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Tell me about 4 Door Wranglers


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They drive ok, are loud on the freeway, and the automatic's suck. Get a 6 speed manual that's a 2011+ model (much improved interior), or an even better idea would be to wait for the 3.6L in 2012.

 

Buying used could be a decent deal, depending on price, options, etc. They can be a handful when the steering damper goes out, but that's an easy enough fix.

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I think they look great. Jeep should have started making them years ago. However, I seen one with the doors/top removed a couple of weeks ago and it didn't look very good.

They don't look so good with the doors off because of the "B" pillar, IMO. But they look a lot better if you put the Mopar half doors on them instead of fully removing.

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They look pretty cool. I had a college friend with one, and I remember being pleasantly surprised how nice they were. I expected more cheap plastic than there was. Rode pretty rough but not as bad as the older ones. Took snow well IIRC. His had a hardtop and remember it being outstanding to have in winter.

 

Good for the offroading since they are pretty small. For example I cannot follow a lot of the Jeep trails without getting pinstripes since Jeeps are much narrower.

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If you want a hardtop get the factory freedom top. A good majority of the aftermarket tops will leak on you. I've heard hit or miss problems with the drivetrain, but nothing serious. The nice thing about the 4 door unlimited Jeeps are the wheel base and room in the fenders. A nice 2.5" coil spring lift will clear a 35" tire with no issues. They do ride nicer than the 2 door Wranglers, but it's still a stiff ride when compared to an SUV/Truck. There is a huge aftermarket for the JK Jeeps, so basically the sky is the limit.
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I believe the Rubicons have a higher gear in them, which will prove most helpful if you run a bigger tire. Lord knows they need all the help they can get. Don't worry about going over 75, it may take 2 years to get there. But on the trail and in the white stuff you'll be quite happy with it.
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We rented one while on vacation in Puerto Rico recently and I did not enjoy the thing at all. It had no power, steering was horrible, just really felt disconnected in every imaginable way. It did do just fine on what little off-roading we managed to do with it though.

 

I do think they're cool, and if that's what you're after they're great for that, the driving experience is completely lacking though.

 

Also, it already had front end noise like something was coming loose at only 6500 miles. Could have been because it was abused as a rental, could have just been junk that was aready falling apart.

 

Andy

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There is a recall for them that they can shut off randomly when driving. My mother in law has one unfortunately and the dam thing would turn off on it's own on the freeway and other fun places. I don't like them because I feel that it turns in too fast considering the height of the vehicle and it's underpowered.
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I remember when they first came out and I looked at one in Naples. As I got in the back seat to see what the rear legroom was like, the doorlatch loop on the body snagged a belt loop on my pants and popped it open. I was really pissed, though I ended up getting rid of that suit anyway.

 

A buddy got one to replace his Hemi Durango and I rode with him on business calls/lunches a lot. On straight roads and highways (90% of my driving), it was fine. He had it fully loaded with leather and MyGig with Sirius/XM, and it was a nice runner. I sat in an "X" model recently at CarMax, more basic with cloth, base stereo and soft top and I was seriously unimpressed.

 

So... don't skimp! Make sure you find one fully loaded with the hardtop. I'm inclined to the Rubicon not because I need the offroad ability, but I figure for a little bit more in price I would have a far more capable and higher-value Jeep to sell/part out down the road...

 

EDIT: +1 for waiting? In addition to the possibility of a diesel, the 2011+ Wranglers look great with body-color roof panels...major improvement!

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friend of mine has an '08 rubicon 4dr, its a beast. he bought it all stock, but its come a long way since last year. the 3.8 fucking sucks, it has no power at all. when he was running stock gears on 35x12.50 mud grapplers we got stuck in a mud hole because it didnt have enough power to turn the tires over, even in 4low. now hes running 37's with 5.13(i think) gears, but he doesnt mud it any more. Other than the gutless motor theyre awesome, his currently has an 8" longarm lift, and a 2" body lift on 37x12.50 mud grapplers and it drives like stock on the highway at 80. i even took it up to 90mph before and it still drove good. heres a few pics of it:

 

here it is last yr with just 4" susp lift, and 35's

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c232/dre2013/img1274820306205.jpg

 

and here it is now with 8" longarm susp lift, 2" body lift and 37's

 

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c232/dre2013/IMAG0768.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c232/dre2013/IMAG0687.jpg

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I briefly owned a 2011 2 door wrangler sport 6 speed. It was pretty slow even if you stretched out the gears. Poor gas mileage as well for something that is a v6 and brand new. Interior was nice. The locked glove box plus locked arm rest was a great idea. The front aux wire on the factory radio was awesome on the base model.

 

I didn't like the automatic steering it just didn't feel right. It was alright in the rain. It did handle very well in snow. Even better if you turn off traction control and put on 4WD and slide on purpose. But it doesn't snow enough here for that to be worth it. I never took it off-road so no experience there. But it is a Jeep so I bet it would be the same or better then in snow.

 

The only real fun I had was driving with both doors and top off. This coming from a guy that hates convertibles with a passion. Driving late on a cold night the heater produced enough heat to keep me warm. It was kind of weird how really well it worked even at 65mph being stripped of the body. Without having a garage to store the jeep was a PITA to put it back together at home. I highly doubt I will buy one ever again. I would have to have lots more extra money and a few more options of transportation.

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