Jeep Lets talk Grand Cherokees's for a minute

[UNSTUCK]

So my wife and I just confirmed that baby #3 is on the way. This means that our back seat will have two booster seats for my 4 and 5 year old and then a baby seat as well. Thats just not going to happen in our little car. A natural upgrade is a Jeep of course.
I'm just about dead set on a 2005 or newer Grand. As I understand it the back seat is supposed to have like 60 inches of hip room, but I have yet to get inside of one of these Grands to find out for sure. I guess salesmen haven't like to be outside this past week.

So anyways, my questions are these:

1. Hows the room in these things for all the kid seats?

2. (this is the big one) What engine? I hate the v6 in the JK's. I think it would be worse in the Grands. How much difference is there between the 4.7 and 5.7? Looks like mileage is about the same and I'm a fan of HP, but the Hemi is a lot harder to find around here. I know I just need to go drive them and see what I think, but what are your thoughts. I haven't run across a CRD in town. Ebay has a few of them. Anyone drive one? What did you think? What's mileage like on them?

3. With the limited slips front and rear I'd think it would make a great family exploration rig. Some of the recent trip reports make me think they wheel just fine, for what they are. Thoughts?

4. Longevity? I'm looking at rigs with less then 50k on them. Will I be able to hold on to it for 7 years and another 100k? How are these new 5 speeds? I would imagine the Hemi would last at least that long. What about the other engines?

5. Upgrades? I see a few jeeps with 2 inch lifts that look pretty good. I'm sure it a worthwhile upgrade. What about the unibody on these? Should I, or could I upgrade them like the XJ's can be?

6. Any other thoughts.

 

[DaveB]

We just picked up a low mileage 2002 WJ with the HO 4.7. It is much more powerful than our 96 ZJ with the 4.0. It is quite a nice cruiser for long distance trips. It goes great in the snow with the limited slips front and back and full time 4wd. I would think three kiddo seats would fit just fine.

 

[Bear T]

They are good cars. But that's the problem. They are more of a car than anything else.

I have an 04 WJ, and 3 car seats barely fit in the back seat. Plus leg room is an issue in the back seat.

I would say get the Hemi, my dad has an 07, nice power, reasonable MPG, tow's the 18' trailer pretty good.

Superlift is the only company that makes a lift bigger than 4", and is about $2000. It looks cool, but a 2" Budget Boost is good enough, especially for the money.

It's been reliable, it does have it's issues just like any other vehicle.

 

[UNSTUCK]

What issues have you had?

 

[Bear T]

On the 07, The power steering pump went out, and I think the AC comp went bad. I'm not sure what are common issues with them.

I think they are very nice, I like the 99-04 WJ's more based on looks, and I like the interior better. I think my 04 is a lot more comfortable than my dad's 07. I've made some long trips, 14-16 hrs, and have been fine. And I'm a big guy to sit in that small of a rig for that long.

 

[Cascadia]

I've had 3 WJ's and have loved them all. They have all been the 4.7 and got decent mileage like 15 in town and 20 on the road. They all had 4 inch lifts and about 32's. My father in law has also had 2 WJ's built the same. He is 65 and drives them nicely. He now has a 06 Hemi Grand and he gets about 11.5 miles around town, 15 on the freeway and about 9.5 when he is pulling his 4000# camper. I also agree with Bear that the WJ is definitely more on the comfortable side compared to the new one. It's not uncomfortable, they are just more stiff. If you still decide to get a Hemi PM me. My father in law is considering selling his for a truck. I think it has around 50k miles. 2 or 3 inch lift, Gibson exhaust, chip, trailer brake controller, k&n intake and all synthetic fluids.

 

[mierdota]

I'll sell you my commander its loaded with the hemi, I love it, its my favorite car I have owned my wife just decided she wants a mini van so its time I guess. It is an 06 with leather sunroof and back moon roofs 65k miles 5.7 hemi power everything.the thingi live about it is it seats 7 comfortably but its not huge, it has really good handling and a turning radius so its still easy to park and stuff. Let me know if you want to look at it.

 

[ret32]

aa

So my wife and I just confirmed that baby #3 is on the way. This means that our back seat will have two booster seats for my 4 and 5 year old and then a baby seat as well. Thats just not going to happen in our little car. A natural upgrade is a Jeep of course.
I'm just about dead set on a 2005 or newer Grand. As I understand it the back seat is supposed to have like 60 inches of hip room, but I have yet to get inside of one of these Grands to find out for sure. I guess salesmen haven't like to be outside this past week.

So anyways, my questions are these:

Note that my experience is with the WJ (99-04, 00 specifically) so my answers may not pertain to the WK:

1. Hows the room in these things for all the kid seats? More than 2 full car seats will not fit easily across the back, but if at least one of them is just a booster seat, you should be okay. My kids both have plenty of room, but when we add a third (borrow a niece or nephew for a day) it is crowded with the full car seats.

