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JGC RWD vs 4WD?

10K views 60 replies 24 participants last post by  crabman 
#1 ·
Hello,

I am new to this forum and thinking about getting a 2014 JGC but there are so many options its been hard to decide. I live in the mountains of NC now but will be moving to the beach at some point in inthe next year or so. Currently we get snow occasionally at best a few times a year. When we move to the beach we may be loading/unloading a small boat or jet skis with the JGC.

I have been back and forth on the V6 vs V8 as well as the RWD vs the 4WD. I had deciced to go with the V6 w/4WD but then started 2nd guessing the real need for 4WD after reading the RWD does fine in snow.

Can anyone with real life experience give me some advice?

Being a guy I would like the V8 w/4WD but my wife is going to be driving it mostly and of course the V6 gets better mileage....

Thoughts/suggestions?
 
#43 ·
I'm not sure how boat launches are out on the least, er I mean East Coast but out here on the best, dang it, West Coast some can get downright rough. :) It's not a fun thing getting stuck at a crowded boat launch and there will be a cheering section but not in a good way.

In general I would think twice about skimping too much when buying a new car. Its one thing to skip a foo foo option, another to turn a vehicle that was designed with four wheel drive in mind into a really tall awkward station wagon. Waiting to save up a little more more money might not be a bad idea if you cant make the purchase you really want. Settling leads to regret.
 
#44 ·
I'm not sure how boat launches are out on the least, er I mean East Coast but out here on the best, dang it, West Coast some can get downright rough. :) It's not a fun thing getting stuck at a crowded boat launch and there will be a cheering section but not in a good way.

In general I would think twice about skimping too much when buying a new car. Its one thing to skip a foo foo option, another to turn a vehicle that was designed with four wheel drive in mind into a really tall awkward station wagon. Waiting to save up a little more more money might not be a bad idea if you cant make the purchase you really want. Settling leads to regret.
I can definitely relate...I trailered a boat for years in Fla, and the only vehicle I had with the balls to tow was a 1974 Olds 88. It had a big 454 motor but sometimes at low tide when the tires of the tralier dropped off the end of the ramp and/or the car back tires were in the seaweed...it was uhhh problematic to say the least....and everybody is waiting to pull their own boats out. Oh it sucked! I was way too poor back then to have a boat AND a 4X, so I made do with what I had.
 
#48 ·
LoL redrock your right.. When I was looking for my jeep I said wow this one is cheap I wonder why.. Then I saw RWD.. And I said what the hell!! BTW here in Chicago we have gotten 10' of snow the last 4 days and -40 with the wind chill and I will say my 13' Laredo V6 4x4 killed it.. And as you can imagine that snow turned in to snow cement.. Have not gotten stuck or had any issues and I park her outside.. The V6 is a great option if you'd like a little better fuel economy and still get great power.. But if you have the money to spend go for the Gusto
 
#52 ·
LoL redrock your right.. When I was looking for my jeep I said wow this one is cheap I wonder why.. Then I saw RWD.. And I said what the hell!! BTW here in Chicago we have gotten 10' of snow the last 4 days and -40 with the wind chill and I will say my 13' Laredo V6 4x4 killed it.. And as you can imagine that snow turned in to snow cement.. Have not gotten stuck or had any issues and I park her outside.. The V6 is a great option if you'd like a little better fuel economy and still get great power.. But if you have the money to spend go for the Gusto
We had 10" of snow here in Missouri also. Two nights ago it was -15 below zero and I lost power at the house at 0600. I live in a remote area out in the boonies with a 200 yd steep gravel driveway. I admit I didn't want to take out my new Grand Cherokee and risk getting hit by some fool so I went to my "go to" Jeep for snow. A 1996 Jeep Cherokee Sport. It's a little tank and I drove out with no problems. Once I hit the rural road it's another mile to a main highway. I have Cooper AT3's and never spun a tire. There is no 2wd vehicle that could have gotten me out of here.
I wish Cooper made AT3s for the 20" wheels on my Grand Cherokee.
HT
 
#49 ·
Hey mate, if you are from Chicago, and are a regular here, let's keep in touch and eventually have a Jeep WK2 meet. I have met another forum member (PRESTONE, also from the Metro area) and I think there is enough of us here on the boards to have regular meets (every few weeks to months)
 
