Jeep KJ - Liberty or Cherokee is it as good as the XJ was ?

Hi

I was up in the City of Canterbury today having a coffee at the Chambers, a small friendly cafe in the centre of the city. In 1620 a fella from that building got the money together to get a bunch of puritans across to the new world on a ship called the Mayflower. A small but not insignificant fact. Another and just as important fact is the 4x4 I was about to go and have a look at.

It was a pale gold colour Extreme Sport (whatever that is) Cherokee 2004 KJ, comfortable, slightly odd mix of interior materials, with a 2.7 crd engine. Fine but the signifigant factor is this a 4x4 with IFS. The independent front suspension design has been used on other vehicles such as the Trooper, to reportly good effect. However this a Jeep, and in the UK it has taken the name of the much loved XJ, the Cherokee.

Take a look at the criteria for a midsized 4X4 Station Wagon. It needs to be around 100" wheel base, have full or part time four wheel drive system (high and low transfer box) with a locker or LSD rear. Ideally have coils all round with solid axels and be able to disconnect sway bars (antiroll). Engine wise you need a diesel engine, over 100 bhp .........

Now apart from the coils, and that was down to Jeeps station wagon design, the XJ Limited SE ticks all the boxes. In Europe we got the diesel engine, all be it a VM with alloy heads. Note not all models got LSD, or no rear sway bar the SE did. The KJ does not have all the boxes ticked, so is it any less capable stock than the XJ ? Is it as good as the XJ was ?

So given the above, and a sensible budget for a vehicle that would be a daily driver, and be taken off road regularly up forest trails, through mad and snow, and up river beds, would you choose a 2001 XJ 2.5 TD or a 2004 2.7 CRD KJ ?

LowBox  

I would choose the 01 XJ if it were me. The Cherokee (XJ) has so much more potential and so much more backing (at least here). The Liberty (KJ) will for ever be the runt of the Jeep line up. Though they do have a following, it's more cult like then the XJ's hoards of believers.  
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'99 Ranger LT 4x4

www.dixonbrosracing.com

Don't let the IFS on the Liberty fool you, as it seems to fool so many, usually those who have never driven an off-road equipped KJ in serious off road conditions. These trucks are capable of tackling some very difficult terrain. The straight axle is better for full-on off-road conditions, such as rock crawling. However, with that said, I have driven my KJ over 90 percent of the trails in Moab, Utah and followed XJ's, YJ's, ZJ's, TJ's and KJ's through just about anything they could tackle. I myself have owned two XJ's and have driven the others off-road. In stock form they all suffer great limitations off-road. The KJ is a far better all around on road and off road vehicle. It is vastly superior to my XJ's in day to day use. The XJ's are crude vehicles in comparison, however tough they may be. The KJ is very comfortable and confident in most all real world conditions and can take you nearly anywhere you want to go off road when properly equipped. Remember also that driver skill is the real deciding factor. Many are the Jeep Wrangler driver who has rolled and destroyed his or her 50,000 dollar modified rig, simply because their wallets were deeper than their experience. Just watch some of the videos on You Tube for proof of what I'm saying.  I love Jeeps period and have driven just about every model ever made over the last twenty five years. The Jeep Liberty KJ is worthy to carry the Jeep name.  

The problem with the Liberty isn't the IFS, it's the fact that to fit even a 33 in the tiny wheel wells it needs a stupid amount of lift.  
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'99 Ranger LT 4x4

www.dixonbrosracing.com