Consumer Reports cars of 2009

M

MahnkenVille

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Liverpool, NY
So I was reading the Consumer Reports best cars issue last night, and they had the "best off road" trucks, and I have to admit I was a bit shocked. The first on the list was the FJ Cruiser, and there wasn't a jeep on the list. Is the JK really worse than the FJ in stock form? Or does CR just not know how to wheel properly?

they were testing on a "Rock hill"
 
cool, i haven't heard too much about them.

Other top picks were Toyota Land Cruiser, Hummer H2, Land Rover LR3, and the Toyota Tacoma TRD for anyone who was wondering.
 
That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard... Jeep Rubicon > H2 hands down.
 
MahnkenVille said:
So I was reading the Consumer Reports best cars issue last night, and they had the "best off road" trucks, and I have to admit I was a bit shocked. The first on the list was the FJ Cruiser, and there wasn't a jeep on the list. Is the JK really worse than the FJ in stock form? Or does CR just not know how to wheel properly?

they were testing on a "Rock hill"
Click to expand...

What are the parameters of the review? Gas mileage, dependability, price point, side impact survival? Or is it actually offorad performance as your post seems to imply?

Consumer Reports is way more focused on saftey and economics in most of their testing.
 
well this was just the catagory for best offroad, i'm pretty sure it didn't take into account that stuff. but they did also review all of those things separately from its offroad performance, and they hated most of the trucks that got "best off-road" from a practicality standpoint (especially the H2). They seemed to like the jeep better overall than the other trucks in the safety/reliability/gas milage ratings.

they definitely didn't take that stuff into account...upon further reading, all of those trucks that got the pick averaged 15mpg or less, most had alot of complaints from the reviewers, and the Land Rover had HORRIBLE reliability.

looks like its time to find a wrangler and an FJ and find out for myself which is better! :laugh3:
 
IIRC Consumer Reports rated the 08 Wrangler JK Unlimited the absolute worst SUV last year. This was an "overall" ranking. Funny thing is the FJ was also in the top 10 worst SUVs (I realize that's awkwardly worded).

Eh - all they care about is how well the doors latch, how smooth the sun roof opens, and what happens to a baby seat when it smacks into a wall at 60MPH.
 
Hahah yeah. CR is super practical but sometimes they have the weirdest complaints.

Someday, I am gonna wheel a JK and an FJ and I'll make the decision for myself... :D
 
What I find odd, even for CR, is that the H3 was trumped by the H2...

I mean, it has better gearing, it's much more nimble, and in 'Alpha' trim it has a better power to weight ratio (I think...) so how does it do worse off road than an H2?!

I just never did understand CR and they way they rank cars & trucks.

:confused:
 
Consumer Reports=
whatever.gif
 
I never read CR but they missed it on the new JK's. These are great Jeeps, I rank them right there with the XJ, they just need the 4.0 or 4.7 to make them perfect. We have a 08 JK Sahara 2-door with D-44 LS and all the bells and whistles including the MyGiG HD unit and have not had one single complaint with the Jeep or its performance! We had some leaking issues with the factory hard top but last summer while we had the factory soft top on the dealer repaired the hardtop and it no longer leaks. The dealer went out of its way to make this Jeep perfect.

The 4wd system on the JK's is rock solid and even in stock form flexes good and you can easily run 33" tires with only minor trimming. The minivan v-6 is actually more powerful now than it was brand new, it seems to be "breaking in" pretty good.

The on road ride is as good as our minivan and it handles very well even in panic situations.

I love XJ's but the JK is growing on me fast!
 
xjtrailrider said:
I never read CR but they missed it on the new JK's. These are great Jeeps, I rank them right there with the XJ, they just need the 4.0 or 4.7 to make them perfect.
Click to expand...

I don't read the consumer reports either, but I'm definitely not a fan of the 3.8L. From what I've read, they will be introducing a new motor soon. I hear its going to be a "phoenix" series 3.6L with direct injection and variable valve timing and it supposedly will be in the area of 280hp.

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/phoenix-engines.html
 
xjtrailrider said:
I never read CR but they missed it on the new JK's. These are great Jeeps, I rank them right there with the XJ, they just need the 4.0 or 4.7 to make them perfect. We have a 08 JK Sahara 2-door with D-44 LS and all the bells and whistles including the MyGiG HD unit and have not had one single complaint with the Jeep or its performance! We had some leaking issues with the factory hard top but last summer while we had the factory soft top on the dealer repaired the hardtop and it no longer leaks. The dealer went out of its way to make this Jeep perfect.

The 4wd system on the JK's is rock solid and even in stock form flexes good and you can easily run 33" tires with only minor trimming. The minivan v-6 is actually more powerful now than it was brand new, it seems to be "breaking in" pretty good.

The on road ride is as good as our minivan and it handles very well even in panic situations.

I love XJ's but the JK is growing on me fast!
Click to expand...


My folks have one of the Town & Country Touring's with that motor, it doesn't breath all that great on the top end, but the mileage is great on the highway and it does have plenty of low end grunt too, and it seems to be able to run 200k miles without muhc work. From what I've heard, it's the closest thing to the /6 or Rambler/AMC I-6 engines still on the market from Chrysler (atleast that motor survived Dahlmer:cheers:)
 
With consumer reports just being american made is a FAIL off the bat. I read CR at the dentists office and treat it like a movie review, if they tear it apart it must be good.
 
Only time I use CR is when I buy a major appliance or electronics. I only care about reliability and quality. Computers I research my own. My vehicles I do the same. That is why I own 2 XJ's.:guitar:
 
I disagree with the consumer reports there isn't a stock 4X4 includeing the FJ that can beat the Rubicons 4:1 low range for crawling and they have front lockers where the FJ has IFS.
 
Jeepm@n said:
Only time I use CR is when I buy a major appliance or electronics. I only care about reliability and quality. Computers I research my own. My vehicles I do the same. That is why I own 2 XJ's.:guitar:
Click to expand...

Same here. I do trust their reviews on electronics (especially cameras) but for cars...it seems like all they do is kiss the ground Toyota walks on. They're okay, but nothing compared to jeeps!! :)
 
FJ's are pretty cool, but I wouldn't take a $30K vehicle into woods or mudpits. That's what the $3K XJ is for. And yeah, a loaded Rubicon is better off road for another $30K, but who wants to scratch the paint?
 
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