Rubicon as a daily driver?

First off, this jeep community is pretty impressive. I had no idea jeeping was so involved.

My '03 stratus R/T is in need of some significant repairs, and I was already planning on replacing it soon. I love Jeeps, and have always wanted one, and think I'm ready to make the plunge. However, I drive to KoP everyday (yes that's a helluva commute), and while I know the wrangler will never be as smooth as the car was, will it at least be tolerable on the highway doing 70-90 mph? How much wind noise is there past 60 mph, how much vibration, and would I even get the bottom end of 15 mpg?

I need advice fairly quickly so anything you can shoot me would be great. I think that if I do get the jeep, I'll be getting into some wheeling, as I already go camping and to the beach often, so it won't exclusively be a 'point a to b' vehicle.

-Tom

well i drive right now to the stadium in phily from newark DE. in a 94 wrangler with 31's on it.. i can easily do 70 by the spedo prolly actually 75.. its a bit noisy but i got a better radio.. as for the bumps ive always driven jeeps since 16 im 30 now so i really dont notice it.. a rubi drives much smoother.. im getting 15-20 mpg on a 4 banger that has 160000 plus miles on it.. i say go for it.. if i had the money right now id proly look at a rubicon or a unlimited rubicon.. i think its a great place to start with a brand new jeep.. stock tires on the jeep would prolly improve ride and comfort as well as gas milage.. i think its doable.. the new soft tops are much quieter than ever and a hard top is not much different than a car.. take one for a test drive (not sure where your at.. but if you go to newark.. ask to take it down I-95 from 273 to 896 to see if it suits you.. thats going to be the best feedback you can get..
welcome to here and I hope you get a jeep and if you do.. please stick around...

Rob

my first 30,000 miles on my 03 wrangler X were from landenberg to west chester (route 1-202-boot road) new soft tops are impressive compared to the old soft tops (also have 95YJ) my soft top on my 03 is as quiet as my hard top on my YJ.

before i lifted it and put 33's on it i was very happy with gas mileage . had 31's on it before that and used to drive to pittsburgh on weekends.

id say go ahead and jump in. keep in mind the 07 will be a new body style and have some other goodies. hope to see you around more...dont forget the "jeep wave" buy a jeep and you are part of the family..drive a jeep and it is a lifestyle

Quote from "whatevah"

howdy! be careful, if you hang around these guys long, you'll Just Empty Every Pocket to buy more goodies for the Jeep.

Dont tell him that.... then we can't tell him what cool new stuff to get. :yevil:

Thanks for the fast feedback!

Quote from "rdjp94"

but if you go to newark.. ask to take it down I-95 from 273 to 896 to see if it suits you.. thats going to be the best feedback you can get..

That's exactly what I was going to do at NJE tommorrow afternoon

Quote from "MellowYellow"

my first 30,000 miles on my 03 wrangler X were from landenberg to west chester (route 1-202-boot road)

Have / had you ever driven 896->841->1->82->926->202? I go 95/202 up and backroads back.

I love driving them backroads in 3'rd at 4-5k RPM but I think with the Jeep those days may be over =)

Quote from "MellowYellow"

keep in mind the 07 will be a new body style and have some other goodies

I've seen the '07 and I think I like the look of the current model better. Unfortunately timing won't allow me to wait. Fortunately I'm getting emp price thanks to family. So it evens out.

And I won't forget to wave =)

(where the hell are the normal smilies on these boards....)

[quote="THalladay"]T
Have / had you ever driven 896->841->1->82->926->202? I go 95/202 up and backroads back.

I love driving them backroads in 3'rd at 4-5k RPM but I think with the Jeep those days may be over =)

well once you get the hang of it.. and when your alone.. they are pretty stable on street curves.. i drive kaolin rd and rt 82 between kennet and hockessen pretty frequently.. i drive in 3rd gear btwn 4-5k rpms.. its prolly not as fast as you.. but the back roads are fun... especiallly in the snow
personally i preferr the back roads whenever possible... just dont like freeways much.. even less since I came back from living in the Sanfrancisco area...
Rob

if they give you a hard time about the test drive let me know.. i got a dealer down there who owes me a favor...

As one of the people "on the list" for an '07, this is why I've changed my mind an will keep my '02 TJ:

Even my wife commented on the 5" WIDER body (the Jeeps...). She and I both agree that on the trails we like, adding 5" to the WIDTH could really be problematic. She remembers many a trail where she looked out her side to see if I was gonna clear a tree or rock and saw an inch or so clearance, certainly MUCH less than 5"!!

I can't say something won't change my mind later, but right now that 0% offer and thew possibility of getting an '06 Rubi at that rate seems mighty inticing!

DrJ

Nother daily driven Rubi here. Have not one complaint. Its a Jeep, so its loud, rough and sometimes annoying, but you get used to it.

almost 12000 miles in the last year.

gas mileage=15.9 at best(i drive over 80 most of the time)

Im switching to all terrains for personal preference.

Well I just got back from NCJ, everything looks a go, they are picking up my rubi from Norristown tommorrow morning and hopefully I'll be taking delivery tommorrow afternoon. I can't wait! Thanks for all the input, I feel alot safer about getting it as a daily driver now.

See ya'll on the road!

The one I'm getting:

Bright Silver Metallic Rubicon
Full metal doors
Soft top (black)
6-speed Manual
Security Package
6-Disc CD
Sirius
Speed Control
Floor mats
3.2 Additional Gallons of Gas

Yeah I average 25k miles per year, glad to hear this one should hold up well!

congrats..cant wait to see it ..as for the 896-841-1-82-926-202-boot that was my exact route (are you my neighbor??)

i used to mix it up with the 896-796-1-52-926-202-boot for change of scenery.

Quote from "MellowYellow"

congrats..cant wait to see it ..as for the 896-841-1-82-926-202-boot that was my exact route (are you my neighbor??)

i used to mix it up with the 896-796-1-52-926-202-boot for change of scenery.

2 Fridays ago when it was like 65 degrees and beautiful weather, on the drive home, there wasn't a single car the entire stretch on 826. It was beautiful.... I would pay money to be able to do that run traffic-free more often....

I never take the backroads on the trip up because traffic isn't usually that bad, and I gotta hit up the Wawa on 202, but coming back the traffic on 52 getting on to 1 was enough to keep me on 926 down to 82(?) to 1.

FYI, picked up my rubi last night, it's so awesome..... Now to go find that DeJA application...