#54 ·
You pay for AWD for every mile you drive. When you only need it occasionally in the south. I think it's valid consideration. [/QUOTE said:
I buy Jeeps specifically because their 4 wheel drive systems are the best in the world. I didn't buy one for gas milage or to putz around town. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I have 4 wheel drive quadra trac 2 and have been off road in places most people only dream about. I also have the V8 and anyone who buys a jeep to save gas has made a mistake. I can afford gas and don't concern myself with miles per gallon. When my gage reaches half a tank I fill up and don't worry about how far I have driven.
None of the Jeeps I've owned had All wheel drive nor do they advertize that they have this system. The last two I've owned had full time 4 wheel drive. All wheel drive is for those fancy foreign cars. I have never and will never own a foreign car.
HT
 
#56 ·
Audi makes fantastic AWD systems. If I was concerned about safety only I'd be in an Audi. I've not owned a Subaru but I've heard some pretty positive things about them. I sure Land Rover does too.

The OP Is talking about fairly light duty needs and a RWD *MIGHT* be appropriate. He's not talking about snowy mountains. Geesh.

I don't personally go off road at all, neither does the OP.

I buy a Jeep mainly for Towing 4500Lbs and wouldn't own a RWD in New England (again) because I can afford it now. If they offered FWD, I'd consider it though. But I don't know of any FWD vehicle that can tow 5000-ish lbs.

I've owned Audi's too. They are quite good. Too low for deep snow though. But deep snow is rarely ever encountered, even at my vacation house up in central NH. I don't blink an eye taking the VW CC FWD vs Jeep both with Nokian Snows. Both very capable in the snow. But to be honest I think the VW CC does better on slick packed snow roads. Not sure why. So yeah I do sometimes blink and eye choosing Jeep vs the VW and I might lean towards the VW if it's icy. Or towards the Jeep if there is a rare chance of deep snow.

I do like Jeeps for Pot Holes in New England vs the Audi or VW. Where it can "Fall in" to some pot holes.

I know what a Jeep can do. But I know what other cars can do too.

Jeep is up near the top for Off-Road, but many of us could care less about that capability.
 
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#58 ·
If you think the 4wd drive system and select terrain on a WK2 is good go out and drive a 2014 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport with the next generation system. Hopefully when the WK3 or whatever it will be called debuts Fiat will allow Jeep to spend the money for this new system. But Sergio has to pay off his friends with Jeep profits so who knows.
 
#59 ·
I have. I drove a 2014 RRS Autobiography in the rain and couldn't sense any difference from my JGC, although all that means is that I didn't lose traction. From what I have seen, the RRS is good off-road and can water ford a lot deeper water than the JGC (36" vs. 20"), but the JGC has it beat in other areas. For instance, check out the RRS off-road demo and the JGC off-road demo. The off-roading in the RRS demo is much tamer than that in the JGC demo, with the exception of water fording. Correct me if I am wrong, but I have yet to see a 2014 RRS rock-crawling like the 2014 WK2.
 
#61 ·
The question isn't should any of us get four wheel, it is should the OP get it.

I say yes because while its amazing what you can make it through with two wheel its also amazing in a bad way what you cant. Like getting stuck on wet grass on your lawn. Yes it happened. To me since I launch a boat a lot and around here the launches are often not paved and can be rough having the four wheel for that is nice. Throw in a few snows every winter and while I haven't used the four wheel drive very much for me its paid for itself many times over because I did what I otherwise could not have.

You have enough for the car and you are not talking about much extra money from there to get four wheel. Save a little longer and its yours. No matter how you slice it your capability just went up a whole bunch and on the back end you're going to get some of that back at resale. I cant imagine not getting it unless I had no use whatsoever for it and if that were the case then there are better cars for the same money.

Thats the real bottom line to me, if sensible is your priority and you then remove four wheel you're opening up your options to a whole bunch of vehicles including most minivans some of which will serve better. What the jeep is without 4 wheel is a poorly designed station wagon or an even worse minivan. Want one of those you might as well get a good one and this isnt it.
 
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