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THE JEEP LIBERTY Reviewed by Colin Hefferon  The 2002 Jeep Liberty Maybe it was my imagination but I was sure I could see the Daimler-Benz influence on my new Jeep Liberty test vehicle. The seams on the exterior panels fit tightly and were a uniform distance apart. The interior, particularly the dash, exuded an unmistakably Teutonic air of no-nonsense functionality. On my base Sport model, the dash was black and business-like. There was absolutely no electronic or other gimmickry to be found anywhere. With the right badges, this thing could pass for a Mercedes-Benz. Well, almost. This shouldn’t be all that surprising to anyone who has been paying attention to recent happenings in the automotive world. The Daimler-Benz folks are now firmly in charge of the Jeep Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler and quality of execution has always been a byword in Stuttgart. The new Liberty is built in a brand new state-of-the-art plant in Toledo, Ohio dedicated exclusively to this one vehicle. The Liberty certainly looks as if it will be capable of carrying its weight in the company’s scheme of things. It has a stocky, broad-shouldered go-anywhere, do-anything air about it that makes its main rivals look like the paved road, citified girlie-trucks most of them are, under their buffed-up skins. Jeeps have always been more than just boulevard cruisers. Every Jeep has to be able to conquer (well, at least complete) the company’s oddly-named Rubicon Trail off-road course which includes super-steep inclines, boulder climbing and mud wrasslin’. Don’t try this with your Mom’s new Liberty, kids. Liberty’s off-road process is no surprise, since the optional Off-road Group available with the 210 hp, 3.7 liter V-6 includes all the necessary tools. Enormous Goodyear Wrangler SR-A tires (P235/70R16), larger fuel tank, transfer case skid plates, along with a locking differential, are part of that package. The Liberty also comes with a very short front and rear overhang so you won’t easily get hung up in ditches, as well as both front and rear tow hooks just in case you do. Let’s be realistic, do you really need a vehicle capable of climbing over slippery boulders the size of a Buick Roadmaster just to haul the kids to the daycare or to make it up to the local ski area for the weekend? Hey, if the road conditions are that bad, you should stay at home. If the worst does happen, however, and you get caught out in a bad storm in a remote mountain pass in Colorado, it’d be reassuring to know your vehicle is up to the challenge. For normal driving, leave the Liberty in 2WD. You’ll get much better (although still not great) gas mileage and create a lot less wear on those expensive drivetrain parts. 2WD (and lots of tread on your tires) is perfectly adequate for 99% of the driving you’ll do, if you’re like 99% of North Americans. A full range of 4WD drive options is available at the flick of the console-mounted lever. 4WD hi-range should get you through that once-in-a-hundred-years storm that leaves roads 12-inches deep in water and mud. 4WD lo-range will take you up the side of a building. Incidentally, don’t confuse the Liberty with one of your cute utes. While its exterior dimensions would seem to put it in the same weight category as, say, the Ford Escape or the Honda CR-V, at 3860 lbs the Liberty has a good 600 lbs on both of them. In fact, it weighs about the same as the new Ford Explorer and not a heck of a lot less than its own big brother, the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Most of that extra weight is muscle. Some of the car-based SUVs, especially the Escape and its twin brother the Mazda Tribute, can be very competent off-road too. However, with its heavy frame and all-new suspension system, the rugged Liberty is much more suited to the extended rough stuff you’d get in, say, ranch country, than either of these and, indeed, than any of its car-based rivals. I enjoyed driving and being seen in the Jeep Liberty. It attracted a surprising number of appreciative glances and comments. Though as a confirmed city boy, I personally wouldn’t have any use for a vehicle as capable as the Liberty, I respect what DaimlerChrysler has done with it. I expect you will too if you’re a Jeep kind of person. I sure wish they’d given more thought to the shape and size of the ignition key and remote fob, however. It’s simply enormous, and will tear up your pockets pretty fast. Hey, why not something like the folding key Volkswagen uses? Photos © Jeep Vancouver-based Colin Hefferon regularly tests and reviews new vehicles. Though an automotive enthusiast by nature, Colin takes the perspective of the average car owner. Which, after all, is most of us! Colin Hefferon is the road test editor for About Cars where more of his car reviews may be found. |
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