Greetings all.
Just took delivery of my new baby. Big Blue. My 2011 JKU Sport in flame red's lease was up. So... Had wanted to order but was actually able to find one exactly how I wanted at a nearby dealership.
I went yesterday to test drive an auto '15 to see how much better it was over my manual '11. I liked it. I live in flat, coastal NC. There are no rocks to crawl over here and a manual on the beach is actually asking to get to stuck. So I made my decision.
As I was sitting with the salesman - same one that I dealt with in 2011 - and told him where the Jeep was that I wanted (Fayettville, NC) he went to talk to the sales manager. I go to get some water and as I walk past the front door a 2015 Hydra Blue JKU pulls up and an older gentleman exits the vehicle carrying a bag with the word Hendrick printed on it. Hendrick was the dealer in Fayettville. Turns out that my dealer in Wilmington had done a trade with Hendrick and the Jeep they got in the trade was the one I wanted. Kismet!
First impressions: very nice. I really like the color. There's a blue glow around the windshield frame caused by the blue paint reflecting the sun. The transmission shifts are very smooth. Will take some time to get used to not pressing in a clutch to start or shift gears. The manumatic works well but it is a little awkward going from manual to full auto. The engine is a big improvement over my old '11. More oomph. Doesn't seem to strain as much lugging the weight of the JKU around as the old engine did. Feel very confident getting the auto this time. I got the manual on the '11 because the combo of the old engine and woefully inadequate 4 speed was, well, disgustingly underpowered. That was on flat coastal roads, too.
The 430 radio is pretty but not really that more functional than the 130. Had expected the expanded sirius radio channel line up with the 430. Unfortunately you still get the same channel line up as the 130. The bluetooth functionality is improved over the 130 I had in my '11. Seems to work very smoothly with my iPhone 5S both over Uconnect and dock cable. Noticed one issue that I have test with my wife's phone and another cable: music over dock connecter and some over bluetooth is only coming out of the left side speakers. Radio sound comes out of both as normal.
Speaking of the sound, wow. The new speakers are really good. I haven't really tested it out yet, nor have I tried the stereo with the top down yet, but Chrysler has greatly improved the sound. I'm not an audiophile or audio expert. I just like rich base with my Slash, KISS, Avenged Sevenfold, etc. I like to hear the bass lines, the chugging muted guitar, double bass kicks, etc. So far the new sound bar does not disappoint.
Few other things i have noticed: the reading lights on the rearview mirror are nice, but I think they are a little too far forward to really be helpful for anything other than a courtesy light. I like the accent lights in the cup holders in the condole and the courtesy light for the rear cup holders. Nice touch. Chrysler changed the anchoring system of the front floor flats from a single hook to two pins. Hopefully this won't affect the slush mats that were in my '11.
Will update in a few weeks after living with Big Blue for a bit.
Details:
2014 JKU Sport S (built August 2014)
Hydra Blue
Auto
430 radio
Connectivity Group
tubular side steps
tow group
Sticker: $33765
Used Tread Lightly 1% below invoke and returning lease rebate of $1k
Price paid: $31658
The trading dealer had added: nitrogen tire fill (in a vehicle where it is recommended you deflate tires when going off road?!?), tinted windows (I couldn't tell at first what that referred to as the rear passenger door windows and the back windows were tinted from the factory, then I noticed the front pax door windows were slightly darker than the windshield. Not $399 darker!) and some "fabric protection." Because this was a dealer trade and my dealer didn't do or add these things I didn't pay for them, or maybe because they don't do a lot of the Tread Lightly deals they don't realize they can add those in. This happened on my '11, too. Got free slush mats on that one!
Just took delivery of my new baby. Big Blue. My 2011 JKU Sport in flame red's lease was up. So... Had wanted to order but was actually able to find one exactly how I wanted at a nearby dealership.
I went yesterday to test drive an auto '15 to see how much better it was over my manual '11. I liked it. I live in flat, coastal NC. There are no rocks to crawl over here and a manual on the beach is actually asking to get to stuck. So I made my decision.
As I was sitting with the salesman - same one that I dealt with in 2011 - and told him where the Jeep was that I wanted (Fayettville, NC) he went to talk to the sales manager. I go to get some water and as I walk past the front door a 2015 Hydra Blue JKU pulls up and an older gentleman exits the vehicle carrying a bag with the word Hendrick printed on it. Hendrick was the dealer in Fayettville. Turns out that my dealer in Wilmington had done a trade with Hendrick and the Jeep they got in the trade was the one I wanted. Kismet!
First impressions: very nice. I really like the color. There's a blue glow around the windshield frame caused by the blue paint reflecting the sun. The transmission shifts are very smooth. Will take some time to get used to not pressing in a clutch to start or shift gears. The manumatic works well but it is a little awkward going from manual to full auto. The engine is a big improvement over my old '11. More oomph. Doesn't seem to strain as much lugging the weight of the JKU around as the old engine did. Feel very confident getting the auto this time. I got the manual on the '11 because the combo of the old engine and woefully inadequate 4 speed was, well, disgustingly underpowered. That was on flat coastal roads, too.
The 430 radio is pretty but not really that more functional than the 130. Had expected the expanded sirius radio channel line up with the 430. Unfortunately you still get the same channel line up as the 130. The bluetooth functionality is improved over the 130 I had in my '11. Seems to work very smoothly with my iPhone 5S both over Uconnect and dock cable. Noticed one issue that I have test with my wife's phone and another cable: music over dock connecter and some over bluetooth is only coming out of the left side speakers. Radio sound comes out of both as normal.
Speaking of the sound, wow. The new speakers are really good. I haven't really tested it out yet, nor have I tried the stereo with the top down yet, but Chrysler has greatly improved the sound. I'm not an audiophile or audio expert. I just like rich base with my Slash, KISS, Avenged Sevenfold, etc. I like to hear the bass lines, the chugging muted guitar, double bass kicks, etc. So far the new sound bar does not disappoint.
Few other things i have noticed: the reading lights on the rearview mirror are nice, but I think they are a little too far forward to really be helpful for anything other than a courtesy light. I like the accent lights in the cup holders in the condole and the courtesy light for the rear cup holders. Nice touch. Chrysler changed the anchoring system of the front floor flats from a single hook to two pins. Hopefully this won't affect the slush mats that were in my '11.
Will update in a few weeks after living with Big Blue for a bit.
Details:
2014 JKU Sport S (built August 2014)
Hydra Blue
Auto
430 radio
Connectivity Group
tubular side steps
tow group
Sticker: $33765
Used Tread Lightly 1% below invoke and returning lease rebate of $1k
Price paid: $31658
The trading dealer had added: nitrogen tire fill (in a vehicle where it is recommended you deflate tires when going off road?!?), tinted windows (I couldn't tell at first what that referred to as the rear passenger door windows and the back windows were tinted from the factory, then I noticed the front pax door windows were slightly darker than the windshield. Not $399 darker!) and some "fabric protection." Because this was a dealer trade and my dealer didn't do or add these things I didn't pay for them, or maybe because they don't do a lot of the Tread Lightly deals they don't realize they can add those in. This happened on my '11, too. Got free slush mats on that one!