The New 4Door

It all depends on what you are going to use it for.

If you want to do serious rock-hopping this is the wrong vehicle.

If you want to be able to take the wife, kids, grandkids and the dog to a forest lake or to the beach then this is the perfect vehicle.

I love my coils!

tw _____________________________________________________________________

2003 TJ Rubicon * 2001 XJ Sport * 1971 Bill Stroppe Baja Bronco

"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase') A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80" wheelbase, 1/4-ton capacity and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in World War II. _____________________________________________________________________

Earle Hort> I don't like it, but it is a step up from the Eddie Bauer Explorer. You may

We have the '92 Wrangler and '97 for the rougher stuff, the wife is looking for a good looking "poser" to replace the Explorer. Beach fishing, looking good at the supermarket, stuff like that.

Spdloader

I don't like it, but it is a step up from the Eddie Bauer Explorer. You may miss the V8 though. I prefer the looks and feel of a CJ, YJ, FJ40 or the like. The newer Jeeps, anything with coil springs in fact, are too sissified for me.

If you draped it with camo cloth, it might make a good wolf poaching blind.

Earle

True, that is a fine V8. May have to go and test drive one to see. I see you haven't lost your sense of humor!

Later,

Spdloader

That one has the new engine and all that stuff right?

If I had the family size I might think on something like that for a 2nd Jeep, but I wouldn't buy the first year's production. Usually there are 'bugs' to be worked out. I prefer that to happen on someone else's dime....

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >

Good point, thanks.

Spdloader

I still think you need a bigger engine for a poser vehicle. Maybe if you wait, they'll put a V8 in it. Anyone know whether the V6 in the TJ, and the V8 in other offerings, share the same bell housing bolt pattern? Just a thought.

Earle

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sounds perfect.

Compared to my CJ 5s, this Jeep is SO much nicer to ride in. You can go a long distance and not have your innards pounded to pulp.

Kate

Perhaps, but I would be interested in seeing a slightly widened version of the TJ with a 345 hp hemi in it like my Dodge pickup...

Widen it by about a foot, put four doors on it and a mini pickup bed. Don´t forget independent suspension. Then it will be a Hummer.

Earle

Maybe an H2, but not an H1... The H2 and H3 are just posers... The original H1 had certain advantages for certain types of terrain... Maybe not for what

*we* use a 4x4 for, but for certain terrain, it has advantages... With the geared hubs, the entire driveline is moved upwards quite a bit, giving it 16" of ground clearance... Regardless of what we might put as lift kits on our Jeeps to raise the body, our true ground clearance will only be half of the increase in tire diameter increase... The differential on our Jeeps tends to be the lowest point that we have to worry about with respect to ground clearance... If you've ever driven along a road that was covered with very thick snow, stopped, and looked back at your tracks, you'll likely see three grooves in the snow -- left tires, right tires, and a semicircle groove where the diff plowed through... For my XJ in it's current configuration, that means that I have a 9" clearance underneath the diff, at least 14.5" along most of the rest of the undercarriage, and 23" until the bottom of the doors (which is more a measure of water fording without having to dry the carpet out than anything else)... My Dodge pickup with stock tires has an 11" clearance underneath most of it and 17" until the bottom of the doors... In loose snow, the truck will be plowing a pretty wide path at 11" from the pavement due to the IFS crossmember / frame (that actually looks like it would protect the diff)... The XJ would plow a bit deeper in spots, but other spots higher, so it's probably a toss-up on which might be better... I suspect that since the XJ is lighter, it would be better in that it would more likely not sink as much as the pickup... On the other hand, if I really get stuck someplace and am forced to sleep in the vehicle, I prefer the Dodge...