And That, My Friends, Is Why You Test Drive

I don't see any way I won't thoroughly enjoy driving it...

Famous last words.

I test drove two 2007 Jeep Wranglers Saturday, a black hardtop and a red softtop. Needless to say, it didn't go as happily as planned.

Because I'm a nice guy (and still love Jeeps), I'll list what I liked first. The things are quiet inside, even the one I drove that had a softtop and half doors. Very little flutter noise, even at interstate speeds. That was most impressive. Also, the steering, handling, and braking on the vehicle were very nice. Overall, the '07 Wrangler drove very well.

The negatives, while not many, were unfortunately disqualifying. First, the rear visibility. Picture this: your standard flat SUV back glass as viewed through the rear-view mirror. Now add to the view: the top half of the spare tire, the center brake light above that, the rear wiper right above that, and tall backseat headrests either side of that central stack. The rear-view mirror in the hardtop is pretty much useless, and not much more useful in the softtop. From what I've seen, this is a serious step back from previous Wranglers.

Given the uselessness of the rear-view mirror, the side mirrors were inadequate. I would have had to add small spot mirrors to both side mirrors right away.

My next problem was with the gas pedal. The '07 Wrangler has electronic throttle control ("drive-by-wire"), and I don't know if that was a factor in this problem or not. The pedal was relatively difficult to press down initially, and then got easier the further the pedal was depressed. This was a completely unnatural feel for me, given the Liberty (and everything else I've driven) having constant resistance no matter how far the pedal is depressed. Also, when leveling off the throttle, it wanted to "fight back" a little...I had a very rough time maintaining a constant speed (the chintzy speedometer didn't help, either).

The ride, at least in the black hardtop, was rough as a cob. Now, don't get me wrong, Wranglers aren't supposed to ride like Cadillacs, but geez...it was the roughest-riding automobile I've ever been in, a list which includes the previous two generations of Wrangler. My dad commented that it was rougher than his 1968 Bronco, which was an incredibly spartan vehicle. Now, the red one did ride much better, so it may have been a problem unique to that black truck, but...my back still hurts.

Those were the three big problems, and frankly, they're all things that could be tolerated. But, I like the Liberty so much, that I don't want to just tolerate it's replacement...I want to be very happy with it. I don't think I would be very happy with a Wrangler as my only vehicle. As a second, fun weekend ride perhaps, but not as the only thing I have.

Now, the best news here is that all of this is based on wants. I don't have to have a new car anytime soon, and it's certainly not a need. I have all the time in the world to come up with what will replace the Liberty...but being a car nut, I'll always be looking in to it.

So, what will replace the Liberty...who knows? It will probably need to be done by this time next year...I really don't want to keep it much past 50,000 miles. The Wrangler is 99% written off, which means I am leaving the door slightly ajar. I might even test drive one again on a day when I'm not so tired. I was completely beat yesterday.

Possibilities include an '07 current-gen Liberty (would fit within my comfort zone, obviously, but also obviously wouldn't solve my boredom), a Dodge Nitro, or a next-gen '08 Liberty (which I'm kinda "meh" about so far). I also like the coming-soon Dodge Avenger, which is a hot-looking mini-Charger. Yeah, I'm a Mopar guy...deal with it. :-)