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First big road trip in the Jeep. 3435 miles total.

3K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  moosehead 
#1 ·
We took our first big road trip 2 weeks ago (started June 27th evening, returned July 7th) in the Jeep and put 3435 miles in all. We drove all the way from CO to CA (Los Angeles, Monterrey via Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco, Yosemite) and back.

The Jeep performed extremely well, was quite comfortable for 3 adults, a 2 yr old and a 9 yr old dog. My mother-in-law was in the Jeep with us and she never complained (which is a really good thing!). My daughter loves the pano sunroof and every time we went through a tunnel, I had to open the screen for her to enjoy. I did not exactly calculate, but the overall mileage was 24 mpg.

We drove to Las Vegas first and while it was 120 deg outside, the Jeep's a/c performed very well and kept us comfortable. At sea level, I could really feel the power of the engine or what I was missing at 6500 feet. Coming back, on some roads in Nevada, I was doing 95 mph since the road was straight as an arrow for miles and the Jeep felt very stable (509 miles in 7 hours). Even with that high speed, I got 23 mpg which really surprised me.

Few complaints I have about the Jeep.

1. Navigation input lock when vehicle is moving really bugged me. My wife could not input information when we were driving and since the Uconnect VR is not the best, we had to use Google search on our phone to find food/restaurants nearby. Why don't they put a disclaimer and a big "I agree" button and let us input text when vehicle is in motion?? :mad:
2. Although the Jeep has been great, the quality of the interiors needs a lot of improvement. Coming back home, I was cleaning the inside of the Jeep and the carpet is already getting fuzzy. Glad I have the slush mats all over. The interior trim pieces also do not line up very well.
3. The transmission programming need to be improved. Going up hill, it sometimes does not downshift and I was forced to manually downshift. This irked me especially when I needed the power to pass someone on those single lane highways. Most of the time, I just downshifted manually before passing.
4. The seats can be made more comfortable. I just wish it was a bit more softer (more cushion?).

Other than these minor issues, I love the Jeep and look forward to driving it for more years to come.

Here are some pictures from our trip that I like to share.

Straight roads in NV.


West side of Yosemite coming towards Bishop, CA.


At the hotel we stayed in Bishop, a twin parked next to mine. Does the Jeep on the left belong to anyone on this board??


At Point Reyes National Seashore Beach.


Who goes to LA and does not take a picture near this sign?


Picture of Yosemite valley at Glacier Point.


My best friend!!


Who goes to SFO and not take a picture of this?


We saw a colony of Elephant Seals along the pacific coast highway on the way to Monterrey.


Cheers,
-A
 
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#2 ·
Sounds like an awesome trip. What camera were you using to take those photos? The one of the Golden Gate Bridge is amazing! :thumbsup:
 
#3 ·
After using a Japanese car's Nav system I think the Jeep's is awesome. Sure it won't allow you to type in an address, but you can search for nearby Point of Interests (at least on my '13) and other short/hotkeys while the car is in motion. But I completely agree with ya on the tranny's logic... 75%-100% throttle for a downshift is a little annoying.
 
#4 ·
Great pics A. I wish I could claim to have parked near you when I was passing through bishop on the 3rd and 5th of July but we just passed through heading to mammoth. As dorky as this sounds, I always try to park next to a mg Jeep if I see one in the parking lot.
 
#5 ·
Thanks guys!

JeepGCOverland: I have a Nikon D7000. Excellent camera and I love it! I have seen the Golden Gate bridge few times before, but never with fog.
Tazz: The Jeep's nav is really good, but in a new city where you do not know what to look for, it should still let us enter the text/address. Perhaps, it can sense a passenger and seat belt use in the seat and allow entry. But still display "Enter text at your own risk!" message. :)

Another problem w/ the tranny is in rush hour traffic in LA, it does not down shift. So, if I want to quickly change lane when there is an opening in the adjacent lane, it is too late by the time it finds the correct gear. Our Cayenne S always is in the right gear.

ChrisOC: I do the same too sometimes. My logic is, being a fellow Jeeper, he would not ding my Jeep. LOL.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Great trip thanks for posting pics.

Pretty much standard these days for Nav to not let you do much while moving. Safety legal thing.
When you needed more power on the hills did you click off Eco mode button? That gives you better gearing for going up hills.
 
#7 ·
Yeah, it must be the legal thing for sure.

2011-13 models do not have "eco" switch. But I did use the sport mode on the twisties which made it fun since the Jeep held the gears longer.
 
#11 ·
acilate: Yes, CA is beautiful. Not sure about the heat in summer though. We are now seriously thinking about moving to the bay area. Maybe in a year or so.

berk483: Thanks for the tip. I will give it a try next time.

jdchamp31: Though about lockpick, but it is too darn pricey and I heard that it has its own set of problems. Did you have any issues when you had yours? From what I read here on this forum and others, is you will have to reset it every now and then since it can freeze up.
 
#12 ·
Nice trip and pictures. You hit some good sites in Northern California. If you didn't get to Lake Tahoe make it on the next trip this way.
 
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