Give Me Liberty...
I bought a car yesterday. A 2005 Jeep Liberty. Yup, first full day back in the United States and I buy an SUV. Had to prove I'm a real 'murkin.
The car is real purty. Dark blue with a grey cloth interior. It just has the bare-bones Sport package, but the layout is clean and simple. It has the 3.7-liter V6, which kicks out a decent 210 horses and a very respectable 235 ft-lbs of torque. Of course it's fully 4x4 capable.
It had 18,500 miles on it and I got it for almost a third less than what a new model would have cost.
Why the Liberty? It really hit a sweet spot in terms of price, functionality and appearance.
It's large enough to haul the family and our stuff down to San Francisco in a week, and will come in handy for all the hiking and camping we plan to do. Yet it's small enough that it won't be a problem to drive and park in the city.
Four-wheel-drive wasn't a must-have for me, but getting it is a real bonus and should help us plow right through snowy passes when we drive back to Seattle for Christmas.
The Liberty has earned good quality ratings, and the builds have steadily improved since the model was introduced in 2002.
Other vehicles I looked at included the Toyota RAV4, the Honda Element, the Toyota Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe. Those are all solid cars, but lacked the people and cargo hauling capacity of the Liberty, and were also often more expensive.
I've only driven it about 30 miles so far but it feels great. One of the common complaints seemed to be that the ride was bumpy and noisy. Maybe it is if you are comparing it to city-oriented people haulers like the Honda CRV, but I felt that the Liberty's cabin noise level and ride were well within my comfort zone. Of course, my other car is 36 years old and makes a Spitfire seem quiet in comparison.
Anyway, the V6 has a decent amount of pep that propels the Jeep to freeway speed in short order and makes passing a cinch. The automatic transmission is okay but has seemed confused on the couple of times that I've eased up suddenly on the gas after flooring it. The main shortcoming is that the engine is a thirsty litter bugger. User reviews I read consistently talked about getting 20 mpg in highway driving.
As mentioned above, the interior is bare-bones. The upholstery is done with a very durable-seeming material that I assume is oriented more towards stain resistance and easy cleaning than comfort. The seats are firm but comfortable, and three adults should fit nicely, if snugly, in the back bench. Some people say the Liberty is too small, but I thought it was surprisingly roomy. There is a lot of headroom. I'm 6' 2" and there is a good 2-3 inches over my head. It has 29 cubic feet of cargo space, about the same as its main competitors like the Ford Escape and Hyundai Santa Fe.
Overall I'm very happy with the car and can't wait to try it out on our upcoming road trip.
The car is real purty. Dark blue with a grey cloth interior. It just has the bare-bones Sport package, but the layout is clean and simple. It has the 3.7-liter V6, which kicks out a decent 210 horses and a very respectable 235 ft-lbs of torque. Of course it's fully 4x4 capable.
It had 18,500 miles on it and I got it for almost a third less than what a new model would have cost.
Why the Liberty? It really hit a sweet spot in terms of price, functionality and appearance.
It's large enough to haul the family and our stuff down to San Francisco in a week, and will come in handy for all the hiking and camping we plan to do. Yet it's small enough that it won't be a problem to drive and park in the city.
Four-wheel-drive wasn't a must-have for me, but getting it is a real bonus and should help us plow right through snowy passes when we drive back to Seattle for Christmas.
The Liberty has earned good quality ratings, and the builds have steadily improved since the model was introduced in 2002.
Other vehicles I looked at included the Toyota RAV4, the Honda Element, the Toyota Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe. Those are all solid cars, but lacked the people and cargo hauling capacity of the Liberty, and were also often more expensive.
I've only driven it about 30 miles so far but it feels great. One of the common complaints seemed to be that the ride was bumpy and noisy. Maybe it is if you are comparing it to city-oriented people haulers like the Honda CRV, but I felt that the Liberty's cabin noise level and ride were well within my comfort zone. Of course, my other car is 36 years old and makes a Spitfire seem quiet in comparison.
Anyway, the V6 has a decent amount of pep that propels the Jeep to freeway speed in short order and makes passing a cinch. The automatic transmission is okay but has seemed confused on the couple of times that I've eased up suddenly on the gas after flooring it. The main shortcoming is that the engine is a thirsty litter bugger. User reviews I read consistently talked about getting 20 mpg in highway driving.
As mentioned above, the interior is bare-bones. The upholstery is done with a very durable-seeming material that I assume is oriented more towards stain resistance and easy cleaning than comfort. The seats are firm but comfortable, and three adults should fit nicely, if snugly, in the back bench. Some people say the Liberty is too small, but I thought it was surprisingly roomy. There is a lot of headroom. I'm 6' 2" and there is a good 2-3 inches over my head. It has 29 cubic feet of cargo space, about the same as its main competitors like the Ford Escape and Hyundai Santa Fe.
Overall I'm very happy with the car and can't wait to try it out on our upcoming road trip.
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