Good morning! Today we’re in Indiana looking at cheap old Jeeps to determine whether the newer “tame” Jeeps measure up to the old ones. But first let’s see if you chose flowery prose or shiny wheels yesterday:
I’m amazed! Not that the Lincoln won, but that the Tempo broke twenty percent! Onward to glory, brave warrior. And I’m happy to hear that I’m not the only one who hates those stupid aftermarket wheels on the Lincoln.
Now, as you are all acutely aware, we have someone around here who is a little bit of a Jeep fan. And I happen to know he has some strong opinions on what constitutes a “real Jeep.” As it so happens, I agree with him, and I was driving a Jeep before he was even a gleam in his father’s eye:
That’s me in 1987, at the tender age of 14, learning how to maneuver my Uncle Bill’s four-speed Jeep Scrambler around the side yard. It was the first vehicle I ever drove, and my cousin and I had lots of fun bombing around in it for a couple of summers, even getting it stuck in a ditch once (Uncle Bill is gone, I can admit that now), and I loved every second of it.
So I have some strong opinions about what makes a “real Jeep” as well. One of these checks most of the boxes for me: solid axles, a removable top and doors, low-range four-wheel-drive. But I’ll tell you right up front that both of them lack one vital component necessary to the essence of Jeepness: a clutch pedal. Will you miss it? How do they measure up? Let’s find out.
1995 Jeep Wrangler – $3,800
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5 liter overhead valve inline 4, three-speed automatic, part-time 4WD
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Odometer reading: 113,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep!
It’s funny now to think that when the YJ Jeep Wrangler came out, Jeep purists scoffed at it. It was too soft, too nice inside; the joke was that “YJ” stood for “Yuppie Jeep.” But compared to today’s Wrangler, this thing is practically an ox cart. It has leaf springs on both axles, lots of bare painted steel inside, and a simple, stout, all-mechanical drivetrain. By comparison, the new Wrangler coming out next year has power seats. I mean, come on. Might as well be a freaking Avalon.
Under this Jeep’s externally-latching hood is probably the least desirable drivetrain ever installed in a Wrangler: AMC’s 150 cubic inch inline four, and a three-speed Torqueflite automatic from Chrysler. I’ve driven a four-cylinder Wrangler before, but it was a stickshift; it wasn’t fast, but it was fun anyway. I imagine this one feels like it’s dragging an anchor everywhere, with that slushbox sucking all the fun out of it.
Condition-wise, it’s only okay. The seller has done a lot of recent mechanical work, and it runs and drives well, but rust, that old Midwestern car nemesis, is starting to show its ugly head. From the photos, it appears to be confined to the body tub; the frame looks clean, at least, so there’s a solid platform to work from. This is a hard-top Wrangler, but of course the top can be removed, as can the doors, and the windshield folds down if you really want to get hardcore about it.
YJ Wranglers never really got cheap; this is about as low as a running/driving one that isn’t a pile of rust ever got. It’s too bad about the automatic, but maybe it can be swapped for a proper transmission.
2005 Jeep Liberty – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 3.7 liter overhead cam V6, four-speed automatic, part-time 4WD
Location: New Whiteland, IN
Odometer reading: 112,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does
In 2001, Jeep’s XJ Cherokee, beloved by David and budget off-roaders all over the country, sailed off into the sunset after seventeen years of production. It was replaced by this vehicle, the Liberty. Gone was the old four-liter inline six, the solid front axle, the ruggedly blocky good looks. Most of the Jeep faithful just ignored it.
This Liberty is powered by a 3.7 liter V6, an ill-fated detour on the way to today’s ubiquitous Pentastar V6s and Hemi V8s. This engine doesn’t have a great reputation; it’s a bit low on power for its size and fuel consumption, and it has a habit of dropping valves as it gets older, from what I’ve read. This one is claimed to be in good shape, and it doesn’t have many miles on it, but it’s something to be aware of.
The Liberty was available with a manual, but this one is an automatic, as I imagine most were. At least it does have a proper 4WD transfer case with a low range. The Liberty never looked the part to me; it’s too soft, too roundy, and the interior looks like every other mid-2000s Chrysler product. If not for the 4WD system, this thing might as well be a PT Cruiser. But it is a lot more suburb-friendly than the old rough-and-tumble Wrangler.
At least it’s in good shape. The paint is nice and shiny, the interior is clean save for a spot or two, and I don’t see any signs of rust. That doesn’t mean it isn’t there, of course; road salt is a way of life in most of America’s midsection.
