gijeep

there getting there with the 4 doors and the refinements.... im pretty sure thats the ultimate goal since people dont really buy new cars to mess up...

MaineRubi

Whenever we get a good winter storm (and we've had plenty this year) Our go-to vehicle for getting out to places that we NEED to get to has been our JKU. The Grand Cherokee usually gets to stay home. It does pretty good on "snow covered" roads but it sits too low for some of the back roads here.



Our JKU pulls enough for our needs (a small trailer, couple of watercraft, snowmobiles, etc.) and does hold more stuff than our Grand Cherokee.
You'd be suprised at how many times the roads weren't plowed up here after a foot of snow. Some of us DO have to go to work in such weather


Justification and practicality are both subjective. I'm sure if I had 3 kids and all thier friends/ stuff to haul around, I would have to look at other options as neither vehicle we currently own would suffice. For our lives though, The Wrangler is plenty practical. The 2 door might not be the roomiest vehicle but I could have lived with it since we do have the GC. As for justification, the first drive home from Boston in some really terrible weather and the wife being safe was enough justification to own a Jeep. Isn't that really all that matters?

zking1776

I second that! Two doors all the way! Thanks to my expert Jeep packing skills my wife, American bulldog and I all fit along with all of our camping gear. And there is still room for the

WilKJ

It is really a Jeep thing....

we love our Jeeps. I agree that it is very unpractical specially the 2 doors. I had a TJ and I could barely fit a duffle bag in the back.

NOW the 4door, gave me a chance and opportunity to get another one. But is it practical.... no way. Convinient? yes. I also own a GMC Envoy which I will use to compare. I feel like I can go anywhere with the Wrangler, but when we are going far, we take the Envoy, much quiter and much of a plush ride. Also I can do 70MPH without hearing the engine screaming at me.

The Jeep is practial for Off-road, other than that.. is not. It is noisey, tall for girls and kids, bad in gas, you can (will) get wet inside when it rains....and the list goes on.
But at the end I love my Jeep. SO the Love makes it very practical.

FYI I have three kids....the rear seat on the Jeep seems to have a bit more room than the rear seat of the Envoy...But in the Envoy they go to sleep...not in the Jeep.

JK084

It is a lifestyle for sure. I've always had a soft spot for jeeps. My first jeep, I loved.

Always wanted a wrangler, even though I know they aren't the most practical.
I like to spend time outdoors and the JK fits the life nicely.

I don't think many wrangler owners buy them for practicality, although, the 4 door opens up more options...aside from mpg, storage, aerodynamics etc. There are other things to consider. Versatility, inexpensive, safety, insurance, how about resale? That's huge. There will always be someone looking for a wrangler. It also seems that the residual value isn't affected when new models or features come along. From a financial standpoint, the jk is actually a solid investment for a car, a heavily depreciating asset!

I would have bought a TJ in a heartbeat, but I was able to score a JK. The power windows and door locks, keyless entry, freedom tops etc were a real nice feature, but I would still be happy with a TJ.

It's hard for me to talk about practicality because my jeep is only used on weekends and fun!
I'm single with no kids and don't use it as a DD, so even though the 2dr isn't practical, it's kind of irrelevant to me. My 2nd vehicle has always been a "toy".

With that said, I can see myself with a JKU when I have kids, depending on what the wife drives. If I find a girl with a JKU, then I will keep my 2dr!

I drove my ex's JKU for a while and it was awesome. For me, there's something about the 2dr I personally like better.

him

I was a kid when the Wrangler first appeared. Things were different back then. My parents could take their whole family, two adults, two kids, and a dog, in a 2-door car that today would be considered too small for a college student. They weren't that unusual in my neighborhood. Oh, there were families with suburbans and vans too, but cars in general were much smaller and they did the same job.

So...a family vehicle? Yes. By today's standards? No.

That doesn't mean it was marketed in a way that targeted families, but the market considered most vehicles suitable for family use.

And yes, they were all meant to be practical.

TN_JK_GA

I got rid of my TJ because it was such a PITA to get things in and out of the back. I had to use a rear rack and a hitch carrier to go on any trips. The mpg sucked too.
This is why I prefer my JKU. I have the extra room. I am getting good mpg and the soft top is a lot easier to deal with then the TJ.

4fit?

I don't have any experience with a JK, or any Jeep for that matter, yet. Planning to get one within the next couple of weeks. That being said, over the past several years, I have always had a play toy as the 3rd vehicle in the family (DD is a '99 F-150 supercab 5.4, wife drives an Accord). They consisted of a street/strip '89 fox body coupe (drag suspension, nitrous, etc, etc) and then an '01 Bullitt show car. Were either one of those practical for a family? Definitely not. My truck isn't practical either considering I have a 6'1" 14 year old who can't fit in the back of it and the gas mileage is awful (something like 13cty/16hwy).

Always had a connection with Jeeps as my father and grandfather had owned several CJs over the years, and I have always wanted one. But up until '07, there was no way I would get one unless it was to become the play toy in the family, simply because the 2drs were just too small. And I couldn't justify the cost of a JK as a play toy vehicle.

When the JKU came out several years ago, I instantly fell in love with them and have been lusting after one ever since. In Dec of last year, I sold the Bullitt and have been scrounging together every bit of coin I could to put down on a JKU. WIll also be trading in my truck. Is it practical for me to trade in my truck for the Jeep? IMO, definitely. 4 real doors, plenty of storage space, better gas mileage, the ability to go pretty much wherever I want, top and doors optional! Is it going to be a louder ride than my truck? Most likely. Is it going to leak a little here and there? Probably, but my truck does that too. Is the ride going to be rougher than my truck? I would venture to guess it would be better actually. Better gas mileage? Yup, even lightly modded. Going to scratch my play toy itch (wow, that sounds awful lol) while satisfying my needs for a DD? Check.

So, is it a praqctical vehicle FOR ME? Absolutely. Is it practical for everyone? No chance.

smuhhh

I miss having a truck sometimes. Carrying a 4X4 one day which was going from the rear drivers side over the passenger seat and out the passenger window pivited on the window sill and almost fell out the window while I was driving. That kinda sucked. I guess a roof rack would help too.

Hellbound13

There are a lot of things a Wrangler is, practical is not one of them.

Death wobble, rough ride, leaking top, little storage, horrid gas mileage, anemic engine and the aerodynamics of a brick equals not practical.