Wrangler or Tacoma?

Just spent a week with a JK in Maui. The Tacoma is nicer than the older JK for sure, until the top comes off and then I forgot all about the Tacoma.

 

This is true every single warm day the first thing I think of is taking my doors off and dropping the top.... then I realize I don’t have the JK anymore -sigh-

 

I have owned eight different JK's and JKU's from 2008 till 2016. Seven of them had the 3.6L V6. All seven had motor issues from defective heads to leaking oil cooler housings and other stuff. Will never buy another one unless the dump that junk motor. 20,000 miles on my Tacoma with one issue, bad battery. If Jeep puts the 5.7L V8 in a Gladiator with MT, I will go back to Jeep, but that's it.

 

I can't speak for a Jeep myself but I can share my brothers experience. He's got a 2014 Jeep Wrangler Willy's edition. Lifted, bigger tires all that. He's then bought a 2nd car for a daily driver. He's Jeep had the death wobble, suspension had to be replaced, tires replaced. Even now he says he doesn't prefer to drive it Incase something breaks or falls apart

 

Tacoma, because I'm partial. If I lived in a place that didn't have winter weather. I'd find the convertible Wrangler more appealing.

I also thought I was going to die in a Jeep once. There was 4 of us in a Jeep, which probably added another 900lbs to the vehicle, and it's probably what kept us up right.

This was a stock base model late 90s Wrangler. Driver took it up a steep hill at quad ave, right next to the interstate. We should have rolled end over end back down the hill.


I wonder if the Jeep dealer down the road uses that hill on test drives?

 

That sounds like a very poorly modified Jeep.

 

Jeep had defective robotic welds on a Wrangler JL suspension part (track bar mount). Wranglers left the assembly plant factory this way, pretty scary...

https://jalopnik.com/heres-how-jeep-will-fix-the-new-jeep-wranglers-faulty-f-1829815170

 

Yeah cheap suspension. Wasn't taken care of properly

 

are you buying for your wife? if so the jeep!

 

If your goal is challenging offroad stuff then Jeep. If your goal is daily driver + standard offroad stuff then Tacoma. Unless you're modifying it, in that case it doesn't really matter.

Out of the box, Wrangler Rubicon beats the Tacoma TRD Pro in approach/ breakover/ departure angles, ride height etc etc. It's purpose built for off roading. The Tacoma is a compromise. It's better on-road, and can keep up with the Wrangler offroad until things get real.

I'd say that in the world of multipurpose vehicles, the TRD Pro and Rubicon are competitors. But in the world of off-roading, the Jeep is superior. Again, that's out of the box unmodified.

 

To say that is horrifying would be putting it mildly.

 

I think the tacoma is more versatile. The Jeep is gonna always be better at what "it does" than the Tacoma. The Tacoma is always gonna be better at doing more things, some of the them "almost as good."

 

TACOMA!! The Wrangler's a box on wheels... no thanks!! (says the guy that hangs out with JK owners)

 

I guess the taco is a jack of all trades, master of none. While the Jeep is a master off road, but that’s about it. Depend on what your intentions are. If all you wanna do is off-road then the Jeep is the way to go.

 

Got rid of my 2014 JKU Sahara 3 months ago for a TRD Taco. Of course it had a lift, 35" tires, lights galore, and so on. With only 29000 miles and 4 1/2 yrs old, it left me on the side of the road. It was still under warranty & FCA sent a flat bed to pick it up (that's a plus). Ended up being a bad injector on the right side, but warranty didn't cover it. Keep in mind, it was still under WARRANTY. What in the hell is the warranty for if not drive train repairs. When I picked it up, I noticed I had a leak from the valve cover on that side. They said I would have to make an appointment to have it checked out. I said I am here now, you just worked on it and it didn't have this problem before. They wanted to charge $110 for a diagnostic fee plus whatever it took to fix it. After searching other dealers, it was going to be at least $500 for the valve cover job. Such BS since the gasket only cost $15. I've replaced valve cover gaskets before, but on the JKU, a ton of things must be removed and it's actually a 6 hour job. If they break something when removing these parts, they were not going to be responsible for it. Meaning more money. Don't get me wrong, I loved riding without the top and doors but the towing capacity sucked, the ride was harsh, and try to take a trip with a family of 4 and you would have to pull a trailer. It was a no brainer...got rid of that thing, quick. Now the resale was great. I missed it this Spring but I am VERY happy with the new TRD. Should have bought the Toyota to start with.

 

Wait.... so 7 of your 8 total were newer than 2012? That seems unlikely, but possible I guess.

The 3.8L they had from 2007 - 2011 was a whole different animal and by far the worst motor they've had in a Jeep from a reliability and power standpoint.

 

I owned eight JK/JKUs as well, 2008 thru 2018. But never had any engine or transmission issues.

In my experience Jeep’s key weaknesses are cheap body, steering and suspension parts, poor assembly and shitty dealers.

Two things Toyota could learn from Jeep is how to tune a suspension and design comfortable seats.

 

The problem is that there isn’t anything quite like a Jeep. I think the best thing to do is what I plan on doing eventually.

Buy a taco for daily driving, camping, and some fire roads. Then get an old Jeep for gnarly rock crawling trails where the taco just won’t make it. I think it’s the best way to go about it.

 

Indeed. Jeeps fare poorly as main household vehicle or daily drivers. Which defeats the purpose of spending $60,000 on a new one. Might as well buy a used one, build it up, and take it to the trails.

IMO, TJ, which appeared between 1997 and 2006, is where Wrangler’s sweet spot is in terms of size and overall packaging.