2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0 Litre from North America
Summary:
Truly worth every penny spent
Faults:
The heater control responded slowly when changed from panel to floor.
Center console lock was broken at time of purchase.
Both items were repaired under Jeep factory warranty.
General Comments:
If you are looking for an all around fun, useful, and one-of-a-kind vehicle the Jeep Wrangler is it.
This is my second Wrangler, it was a definite mistake to trade away my previous 97 TJ, however many improvements have been made since I last owned one.
The sailcloth soft top coupled with full metal doors provides a comfortable, reasonably quiet cabin. I can easily converse on the cell phone or with other passengers while at 70 MPH.
I opted for the Automatic transmission as I do a lot of city driving, I find that it shifts tight, and downshifts without effort when more power is needed to pass or climb a hill.
The climate controls in wrangler are very good, the heater warms up extremely fast, and given I have a black soft top, the A/C cools down very quickly.
I would definitely opt for the higher quality Infinity sound upgrade if I were buying a new Wrangler, the subwoofer in the console adds a depth to the sound that makes it entirely possible to listen to Classical or new age music.
My wrangler has the 30 inch wheel group and also the rear trac-loc differential, this makes it nearly unstoppable in inclement weather, the part time 4WD is shift on the fly manual, I do recommend as with any 4x4 to keep all 4 tires at very equal pressures. This will make shifting in and out of 4 wheel drive much easier.
The 4.0 Litre engine provides plenty of power at low speed and ample power on the interstate at 70 MPH.
The factory cruise is very stable.
The factory fog lamps are nice, I however put yellow gels on the lenses to soften the light a little for oncoming traffic. Jeep tends to angle the fog lamps a little higher than they should.
Overall Jeep wrangler is a bargain for what you get, as with any 4x4, there can be maintenance costs.. this is my second one, my previous one gave me 2 years of service with no trouble at all whatsoever, and 40k miles, and thus far my latest Wrangler lives up to the Jeep name.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 31st October, 2003
14th Jul 2003, 13:49
Well, I must say that I find what you said to be a little hard to believe. I had a 2000 sport with the 30"wheel and tire package. I too live in New England and after having one of the worst winters on record, I can honestly say that I never once got stuck in the snow. I've been up to Maine on numerous occasions to the Moosehead Lake region as well as Bethel during severe snow storms and was able to negotiate snow covered roads, sometimes with as much as a foot of snow, with no problem. As for the noise in your steering column when you steer in 4 wheel drive, make sure you're on gravel, snow, sand or ice when you use it, otherwise you'll ruin your front differential, never use it on dry pavement. I've had numerous problems with mine (hence the reason I don't own it anymore) but I'll stand by the performance that it gives. And about the engine, I found it had overwhelming power, especially down low where you need it. I'm surprised this wasn't noticeable, especially since you previously had a Montero. I've driven the sport and full size and although the full size is great off road, I didn't feel the overwhelming low end power that was found in the jeep.