Everyone who has ever loved a Jeep has an opinion about when the brand lost its way, or whether or not it actually did. There’s no denying that the later Jeep platforms are a lot nicer than the old leaf-sprung beasts, but are they still Jeeps? Are you more willing to sacrifice some ride comfort and convenience features to keep the pure experience? Or would you rather have something nice that still has some minor-league off-road chops for occasional use?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I don’t think the four-banger YJ makes much sense in Indianapolis, but if you own some land it would be good to fuck around with and putter around some country roads with the top and doors off. And that is where my vote is going.
Was all in on the wrangler until I saw it was a 4cyl Auto. The least desirable Wrangler powertrain.
Like there’s even a question here.
Wrangler all the way baby!
I’d go for the Liberty, as if I was going to get a Wrangler, it would not be that Wrangler. That first gen Liberty didn’t really suck? I always sort of liked the way it looked too, even though yeah, I’d certainly prefer a properly sorted late Cherokee.
Now the second gen Liberty? That’s a real POS. I’d take damn near anything before having to drive one of those again (we had one as a company car here and it was infuriating Cerberus era garbage).
The Wrangler looks like a solid choice for budget off roading. I wouldn’t have any use for the Liberty because I already have a much better daily than a finicky and thirsty mid-aughts Chrysler product.
Anyone who votes liberty needs to turn in their car aficionado card and have their head examined.
Wranglers are fundamentally awful vehicles that are nigh incapable of doing anything that I would consider pleasurable driving, and I refuse to have my “car aficionado card” (Wranglers aren’t even cars ffs) pulled by anyone brainwashed into thinking otherwise.
The Liberty is pretty hateful, too, but at least it’s not a Wrangler.
I own two Wranglers, and I voted Liberty. Would be nice to have one vehicle I can properly lock.
Had the YJ been a stick, this would be a different conversation.
I was all team Wrangler until I tried a funny experiment: what if the badges / branding wasn’t there? Without the luggage of a Jeep “Brand” expectation, it’s rather heavily Liberty. Truthfully I don’t care for the Wrangler and think the Liberty is an abomination of brand dilution… but the game is pick one.
Maybe woefully underpowered the 2.5 is still several grades better than that 3.7 trash.
The last non-Wrangler Jeep to me was the Grand Cherokee WJ with its solid axels, 242 Transfer Case, and the 4.0 Litre six (yes I know the transmissions had issues). I had one with the Up Country Suspension group and it could keep up with a lot of modified off roaders with the only change from stock being a set of good AT tires.
This pair is a conundrum. I’ve never liked the Liberty or the 3.7 V6, but that drivetrain on the YJ coupled with the rust pushed me to the KJ. The KK that followed has made me appreciate the KJ a bit more (David wrote a good article about the death of the Cherokee that reminded of me of the KK, I had shut it out of my mind), similar to the way newer BMWs have made me like the E90 and E60 a lot more than when they were new.
I’ve owned multiple Wranglers, but never a Liberty. I have, however, wrenched on multiple Liberties and struggle to consider ever owning one. The packaging of everything seems like it was designed to frustrate first and function second. For that reason alone I’m going with the Wrangler, even if it is not a particularly desirable one.
As a previous 3.7 owner:
The Wrangler wins on a distance of Pluto from the Sun. Only Liberty’s I’d consider are the 2.4 or diesel engine ones.
Neither to both! My ex was from Indiana and salt just absolutely destroys everything there. You can’t wrench on a vehicle from there without ten more things breaking because the oxidation has turned everything to dust. Oh, you wanna replace the break pads? Welp, better replace the lines as well because any small movement will cause the brake lines to snap and start leaking. I choose neither for the sake of my sanity.
You know what? I’m gonna say it. The Liberty would run circles around that YJ in most off road situations.
My cooling-on-the-windowsill take: two-door Wranglers are the perfect city cars. They’re stubby enough to park anywhere, tall enough to let the owner look distracted Tahoe drivers in the eye, and able to slay urban snowstorms with one shift into four-high.
I owned a TJ with the four-cylinder (and a five-speed) for years … and no, it wasn’t especially fast, but we’re usually stuck in traffic here anyway. YJ for me, please.
The 2.5 is slow even with a stick, you’re probably not going to go over 55 up a moderate incline with the auto.
That said, I hear (and so far, seen) that they are difficult to kill. Chrysler debored and detuned them from the 4.0 I6 they’re based on, and the coolant doesn’t have as far to go to the back cylinder. They’re understressed and just kinda keep going.
Or, you now, swap whatever into it.
Real Jeeps have round headlights.
Really, I’m under no illusions the KJ is great, but a lot of the ire seems misplaced. The WK that came a couple years later has IFS and the 3.7 as well, but doesn’t seem to bother people as much (maybe at least a little because it had the softer styled WJ to buffer it from the ZJ, even if the WJ had solid axles and the 4.0). Plus, 20 years on, we’ve got a bunch of mildly off-road capable Fiats (not a slight, if a Renegade is as close as we can get to a North American market Panda, so be it), so the Liberty (uniframe! low range! decent towing capacity! it weighs two tons!) seems at least a little burly now.
