If you can't afford a Hummer...

Believe me, if I could afford it I would be driving one right now! Anyway, I bought a brand new Wrangler back in 1994 and have been very happy with it so far. there are however a couple of things that I now wish I would have spent the extra money on instead of taking the cheap route.

The first and most important thing is, of course, the top. I know that many people like the thought of a convertible top but lets face it, this is no sports car! Want to talk about noise? The top is so loud above 55MPH that you can't even carry on a conversation with the person next to you without having to yell at each other. Now it's not bad when you're driving around town but if you want to do a lot of highway travel then you'd better invest in a pair of ear plugs. Whatever you do, buy the hard top. Your ears will thank you for it.

Next on the list is the 2.5L (4cyl.) engine. Sure it gets better gas mileage than the 4.0L (6cyl.) engine but it does lack somewhat in the power dept. Don't get me wrong, I like paying for less gas too but I do still wish I had gotten the bigger engine. When hauling just myself around the engine feels pretty zippy and doesn't have to much trouble getting in and out of traffic. Add another passenger to the equation and the engine slows down quite a bit. All in all I would have to say that the smaller engine does do a fair job of powering the vehicle but I know that at least once every time I drive it I wish it had the two extra cylinders.

Other than that I have no complaints about the Wrangler. I think it is a very dependable vehicle with a proven track record.

P.S. - You can buy aftermarket hard tops but the good ones sell for around $1800. (Ouch!)