orp967

This is a important question for research purposes; was the Wrangler meant to be a family vehicle? In another thread I'm reading a lot of post about owners not being able to pull the trigger on a Wrangler until the 4 door came out.

ARinmyJK

I first looked at YJ's in 1988. Again in '91. A TJ in 2003. The first time my father shot down the idea of me buying a Jeep. ( he was going to co-sign the loan) The other two times I walked away because I could not carry all my camping and/or shooting stuff inside the vehicle. 2005/2006 I really wanted a LJ but wasn't in the position financially to take on a new payment. Come summer of 2008 and I bought the JKU. I'm single, no kids and still purchased the 4dr because I can carry what I need /want to carry in it. That was the only thing holding me back for years ...

Years ago the base model CJ 7 or YJ was $5-8K not too bad for an average established middle class family to buy one new as a second or even third vehicle. By established I mean parents in their 30's, early 40's making decent $$ Today with the average price of a base model close to or even exceeding $20K there are a lot of people whose Jeep must also be their DD.

So even if the 2dr Jeep was never intended to be a practical DD but rather a toy for weekend crawling, the people buying them need to be able to fit it in with their daily lives while they are making payments on it. If not, the only people who would be buying them would be upper middle class that can afford a 3rd vehicle and didn't buy the corvette instead or the very young ( buying used, most likely) who have no kids and no need to carry anything because they don't own anything else yet.

If Chrysler/Jeep never made the JKU I would still be driving a Nissan or Toyota pickup or possibly an Xterra.

ChopN

Agreed. I always wanted a wrangler but it was never practical. With a 4 door I can take my friends, dogs, all my toys, or do something like move a fridge. If the 4 door didn't come out I'd have gotten another Tacoma.

sringer

I love my two door. I didn't want a four door. But I like the body style of the jk better.

orp967

Great info guys, thanks so far...

I agree that the price of the Wranglers nowadays makes it hard to have it as a secondary vehicle. It is my DD and although I'm "ok" on the space with my JK the poor gas mileage is my biggest beef with the line.

rickyj

JK's are pretty cheap on the suv scale. Factor in the awesome resale value, and they are not that bad IMHO. I bought mine kinda cheap (ok lotsa cheap) but after putting 40k miles on it over two years, I could still trade it in for what I paid. Try that with ANY other vehicle. The only other one I have ever heard of is the D90, my friend flipped his and MADE something like $8000 because they appreciated so much after being banned for import. As a second vehicle they are way more expensive than a Focus, but not too much more than a Camry.

For the 4 door, I would not have bought another Wrangler (as a main car) without that option. I needed a better off road vehicle than my WK (grand cherokee) and intended to buy a 2door X, but after test driving the JK I was happy enough with that as a regular driver and the deals were enough to make the choice a non choice. The 2 door is a vehicle that is very hard to own as a single vehicle. It is so small inside that transporting stuff is really hard.

To answer the main question - I don't think the Wrangler is supposed to be practical for anything other than its intended purpose. And that is pretty much a purpose built off road vehicle. It will do on the roads, but it is made for the mountains. The 4 door wrangler is not bringing that many people into the vehicle that weren't considering it before. Very few people are test driving a Grand Cherokee, 4 Runner, or minivan and then decide to opt for the rough riding Wrangler because of its cramped spaces, more difficult access, and overall higher noise levels. I like the Wrangler JK a lot, but as far as being a practical family vehicle it is pretty low on the scale. The 4 door will function better for a family, but the buyer was probably a Wrangler person before or had wanted one before. The 4 door offers the ABILITY for someone with a family to buy it, but I don't think that is drawing families in.

SilverJK12

My 4 door is very practical. I have the Sahara with DVD nav system. Bluetooth for my iphone and I like the infinity sub and speakers. I think it drives great, lots of room for ppl, and I can move things around with the seat down. Soft top and hard top too for all season vehicle. Plus, my 4 inch lift and 35s means it a good trail rig too for fun! So YES, practical in my opinion and wouldnt want anything else.

PG-JKU

The word "practical" means different things to different people. For a jeep owner, practical means never having to leave it in the driveway because the streets aren't plowed, and being able to stuff it full of camping gear and head out. We ignore things that others find important, like gas mileage and electric sliding doors for the kiddies to get in and out.

RedJK2

This is a very interesting thread! Thanks for posting the question.

The original Jeep was a Light Utility Vehicle developed for the Army, and was never intended to be a family vehicle. The course and outcome of the war would be the beginning of change for the Jeep.

The CJ (Civilian Jeep) variants 1-7 were obviously developed for the general public, but they were initially intended to be used as work vehicles (e.g. farming). In fact, the earlier versions used military surplus parts from the original Jeep. The CJ-7 is what really made the Jeep more commercialized - having different packages and additional amenities. The CJ line was produced up until 1986.

I think the Wrangler (1987-present) is really the first Jeep to be designed for the mass public, having many of the amenities of other automobiles, while retaining much of the original Jeep heritage. However, given its small size (up until 2007), it's obvious it was never initially intended to be a family vehicle. The Unlimited was the first attempt to change that.

The 2007 JK redesign gave us a much bigger Jeep, and the JKU gave us two more doors. This was an obvious plan to make the Jeep a more marketable vehicle, thus also increasing sales and revenue. Here we finally have a Jeep that was meant to be a family vehicle, as well as a Jeep.

rickyj

But a Grand Cherokee, 4 Runner, and a lot of minivan "type" vehicles can make it out of the driveway with a foot of snow, hold more camping gear, AND have the other pluses. Sure, a Pacifica isn't going to make it as far as a Wrangler - but you aren't going to pile in the kids and drive over 2 feet of unplowed roads. Where are you intending to go? School? The teaches aren't going to be there.

Getting over unplowed roads, holding camping gear, towing a boat, etc - most of these things are done at least as good or BETTER by other vehicles. Certainly camping gear storage, towing, camping are all done better by other vehicles. The unplowed roads, well - again, where ya planning on going? Seriously. Anything a 4wd or AWD minivan doesn't get through, there isn't going to be anywhere to go. The town will shut down. See Chicago, couple months ago. Sure, the Wrangler will beat the hell out of other vehicles (maybe not GC or 4 runner by much) but this is hardly a "practical" reason to by a car.

Justification and practical purpose are two different things. You can justify buying a truck because it can tow 8k pounds, but that doesn't make it a practical daily driver. The Wrangler is one of the more unpractical vehicles on the road.