECHANICAL ISSUES: 1) Alternator will break down at 90K to 95K 2) Transmission will start to overheat (thats right, I said Transmission) at around 45K. Talking to the Jeep/Chrysler mechanics, the recommended transmission service for the Jeep Patriot is every 30k. To service a Jeep Patriot transmission, the mechanic has to drop the transmission. There are no drain plugs and no transmission dip sticks. INSANE! 3) Even if you do your transmission service every 30K, it makes a whining sound when it gets over 45K. Fortunately I was under warranty when my transmission went out and got a new one. The new one still whines. By the way, the transmission went out while I was away on work and my wife and two kids were driving. 4) To change any of the front lights, you have to remove the wheels on the front. Then remove the wheel well covers. Even then, it is a tight fit for medium hands. 5) To get to any moving part in the engine you have to have a lift and have professional tools to work on it. Pros 1) Cost of the vehicle 2) The sound system is very good. You can listen to great music quality while you are broke down on the side of the road waiting for a wrecker.

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  Get ready to put every penny you earn into this ve - 2007 Jeep Compass
  By Sr.moore - February 20 - 8:42 pm

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  Disappointed Liberty Owner - 2002 Jeep Liberty
  By Disappointed - February 14 - 4:26 am

  Mechanical issues from start. Stalled, would not start, transmission slippage, major tire problems with Goodyear tires, very noisy. Dealership consistently denied problems. I now see that my problems are a common occurrence with this vehicle. Finally was able to get a dealership mechanic to admit to me that the 02 year of this vehicle has many issues as it was the first year made. At least that was validation of my problem but does not resolve my problems. By the way, dealership still refuses to acknowledge what mechanic confirmed.

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  Grand Cherokee = Crap! - 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By WRXej20 - January 18 - 10:00 am

  Only had problems with it

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  The worst vehicle ever made - 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By SO UPSET - January 17 - 5:43 am

  It started w/the Rotors from the day I drove it off the lot.Ive blocked it out of mind just how money I spent & the RUN AROUND from the dealership & the corporate. I fixed the rotors (later recalled). When I called corporate they told me it was too late, Id fixed them. What was I supposed to do, be killed or kill someone else b/c of defective brakes and rotors. Next,the windows;first passenger side - 400.00+ to fix, then the drivers side & one in the back. The blinkers work sometimes & others they dont. The locks only work with the Key remote. Im too poor to anything about it. Ive started (too late) to take tag numbers of other similar jeeps. I have sweat dreams of a Class Action.