New Grand Cherokees (WK): 4x4 or Minivan?

I'm on the fence for finding a low mileage 2001 XJ (hopefully a 60th anniversary) or a 2005+ WK.

Are the WK's going to be good off-road material when they get older and ready for modifications? Or will they just be grocery getters?

Thats hard to say. A lot of people probably asked the same thing about our xj's when they came out.

i saw a silver WK with about 4 inches of lift and 32s, looked badass, altho i couldnt tell u about offroadability

At least the XJ has real aftermarket support for offroad stuff.

I'd still prefer a WK to a minivan, even if it was a poor offroad peformer. I doubt the WK will be that bad offroad though.

My buddy has one and it rides well but he's yet to take it off-road. I need to do a little convincing first I think...:twak:

My money says it'll hold its own off-road, and 5 years from now there will probably be a lot of aftermarket support; however, IMHO that 3.7L motor can't hold a flame to my 4.0 H.O. and a V8 is just not practical unless it's a HEMI with cylinder de-activation.

Aren't the WK's IFS? Just what I heard. If thats true then no it wont do anything against an XJ on the rocks!

I have a '05 grand with the 5.7 Hemi.

The powertrain on my unit is extremely capable as far as traction, power, efficiency, etc. The limiting factor is that the front axle is IFS. But it has electric lockers front and rear and has performed very well in the VERY few times it has seen dirt, snow, etc. I would think with a 4" lift and 33" tires it would be a very well rounded DD/off road rig. If you are looking for a rock buggy start somewhere else.

Michael

I agree that the biggest handicap is the ifs.

But I'm sure there is a solid axle conversion kit in the works somewhere out there.

I have both: '05 WK Limited with a 4.7L (wife's) and '94 2-door XJ SE 5Spd (my DD). Both are great vehicles. I tow a 6000lb boat with the WK (along with 2 little ones) and it's great for that. The suspension is beefy but I'd question the IFS for serious off-road use. Maybe someone will make a solid conversion kit for it in the future if demand is high or perhaps the IFS will prove strong enough for what most will do with it off-road. I'd buy another WK if I were in the market today as it's proven itself for my needs. Wish I could by a new XJ though ... yeah, I know I could if I lived in China ;-).

How hard would it be to get an XJ from China

Thanks for the replies...I'm still looking on the XJ side of the fence, what do you guys think of this one:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=221996849&dealer_id=56190670&car_year=2001&marketZipError=false&search_type=both&num_records=100&keywordsfyc=&make=JEEP&transmission=&model=CHER&distance=0&make2=&address=28210&default_sort=priceDESC&advanced=y&certified=&max_mileage=45000&max_price=&sort_type=priceDESC&min_price=&body_code=0&end_year=2001&keywordsrep=&color=&start_year=2001&drive=&search_lang=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=927

The guy isn't coming down on price. KBB RETAIL on this is only 9385. I know it's low mileage and all but 3500 over retail???

The seller of that XJ must be charging extra for the rare 5-speed automatic. :doh:

3.07 axle ratio with the 5 speed auto?

I would keep an eye out for a AWD SRT-8. I won't give you any crap for buying that.

don_roberto said:

The seller of that XJ must be charging extra for the rare 5-speed automatic. :doh:

Click to expand...

The rear "Step" bumper must be worth a bunch too.
Sam

http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q287/colo-kid/?action=view&current=P1050503.flv

Here are some decent pics and a slow video but the WK seems like it may end up being a worthy platform. Still a bit too valuable for the most of us to wheel like that though. And nearly 13 grand for a stock 01 XJ is kinda ludicrous. Its got 40 k on a 0331 head that is known to crack. so even though its low mileage, the motor in it will likely still need work sooner than 99 or below with the 0630 with higher miles(plus HP d30 ).

I think they would most certainly hold their own off road.....just gotta remember, as mentioned, the IFS has its good points, and bad points (depending on the type of wheelin you do).....same issue the KJ crowd is having to work with on lifting them....but i've seen several KJ's that have turned out very sharp, even with 2-2.5" lifts on them....and they do pretty damn well offroad.

I had a WK on test in some (moderate) dirt about a year ago. V6, automatic, can't remember which 4WD system it had (wasn't AWD-only, since it did have low range), but pretty sure it was the Laredo trim level. In any event, it did fairly well in some sandy washes, moderate ruts, and on bowling-ball-sized rocks. Did not like the way it drove on-road compared to the XJ: the steering was overassisted and on the vague side, but ride and handling were OK overall. I'd probably look for an '04 WJ with the 4.0 ahead of the WK, but that's just my preference.

And nearly 13 grand for a stock 01 XJ is kinda ludicrous. Its got 40 k on a 0331 head that is known to crack. so even though its low mileage, the motor in it will likely still need work sooner than 99 or below with the 0630 with higher miles(plus HP d30 ).

Click to expand...

That price is definitely on the high side, but I notice that late-model XJs have been holding their values pretty well in the used marketplace. '97s and '98s are getting down into $4000-$5000 territory, but '99s, 2000s, and '01s can go from $7500-$10000 depending on location and spec.

With regard to the 0331 head, I'm going to repeat my mantra: "Before anyone starts screaming about it having the 0331 head, my 2000 has 123,000 miles on an 0331 with no problems whatsoever. While there's been a higher incidence of 0331 head failure compared to other models, there's strong evidence (namely the thousands of 0331-equipped XJs still running around with non-blown heads) to suggest that this is relegated to a batch or two of heads, not all 0331s across the board by any means."