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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  I Will Never Buy Another...And I Love My Jeep. - 2007 Jeep Patriot
  By jessekhorning - April 4 - 6:55 am

  I bought a 2007 from a dealer after it had been a year lease with 15,000m on it. For the first couple of years I loved this car and have taken care of it. The alignment has had to be replaced twice, the speakers blew out (my fault), the driver seatbelt sometimes comes unclipped at random times, its had a whirring noise for 2 months and tonight the transmission went. I had to drive home in first gear for half an hour and barely made it. It has 90,000m on it now which isnt bad compared to a lot of peoples trannys with the same model, but replacing it costs more than the cars worth. Id never buy another Jeep. Just had a talk with a mechanic friend- they dont make them well anymore.

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  Does not make me jump up and down - 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By erickson - April 3 - 6:40 pm

  The vehicle is real safe. That is its best feature. I will not buy another jeep as the quality it very poor. The first problem was with the blower motor, hardly puts out any air at a low speed. I had transmission leaks that took three trips to the dealer to fix. A transmission switch went bad in the console and had to be fixed. Most recent the vehicle would not move. The traction system went crazy and made the vehicle stop. I had to shut off the traction light to get the vehicle to move. For the price of the vehicle and the problems I have had, I feel very disappointed with this jeep. I have been looking at GM products again. Looking to get rid of the jeep.

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  Good - 2008 Jeep Compass
  By Gemms - April 1 - 1:13 pm

  I got it in Oct 2008 and I like it seeing how I own 1 other jeep before, it runs very good so far, I can not say that I like the way or how the sales people push it on me, I would change a lot about the way Cary auto park does there thing and have a lot of bad things to say about them but I do like the Jeep compass over all!

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  HORRIBLE ELECTRONIC SHIFTING SYSTEM - 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Paul - March 26 - 2:28 am

  I strongly suggest that you should not purchase one of these vehicles until the terrible, dangerous, unreliable, finicky electronic shift program is changed. 1) Every time I start this Jeep and pull back the console shift lever to put it in drive, nothing happens the first time. I have to repeat this action twice to get the transmission into Drive. Because this shift lever is not connected mechanically to the transmission, it relies on sensors to read what position (Park, Drive, Reverse, Neutral...) you are trying to get the transmission to shift to. This system is either very poorly designed, is made up of faulty components, is poorly programmed, or (you fill in the blank...) When I want to back up, it often takes several tries to get the vehicle to move into the Reverse position. With almost every other automatic transmission ever built, there is a detent, or notch that you feel when shifting into a different gear. Not so with this terrible design. The console shift lever has a Home" position that is resides in until you try to convince it to "sense" the gear that youre trying to shift to. When I am going through an automatic car wash and get to the end, I cant just move the transmission from neutral to drive quickly to get out of the way of the vehicle that is just 2-3 feet behind me. NO. Instead I have to push the button on the shift lever (no big deal) AND step on the brake pedal before I can get it into Drive!!! This really freaks out the driver behind me, often causing them to hit their brakes when they see my brake lights come on. Since they are still on the transport system of the car wash, this then crashes the car wash drive and they have to stop and reset their system. I have owned close to 40 cars and trucks, most of them with automatic transmissions. I have NEVER had one that requires the driver to step on the brake pedal when shifting from Neutral to Drive. This is stupid, cumbersome and DANGEROUS. I have taken this vehicle to the dealer many times, asking them to fix these problems, only to be told that pretty much everyone who owns one of these has brought it back with the same request for "repairs". The answer is that there is NO REPAIR or adjustment available. They actually designed it to work this way. I wish I had not purchased this vehicle and feel sorry for everyone who has one. If there is any good news in this at all, it is that our lovely Federal Government is now engaged in an "Engineering Review" of all the complaints about this vehicles electronic shift program to see if it needs to be elevated to a RECALL. I dont know how it cant be.

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  I wish I never purchased it! - 2006 Jeep Liberty
  By Brian - March 25 - 1:16 am

  The car has a gear/spinning noise between 25 and 35 mph. Dealer tried to fix, replaced rear axles, then returned car with same noise claiming Chrysler district manager told them the noise is normal. Chrysler customer service is refusing to tell me what the source of this noise is. It is very unpleasant during city driving. This is a 2 month old car and my other brand 4 year old SUV is a lot better car.

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  Our Grand Cherokee almost killed my wife - 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Scott - March 24 - 11:56 pm

  Our Jeep Grand Cherokee had the 5.7 Hemi with the Quandra Drive II transmission. Last week the entire car was engulfed in flames and my wife and in laws were lucky to get out in time. Luckily a police officer was directly behind the car when the fire started, stating he thought that transmission fluid leaked onto the exhaust system and that cause the fire. However, what started small got aggressive real fast, entering the passenger compartment in under 90 seconds. Car was back to the dealer 9 times for the same problem, the transmission. Stay away from this vehicle. Chrysler cant fix their own product and it could have killed by wife and her parents. Never again Chrysler.

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  Great for off the high way - 2000 Jeep Wrangler
  By marimara - March 18 - 10:00 am

  Loved it until I moved away and had to drive hard on the express ways. Not built for that. No pull. You can push it and it will make it eventually. Driving this car is a unique experience from other vehicles. Fun? Yeah! For Routine Driving? Not! Its a TOY. Soft tops and zippered windows become a drag in the winter time. Certainly a warmer climate and off high way car.

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  Good -- But not quite what it could be - 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By RLF100 - March 18 - 10:00 am

  A darned good vehicle to wrap yourself in lots of safety steel. "Built like a Jeep" -- with good reason: it has honorably withstood serious bangups. But...glitches like rapidly wearing brake rotors and transmission flukes make it less than inspirational for assurance of maintainence free driving. Like many SUVs, it seems a bit tippy -- and a whole lot less nibble than a comparably priced sedan. A great car to lease for 3 years...and then let someone pick up wiht repair prices. But...while you lease it, it has a strong sense of encased safety.

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  Looks Good-and thats about it. - 2004 Jeep Liberty
  By toby04 - March 18 - 4:03 am

  Hate it. I bought my jeep about 5 months ago-brand new (Limited 3.7) and loved it-and than-problem central.Front driver seat had to be replaced. Windshield is starting to leak.Front Driver window started to get stuck.Moon Roof leaks thru car wash. Three visits to the garage in 2 months time. To bad-I really enjoyed it at first. Owned a Honda Accord Ex before-will be purchasing one again very soon.Bought the jeep for the 4 wheel drive-that works great-so far.Hope people have better luck.

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  I thought o purchased a is produced car. only 50% - 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  By Charles hooper - March 14 - 6:43 pm

  Blew out a tire on a road hazard a thousand miles from home. The full size spare turned out to be a cheep Korean tire that viberated so badly I lost a day replacing the distroyed tire. Chrysler customer service told me the spair was for emergency service only. Jeep will be my last chrisler product