I originally bought this vehicle for my wife, who wanted a 4WD that would safely get her through CT snowstorms. After giving the 4.0 litre sport a nice, easy test drive, we were sold on it. Although we put it through a significant "plow drift" test, we never really paid enough attention to the overall handling to make a wise decision. Today, after a few months of driving the Jeep, my wife has a Subaru Outback that she is much happier with (another review at a later date). Not wanting to lose out on the huge difference between the retail and trade-in value, I dumped my old Volvo wagon and got myself into the Jeep. Now I understand why my wife didn't like it.
On dry roads, the Jeep is a pleasure to drive. There is certainly greater visibility over cars, but definitely not over the monster SUVs like the Expedition. However, on wet roads, it's another story entirely. More than once, my back wheels have lost traction on curves and corners while turning at speeds that were completely without incident in my prior cars (Volvo 940, Chrysler Concorde). These scares have taught me that the Jeep (in 2WD) is much more prone to slipping on wet surfaces than your average car. I now have to adjust to going much slower through turns than I used to.
I suspect that the poor traction in turns is due largely to the rolling effect when turning. Because the vehicle stands higher than a car, it has much more of a tendency to roll on turns. This seems to be shifting more weight on the outside wheels and compromising traction.
This vehicle is probably best for really slow drivers who live in areas with few curves.


Amount Paid (US$): 18,000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1998
Model and Options: Automatic