Our friend has a 2002 Liberty Limited and we decided to buy a 2005, believing that we would get an updated version of his car.

What we found out after having bought it about 4 weeks ago was:

1.) we paid $ 4,000 more because we wanted "leather" and what we got is about 70% vinyl. Most of the parts which in the older models are still leather were replaced by vinyl. When I asked the dealer, because I already had a strange feeling, when touching the edge of the seat he said "it is very soft leather, imported from Europe". A closer look at home revealed that only the center part of the seats are made of leather, the outer parts are vinyl. It's a little bit like cheating the customers who believe that they are paying top $$$ for the top-of-the line Liberty version. Since the vinyl manufacturers in these days make products very similar to leather it is very difficult to tell the difference but in our opinion a consumer should know what he is buying. Obviously "Leather" for Jeep means "Vinyl interior" with some leather inserts.

2.) another reason why we wanted the "Limited" was the trip computer, believing that it would display the fuel mileage, like the older models. The 2005 only displays the "average fuel consumption". Obviously Daimler/ Chrysler is ashamed about the mileage and does not want people to know how much the car consumes. "Average fuel consumption" is nonsense, since it only shows an "average" of highway and city. Until now the display has not shown any value above 14 mpg. (the sticker talks about 17 mpg for the city and 22 for the highway). we don't only drive in the city and the "instant mileage" would definitely reveal how much the car consumes at a certain speed. (And maybe give us a reason to complain...) After having driven the car for about 4 weeks (about 30% freeway and 70% city) the "average fuel consumption is still arount 14 mpg. We sincerely believe that some foul play was involved when the fuel economy for the sticker was determined. When we were shopping for a SUV we were checking out other cars like the Honda Pilot, the Nissan Murano, Dodge Durango, Toyota Highlander, etc. and saw that the fuel mileage for all these vehicles was determined with 17/22 by www.fueleconomy.gov. It is interesting to see that almost everybody who owns a Jeep Liberty complains about the fuel consumption while the owners of Honda Pilots (which according to fueleconomy.gov is supposed to consume the same amount of fuel) believe that their car makes a good fuel mileage.

3.) Last week I looked at the car from underneath (when it was about 3 weeks old) and saw that many parts are already rusty because they were neither primed nor painted. (Parts of the suspension/ steering). We talked to Daimler/Chrysler's customer support line and they told us to talk to the dealership about it. When we called the dealership they told us that they are aware of it but since they get the cars like that they can't do anything about it. Jeep/ Daimler Chrysler should feel ashamed about selling cars which are already rusty before they are even delivered. But obviously their strategy is to save a dollar or two whereever possible and whereever they believe that the customer does not see it when buying the car. We'll have to see what the car reveals in a few years, our rating for quality refers to a brand new car, until now we have driven it for only 600 miles.

We can live with the other cons, (no ABS, small glove compartment, missing storage compartments, no "0" position for the fan). Otherwise the car feels solid, fun to drive, good off-road capabilities. The 70,000 mile/ 7 year powertrain warranty is definitely better than the warranty on Honda's Pilot and other competitors.
Amount Paid (US$): 23000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: Limited, Selec-Trac 4X4, 28G package