2. (this is the big one) What engine? I hate the v6 in the JK's. I think it would be worse in the Grands. How much difference is there between the 4.7 and 5.7? Looks like mileage is about the same and I'm a fan of HP, but the Hemi is a lot harder to find around here. I know I just need to go drive them and see what I think, but what are your thoughts. I haven't run across a CRD in town. Ebay has a few of them. Anyone drive one? What did you think? What's mileage like on them? No comment, mine has the 4.0 inline and it is a complete dog with that heavy of a vehicle (I'm at 5,000 lbs w/o any cargo, exceeding 5,500 when loaded for bear).

3. With the limited slips front and rear I'd think it would make a great family exploration rig. Some of the recent trip reports make me think they wheel just fine, for what they are. Thoughts? Mine has an aussie in the rear and it wheels very well, although it's biggest off road advantage is that the articulation is insane with the front swaybar disconnected, WK probably not so much.

4. Longevity? I'm looking at rigs with less then 50k on them. Will I be able to hold on to it for 7 years and another 100k? How are these new 5 speeds? I would imagine the Hemi would last at least that long. What about the other engines? Mine is pushing 200K and has been heavily abused and it runs great. I've had a few minor electrical and mechanical problems (but nothing major like engine internals or tranny etc). I'll be keeping it until used JKs get down well below $10k, I'm planning on at least another 2 or 3 years or more

5. Upgrades? I see a few jeeps with 2 inch lifts that look pretty good. I'm sure it a worthwhile upgrade. What about the unibody on these? Should I, or could I upgrade them like the XJ's can be? Again, I'm speaking from the perspective of a WJ. I've had a 2.5" bb and now some 4" springs. I think it looks great, but it is very expensive (long arm kits) or time consuming (if you're a fabricator) to get them to ride correctly much above 2". The unibody seems to be very solid, even fully flexed out I don't seem to get much twisting. Some long arm kits do include weld-on unibody rails.

6. Any other thoughts. My $0.02 is that if it is mostly a daily driver and you don't want to go much over 2" lift with mild tires, a WJ or WK could be a very good option. If you want a Grand and want it moderately built (or more) go with a ZJ. They have much better aftermarket support, they are easier to work on, many parts interchange with other Jeep models.

 

[YOUKNOW]

You should have seen the grand cherokee's at snakes on Saturday. They were impressive. There were two of them, and did some crazy stuff over by waynes world. they both had a lift and V8's. It made me look into them a little bit.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

You should have seen the grand cherokee's at snakes on Saturday. They were impressive. There were two of them, and did some crazy stuff over by waynes world. they both had a lift and V8's. It made me look into them a little bit.

They wheel great and have the perfect wheelbase, but the uni-body presents some issues. I have ripped or cracked both of my rear upper arm mounts on the body.

 

[UNSTUCK]

I'll sell you my commander its loaded with the hemi, I love it, its my favorite car I have owned my wife just decided she wants a mini van so its time I guess. It is an 06 with leather sunroof and back moon roofs 65k miles 5.7 hemi power everything.the thingi live about it is it seats 7 comfortably but its not huge, it has really good handling and a turning radius so its still easy to park and stuff. Let me know if you want to look at it.

Mini Van? Can we all poke fun at you now? 65k is more then I want, but I like them as well. Does it have a low range? And Price?

 

[UNSTUCK]

I've had 3 WJ's and have loved them all. They have all been the 4.7 and got decent mileage like 15 in town and 20 on the road. They all had 4 inch lifts and about 32's. My father in law has also had 2 WJ's built the same. He is 65 and drives them nicely. He now has a 06 Hemi Grand and he gets about 11.5 miles around town, 15 on the freeway and about 9.5 when he is pulling his 4000# camper. I also agree with Bear that the WJ is definitely more on the comfortable side compared to the new one. It's not uncomfortable, they are just more stiff. If you still decide to get a Hemi PM me. My father in law is considering selling his for a truck. I think it has around 50k miles. 2 or 3 inch lift, Gibson exhaust, chip, trailer brake controller, k&n intake and all synthetic fluids.

I would be interested in this as well. Price?

 

[99TJ]

I had an 03 and loved it. It had a V8 not sure how big, drove it to alaska and around alaska for 2-3 years and it did great on the ice and snow. We fit 2 full car seats and an adult in the back for the drive from Fairbanks to Seward which is like 500+ miles it wasn't just to bad. We wish we had it still.

 

[GOAT]

stay away from the 2005s. they are loaded with first year teething issues.

 

[UNSTUCK]

Goat, what was wrong with them that got fixed?

 

[ret32]

stay away from the 2005s. they are loaded with first year teething issues.

Goat, what was wrong with them that got fixed?

Question not directed at me, but...

http://wkjeeps.com/wk_tsb.htm

 

[UNSTUCK]

Good info. Thanks.

 

[mierdota]

Mini Van? Can we all poke fun at you now? 65k is more then I want, but I like them as well. Does it have a low range? And Price?

ha ha the brand new sienna is sweet its not much of a mini van, i will still have 2 rigs to wheel so there is no point in having a jeep for a family car also. Yes it has low range, and i am open to offers but clean retail is just over 20k

 

[UNSTUCK]

Seems like I remember you being is woods cross. Is that right? Can you post up some pics of it?

 

[mierdota]

our shop is in woods cross/north slc area but i am actually in west bountiful. Ill get some pics as soon as i can.