The reviews are in and they're not good.

Sadly, the article is no more than one would expect from folks that don't understand it's a Jeep thing. Maby they should test drive that minivan that passed them up. :)

"It started out with little things like the lack of storage space up front and small cupholders" ah, for chrissakes, pissing over cup holders? I guess the "tiny" cupholder wouldn't fit that wide-ass-big-gulp-bubbacup... And since when did any Jeep have storage space up front? Sure doesn't in the ZJ. That's what the back seat is for.

And poor acceleration... well, DUH. 0-60 in 9.7s isn't shabby for a 6cyl and large tires. And if the passengers were all of the "super sized, mah cup don fit this tiny holder" then heck, you could cut off two seconds easy. (oh yea.. I'm gonna burn for that comment)

What I wonder is why Jeep didn't put the 545RFE 5 speed transmission in there? That would sure help acceleration.

>

Final paragraph from the review:

"Still, it's far more livable than any Wrangler before it. If you're willing to trade refinement and power for agility on the trail and a convertible top, the Unlimited may be worth the dough. After nearly a full day behind the wheel we're convinced of two things: The Jeep Wrangler will remain a niche player, and we'll never rely on a photographer to make our travel plans ever again."

Compared to a Toyota Avalon, they didn't like it. But who takes an Avalon on the trail?

Better to say YOU don't like it and you're looking for backers. It's starting to look like you might be obsessing.

In the real world, smart people make up their mind after looking something over for themselves. Why don't you make up your mind to not buy it after you've actually driven one yourself?

Edmunds? I can see it now: "when heel-toeing around the Chicane in our test course I felt the new Wrangler had excessive body roll, while understeer was made itself _incredibly_ obvious every time I attempted a

2G decreasing radius corner at the Jeeps top speed of 96.5 MPH".

If they got no mud or dirt on it during the test, then their opinion means squat... Whats more even if they did get it dirty, if they didn't DAMAGE it then I'm not impressed with the criteria they are using to judge it by.

BTW JP mag's review Rolled one in AFRICA, tipped it back over and kept going.

-- Simon "I may be wrong, but I'm not uncertain." -- Robert A. Heinlein

Not looking for validation, just happened to stumble over this review while checking the value of my TJL.

Good point. I'm heading over to the local dealer tomorrow anyway to test-drive an 07 PT cruiser anyway, and I know they still have an Unlimited sitting out front. I've bought cars that looked like crap on paper but I thought were outstanding once I actually put my butt in the seat and got it down the road. Now that I think about it, there's a construction site just up from the dealership with plenty of mud and

20-25 ft. berms that would be perfect for a proper shake-out.

I'll get back to you.

Edmunds did point out some the great off-road abilities of the new Wrangler in these two paragraphs:

"Saying the Wrangler made the trail easy might be putting it lightly. Tackling the Rubicon requires a good spotter, Gandhi-like patience and the right vehicle, and we only had two out of three. The Wrangler made up for it with more than 10 inches of ground clearance, multiple skid plates and class-leading approach and departure angles. Throw in the new electronic throttle control system, which reduces pedal sensitivity in 4-low, and maintaining a smooth pace up tough sections like Cadillac Hill was.well, easy."

and...

"Since there will be inevitable comparisons between the Wrangler's off-road abilities and other trail-hungry SUVs like the Hummer H3, Nissan Xterra and Toyota FJ Cruiser we'll settle it right now. Any of the four could tackle the Rubicon, but none would do it as easily and with less body damage than a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon."

Tom

If you had bothered to read the entire review instead of searching for only negatives you would have noticed that their gripes were based on the fact that they were used to driving hi-performance road cars, not off-road-capable vehicles.

Sounds reasonable, but I'm puzzled; how come up to this point you've forgotten what you have learned from your own experience?

Now that I think about it, there's a

Look forward to it, but don't look to me to pay for the paint scratches or your trespassing citation.

To keep things in perspective, here's Edmund's review of your TJL. Looks like they didn't like that one either, using your criteria.

I'll start this off by saying that I haven't driven one...

The review specifically mentions the 0-60 speed of 9.7 seconds as 'laziness'.

I have an '02 WJ with the 4 liter I-6 which, according to WJ Jeeps, does

0-60 in 9.5, 10.1, or 10.9 seconds. While my WJ does not hold a candle to other fire breathing vehicle I've owned I never considered it 'lazy', its performance, in my opinion, is adequate for the function it performs and the driving I do. If I lived in the mountains, routinely towed 5000 pound trailers, or needed it to impress my homies or yuppie acquaintances I might feel differently.