Wrangler or Tacoma?

I have converted 2 jeep owners to tacoma in my neighborhood for pretty much the same 2 reasons I hear all the time.

1) The storage space just always restricted in the jeep. For passenger and extra gear.
2) They just don't ride comfortable for a daily driver. Even on a just a dirt road going to a trailhead, I can usually go twice as fast as the jeeps as they complain about the rough ride.

 

Nothing.

 

Wrangler in my 20's. Tacoma in my 30's.

 

had 2 jeeps, lots of Fun when Running, Super flexible with Mod's...Parts available almost anywhere...
advise from a long time Jeeper.
have a hard AND soft top
Know it is going to leak..inside and outside
Buy a TJ and not a newer POS
Make sure it is manual
buy the 6 cyl.

all that being said
i would not trade my Taco for any make or model Jeep.
apples to oranges, IMO

 

iknow its not a wrangler but i bought my Tacoma brand new nov 2017, put on almost 10k miles before tradding it in oct 2018 for a grand cherokee limited


truck looked bad ass but i couldn't take the crappy auto transmission or the uncomfortable interior being 6'3"

love the new GC very luxurious on the inside and threw 2" lift with 32s on it and it will go any where my taco went, its the best of both worlds

 

I've had the opportunity to off-road with Jeep owners many times. Here's my opinion for strictly the off-road/fun aspect: The 3rd gen Tacoma TRD's have incredibly intelligent traction control and 4x4 system. The Wrangler, unless you get the Rubicon, isn't quite the same. Takes a little more "foot to the pedal".

If I had a dollar for every Jeep owner that complimented the ease at which the Tacoma off-roads, I'd be rich.

Again, I'm not talking about the newer Rubicons. (Having both locking diffs is a whole diff story)

 

Interesting... The EPA on the 3.6 is 20mpg combined. How you get 24mpg is a mystery. Especially with 33" KO2's.

 

Don't know if it hasn't been mentioned, but overall length in tight switchbacks goes to the Jeep. There was a trail I wanted to go down in Canyonlands National Park. Too tight without a spotter and I was alone. Really wished I had a Jeep right then. Could have hiked it but then, already tapped out with next campground deadline to meet. Next time more days reserved or a Jeep.

 

test drove a jlu manual.

holy crap is the build quality crappy. i like the look of jeeps and am rebuilding (albeit slowly) my 02 TJ but the new ones are just garbage quality. I think i'd take a 4runner over a JL/JLU.

 

The "StingGray" color is nice looking but I will recommend anyone interested in one driving it before you put a lift on it. My daughter bought a 2018 JL Rubicon. She put the Mopar 2" lift on it with 35's and the thing rode and drove like a turd. The damn thing would wonder all over the road and at any moments notice if you were in a curve it just felt like the steering let go. No death wobble just like you lost steering and the only solution was to slow down to around 40 and it would "catch up". She couldn't stand driving it any longer and got rid of it within 3 months.

 

Unless you get the highest trim level possible, the interior looks like something from a 1999 Chrysler product.

 

When my son takes over the '97 Taco next year I may look for a CJ5/7/8 project. Newer Jeeps? Nope.

 

Plenty of people have lifted JLUR and do not experience that problem. Also, I think I read somewhere in the forum rules that you are only allowed to use the term "turd" in reference to the 3rd Gen tacoma.

 

While I do agree Jeeps are not optimal for daily driving, I'd argue that the Tacoma isn't much better in that regard.

I just spent six years daily-driving my 2013 JKU Rubicon with a manual transmission, 5.13 gears, 2.75" lift, 37" tires, and a 91 octane hi-torque tune from Superchips -- all while still averaging 14-15.5 mpg and tracking straight as an arrow with near-perfect alignment!

In terms of daily driving, it's not a night and day difference between the Wrangler and Taco. With 33" skinnies, OVtune 1.05 93 Octane, and an auto transmission, my fuel efficiency in my new Taco is only 1-2 mpg better than the Jeep, my seating position is actually a bit worse, and the truck gets blown all over the place in moderate winds almost as much as the Jeep did.

The Tacoma has more utility and reliability than a Wrangler with its higher payload and towing capacities -- which are the reasons I personally switched. That's really where the major advantages end, though.

IMO, they're both badass vehicles that fall roughly in the same category for most things. They each have their own character and style, but not much else is really all that different, in terms of comfort, amenities, cost, upgradeability, etc.

 

i got rid of my last TJ, standard height, 31" tires....4 cyl. 5 sp.....could not get it to hold 55MPH....anything over 45mph, you could not hear your passenger and it was a wobbly Death trap...

Great for around town with top down, but highway...NO WAY !

that was my second TJ...my first was worse and I thought a newer model (all be it another TJ) would be better....nope....Mopar, from my experience..is crap !

I dont trust mopar quailty....
Jeeps are:
FUN? YES !
Cool? Yes !
I call them Lego's as you can add/build crazy almost anything on them

however....Daily Driver ? H3LL NO !!!

 

I kinda miss my 2000 4.0 TJ. I drove it many times from FL. to OH. Ride wasn't that bad, and you had to get use to the road and top flapping noise when going 80 MPH.

I had it 13 years, and the only thing I ever replaced was the coil pack I got on Amazon for $45.00.

I would have kept it, but it had some surface rust popping up in several locations, and it didn't come with air conditioning. Actually bought it for my ex wife, it being yellow with an auto trans also sucked.

 

I've had both (actually actively own both right now).

I'd pick a Jeep every day for the comfort of the cab (lol crazy, right?), the 3.6L engine and the offroad capability... You might think I'm crazy for the cabin comfort, but seriously, the seating position and seats are way better than how the Tacoma forces someone of my size (6'1", 270lbs) to sit. The engine, especially paired with the 8 speed in the new JLs, is fantastic.

That's if i didn't have to tow.... If you have to tow, Tacoma is the only option between the two, as a regular Wrangler is only rated to 3,500 lbs.

With all that being said, why not wait just a little bit and get the best of both worlds? Gladiator...

It'll be $$$ for sure, but it'll have a great engine and transmission combo, more towing and payload than a Tacoma, a solid front axle with optional lockers front and rear. It'll still have the convertible characteristics of a Jeep and a truck bed. Without a doubt that's what I would have gotten if they had them at the time in 2014 when I was shopping for my taco.

 

Yeah, some people had the steering issue and some didn't but if she would have driven it before the lift was put on then we would have known if was the steering issue others are having or if it was the lift. The dealer tried to blame the lift even though it is a Jeep lift installed by them and they wouldn't look into the issue.

Since it was ordered from the factory she didn't get to drive it before the purchase, she just drove another Rubicon which drove fine.

 

In case you wanted more shots of this beautiful beast to convince you...

 

Still can't get behind the look of the new Jeeps, even with a bed on the back. I was driving a '97 TJ when the JKs came out in '07 and they're still as ugly now as they were then.

But as others have said, it all depends on where you are in your life and how much coin you have to drop on vehicles. With a girlfriend and a dog who love road tripping as much as I do, the DCLB with a sleeping platform and storage in the bed is perfect for us now. I was driving an '00 Cherokee back when I was single and even with the back seat folded up, that was a little too tight for camping comfortably.

I loved both of my Jeeps, but felt a bit of relief after wrecking both of them. Something was always breaking. But if I had a million dollars the first things I'd buy would be '06 TJ and an old 60s-70s J-truck to build and play with on the weekends.