I’m biased though, I have a cheap Liberty as a second car. It’s cheap, it’s got a relatively small footprint for something fairly useful, and my wife likes it. I can’t see us fighting with a car seat in the back of a YJ, however cheap it was.
I’m voting for the Liberty. It isn’t a particularly desirable vehicle, but it looks like it should be good transportation for not a lot of money.
A ’90s Jeep Wrangler is not good as a daily driver. Old Jeeps are fun as toys, but if I am buying a Jeep for fun, it won’t have the 4 cylinder engine and it sure as hell won’t be an automatic. You could replace the engine and transmission in this thing, but it is easier (and possibly cheaper) to spend a bit more money to get the Jeep you actually want.
Or build it from a cheap base model. this one would get a 5.3 LS based truck motor, SM465 4 speed and a 4:1 Atlas t-case, as well as High pinion dana 60 up front and Gm 14 bolt out back. E-Lockers and Terraflex Long arm suspension lift kit.
The truth is, I don’t need a 4X4 for crawling over rocks and splashing through mud. I don’t do those things anymore.
What I do do is go out driving when snowstorms are at their peak, because I work for a municipality and when the flakes fly it’s all hands on deck. So I often end up driving through the worst of conditions, which everybody else avoids.
Give me the Liberty and a fresh set of winters and I have a blizzard beast. A comfortable blizzard least that I’d want to drive home after working a double shift pushing a blade in an F-250.
having owned and dailyed a 2.5 Comanche with a 4 speed I voted for the liberty, that engine was a dog!
I’m old and have already owned a 95 YJ with the 4cyl. I cant take that level of abuse or frustration at this age so give me Liberty or give me death.
Honestly, I wouldn’t want either of these–Liberties just generally suck, and I hate Wranglers. However, if I were looking for cheap daily transportation and these were my only two options I would go with the Liberty. If I was looking for a cheap, fun off-roader I would buy an ATV. Liberty gets the vote.
YJ with a V8 swap. It’s old enough that a SBC is legal. And cheap. A buddy had a 4cyl manual YJ and it wouldn’t keep up with traffic. A 350 fixed that.
A friend of ours owns a 1995 Jeep. Same color, same engine and transmission. Its well past 250,000 miles now and is VERY reliable and easy to service. So that’s what I’m going with.
A rusty Wrangler is still cool…the kind of cool that a Liberty can only dream of. I don’t harbor Liberty hate, but it’s just not a fair comparison.
I have to mention something about the Liberty that is referenced in the article, specifically about the 3.7. We own a 2008 GC that we purchased off lease in 2010. I completely agree that this engine has underwhelming power and fairly terrible MPG for what it is. I’m not so sure about the questionable reliablity mentioned here. Our GC has 227k, and I’ve found the powertrain to be very reliable. Even at this age, it uses little to no oil between changes. Also worth mentioning that this vehicle has been around the horn with our family and it’s seen some shit – started as my wife’s daily, eventually given to our oldest son for his college car, passed down to our youngest son for his college car, and went from PA to GA for his first job. We brought it home last year to use as our third vehicle/beater. The thing continues to do what it’s always done…it keeps chugging (realizing that I typed that in regard to a 2x college car…oh well).
Mark, you served up an easy one today. Wrangler. Auto? Doesn’t matter. 4 cylinder? Doesn’t matter.
I’ve had two different YJs, both with the 2.5, one with the auto and the other with the manual. The manual is more fun, yes, but if for some reason you hate yourself enough to have a YJ as a DD, you’ll appreciate the automatic. There is something raw, visceral, and the undistilled “Jeep experience” when you drive a YJ. It’s the safer side of the divide between driving a CJ or a bicycle in traffic, but not so polished that you essence of character is lost. At that price, that YJ is a solid buy, especially these days.
The KJ on the other hand, woof. I don’t think the 3.7 is quite as bad as it’s maligned to be, but it’s not great, either. The whole KJ platform, in my opinion, is an exercise in compromise, mediocrity, and “good enough.” Having driven one, it wasn’t an adequate successor to the XJ when it was released, and time has done it no favors.
“Give me Liberty or give me death?” Well, you can kill me now, I’m ready to meet my maker.
The worst wrangler is still better than a Liberty.
This is the correct answer.
Eww, automatics, and a column shifter too, which belongs in a Caddy not a Jeep.
Automatics should be on the column. You’re not shifting, so get the shifter out of the way.