XJ vs KL Cherokee, I'm dissapointed.

[87manche]

Actually, they sold a lot of XJs in the '90s at 19mpg, and yeah, 25 isn't really "bad" mileage for a 4wd SUV. My point is, the XJ was a dinosaur in '01 when they ceased production, and was behind the curve MPG-wise at that point. 25-27mpg just seems low at this point.

it's a fat heavy pig.
but everyone wants widgets and air bags and crumple zones. So as efficiency increased, we just piled more crap on it.

Stick a super modern four banger into an 80's ford escort and see what kind of mileage it gets, even shaped as a brick.

 

[bjoehandley]

The right modern 4 banger in an 80's Escort would probably get good mileage, and be a rocket ship that would incinerate any tire you put on it!

 

[tbburg]

I spoke with a buddy who works for a high-volume jeep dealer. He's done 3 KL transmissions. One for a leak and two for internal failures. Apparently the leaks are the result of a porosity issue in some of the early housing castings, which has been resolved.

(Isn't it amazing how casting porosity is still an issue after centuries of metalworking? Or is it beancounters learning again and again that there are some things you just can't cheap-out on,..)

Like the others said, the internal failures he did went back to the manufacturer for analysis.

He's not happy with the time it takes vs time paid for that job either.

As for "modern 4-banger in an escort", how about "modern 4- in an old Honda CRX". Those little rockets got over 40mpg back in the day.