A great around town vehicle

I have always wanted a jeep and had a Jeep Cherokee in 1993 that I loved, so purchasing a Wrangler was an easy decision. I bought an all black 1999 Wrangler SE with 4 cyl and 5 speed trans. As other reviewers have reported the road noise is a lot more than in a conventional auto, but it doesen't take long to get used to it, and after all it is a Jeep!.

I would recommend a couple of things when buying your Wrangler, first get it without a sound system and have an after-market set up installed. I had two box speakers installed in the back and two other speakers custom installed in the front kick panels and the stock head unit replaced. In all I spent $750 on a sound system not counting the original head unit (radio). You will get a lot better quality sound system this way and for a lot less bucks. The next thing I would recommend after buying your Wrangler is to replace the stock air filter with a K & N unit. You will not believe the difference in performance and about one or two more miles per gallon, the original filter is much too restrictive. The K & N unit retails for about $50. I would also suggest after-market hood locks, retail about $30, making your Jeep more secure from vehicle or battery theft. I have also added 15x8 chrome rims,31x10.50 Wide Tracker tires, an overhead light bar with 4 off road lights and two off road lights on the front bumper. Nerf bars have also been added to the sides.

The Wrangler is a great around town vehicle because of the manueverability, parking and U turns are a snap! I took one 1200 mile round trip in it and it is not really meant to be a long trip vehicle but it was fun. A word about gas mileage, with the 4 cylinder,I get less gas mileage (16mpg) on the road than I do around town (18-20). This is because of the 4-11 rear end. At 70 mph you are turning 3000 RPM. Around town, by the way, it is best to keep the rpm above 2000 to avoid lugging the engine.

I only have the hard top so I cannot tell about noise, etc with the soft top. I have never removed the top and dont intend to. I have also removed the back seat (a 2 minute job) and have it stored in the garage as that gives a lot more room in the vehicle and I never carry more than one passenger ( I also have a Ford Expedition as the family vehicle). Unless you are single I would only suggest the Wrangler as a second vehicle.

All in all I would certainly recommend the Wrangler as an all around fun vehicle even if you never intend to take it off road (which I dont). It is handy, economical and a fun vehicle to drive and the styling will never go out of date. It turns driving into an adventure and certainly portrays that to observers.