CD Article: 2008 Jeep Liberty North

[CD_Editor]

Today's Test Drive:
Designed to plough through rough terrain and haul lots of stuff, the new Jeep Liberty is a "thoroughbred mid-size SUV, not a crossover car/utility vehicle like many new offerings today," says contributor, Bob McHugh.  
 

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Read the article | View the photos | All The Test Drives

[Rupert]

Have a 2000 lb. travel trailer to pull. Anyone have any experience using these vehicles for towing. From the report it sounds like it will make a half decent second vehicle when not being used for this aspect.

[Libertyman]

I currently tow a large pop-up trailor ($2,500 pounds) with my 2007 Liberty. Great vehicle for the job. The new Liberty has a longer wheelbase and I assume it would be even better at towing. The 3.7 L has all the low end grunt for the job, but its hard on gas!

[Rupert]

Do you tow in 4 wheel drive or two with a vehicle like this. I notice that two wheel drive is by the front wheels which is the opposite of older 4x4s.
We thought that entrance and exit was a bit difficult but a little better on the Nitro. Not sure that we could live with this long term, having had the freedom of a van.

[mrthompson]

Are you sure?  I believe the Liberty is RWD in 2WD mode. 

[Mitlov]

Are you sure?  I believe the Liberty is RWD in 2WD mode. 

Yep, Liberty is the old-school setup.  Compass and Patriot are the only jeeps that are FWD in 2WD mode.

[Rupert]

Well, if that is correct, my local dealer does not know this. Two salesmen told me that 2wheel drive was by the front wheels. One was a sales manager.

[carcrazy]

I hope the new Liberty is significantly better than the old one because I just had a 07 Liberty rental over the weekend and I found it awful on-road at least.
It was running out of steam climbing up a mountain road (nothing extreme) to the point that I thought that the floor mat is stuck under the gas pedal (it wasn’t).
The interior was cramped and extremely cheap (but we all know about that for Chrysler vehicles).