When we decided to buy another car in '98, we wanted a play toy, but one that would be practical for everyday driving too. I love off road and had had a Sport before, so I drug Nick off on a search. He was convinced after he drove one.

The 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport was the highest grade model at the time in which you could still get a manual 5-speed transmission. All models above that were only available in automatic. Ewww ick! Showing my colors, ain't I? Heh. Yes, I'm a die hard stick fan. I want my vehicles to shift when I tell them too, damn it! So. Since that was the case, this is the model we went with. Now to find a deep forest green..... The hunt was on.

We finally ended up at Haynes Jeep about 30 minutes before they were closing, but lo and behold, there it was in all it's glory. The right color, with 8 miles on it. Sweet. We hemmed and hawed and made sure the salesman was in a mood to just close up and go home.. then I whacked him.

Look, you're tired, I'm tired of looking, this is the one we want so just cut the crap and bottom line it so we can both go home.

He did. Neither of us has regretted that move. We've had this a little over 5 years now and have not once.. not one time I say.. had it in the shop for any kind of repair whatsoever. There was an airbag recall but it was in one day and out the next at no cost to us, and we hadn't had any problems at all with it. This is the most dependable and mechanically sound vehicle I have ever owned in 30 years of driving... and we are not exactly gentle with it. heh.

As far as comfort level goes, this is surprising. We've driven it on numerous road trips from Virginia to Texas, Ohio, NY... and I can honestly say I have no complaints. It's roomy enough to stretch out and as comfortable for naps as any other vehicle I've ever owned.. ok it doesn't have Ricaro seats, but it's really not bad at all nonetheless.

Handling wise, well, it isn't a sports car. It corners for crap. It was not designed for that. You do want to take those curves gently as there is a feeling of tipping when taken too fast. Again, that's not what this was meant for anyway.

The acceleration isn't all that either. I mean it's on par with your normal every-day 4 litre vehicles. Again, it's not a sports car nor is it meant to be. It does cruise quite easily between 80 and 90 MPH but you don't want to keep it above that for any amount of time.

This vehicle is an off-roader, pure and simple. Where it shines is during the winter months. When my neighbors are snowed in, I can make the grocery runs with ease. I've yet to run into snow deep enough to stop me. heh. Also, it walks right over medium sized trees that happen to fall during ice storms and hurricanes blocking my driveway. I would caution you to check for downed powerlines hiding in any trees you plan to drive over though... nasty shock that could be! It's not as rugged as the Rubicon for off-road adventures, but it's better than most other comparable vehicles.

It goes into 4X easily from the inside. In other words, you don't have to get out of the vehicle to lock the hubs like previous models of 4x. This is a feature I dearly love. I'm a wuss and had always hated having to get out in the snow or torrential rain to lock those hubs so I could continue. I can also state that those low bridges that get over-run with water from time to time are no problem for this Jeep... again don't sue me if you're stupid, but I've not had any trouble so far with them. The Jeep is heavy enough that it hasn't washed off the bridges.

Towing is excellent. We have a double trailor with two Jet Skiis and this Jeep is awesome for towing them and putting them in the water. Some ramps tend to get very slippery, but that is no obstacle at all for the Jeep. We've not had one instance of trouble with boat ramps since buying this.

One thing I do not like is the brakes. Nick loves them, but I hate them. Oh they do the job, but they are Anti-locks so you are not going to be stopping on a dime. You need to plan your stop ahead of time. There's been a few times I've been issuing expletives and felt damn lucky that I did manage to get stopped on time, where in my 350Z I would have no problem at all stopping in the same space. But these vehicles are designed for completely different uses and my comparison of them is really unfair to the Jeep. This is not enough of a negative to keep me from buying again in the future though.

Another negative is that it does use a bit more gas than smaller cars. That's to be expected, and really, it isn't that much more. Not as bad as you think it will be by any means. I think we get about 20 MPG on the highway, compared to our average of 25 MPG in the Z. It would help if it calculated that for you like the Z does. heh. Soooo this is just a guestimate on the Jeep.

Another great thing about Jeeps is the commeraderie. Once you buy a Jeep, you will get invites to various functions. Every year they pick a spot to get together and run them off-road complete with camp outs and whatnot. This does cost money but really not too much for what you get. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me and it changes every year, but I can tell you it's well worth it. We even got invited to a free sneak preview of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life by Jeep because the Rubicon was featured in the movie. Too cool.

Overall, I would absolutely buy a Jeep again without hesitation. Like stated previously, we've not had one bit of trouble with this vehicle in over 5 years of hard usage. I would dearly love a Rubicon next time, but I don't anticipate getting rid of the Cherokee Sport any time soon. It's has plenty of space for shopping and is the best vehicle for the job of hauling our jet skiis.

Yep, I think this will be a member of our family for many years to come. Very highly recommended.

Update 7/2004
Well after 6 years of hard labor, the crank sensor went out. No warning at all, just wouldn't start one time. But.. the extended warranty covered having it towed to the dealership AND the repair. Very cool. The dealership even sent a van to pick me up and take me to the dealership to get my beloved Jeep when it was ready the next day. Man I love Jeep!


Amount Paid (US$): 18000
Condition: New
Model Year: 1998
Model and Options: Sport 5-speed manual, 4x4