What is it?
2002 Jeep Liberty
What's special about it?
Replacing the aging, boxy Cherokee that has been in production since 1984, the new 2002 Liberty will serve as the affordable SUV in Jeep's lineup when it goes on sale in the summer of 2001. It borrows styling cues from the 1997 Jeep Dakar concept truck, with its tall and stubby stance, and the 1998 Jeepster concept vehicle, with its chunky wheel flares and bug-eyed circular headlamps. It will be available in Sport and Limited trim levels, with your choice of two- or four-wheel drive, four- or six-cylinder engine and manual or automatic transmission.
Liberty, like all Jeeps, has been designed to traverse the Rubicon Trail. Eight inches of suspension travel is on tap, and approach and departure angles are steep at 38.1 and 32.4 degrees respectively. With the available Up Country suspension package, Liberty has 10.1 inches of running ground clearance, thanks in part to standard 16-inch wheels.
But just because it's a competent off-roader, don't think it compromises on-pavement capability. Liberty boasts "Uniframe" construction (lighter and stronger than traditional body-on-frame design), an all-new independent front suspension, the Grand Cherokee's coil-link rear suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, and a choice of four-cylinder or V6 engines.
A new 3.7-liter V6, which is based on the 4.7-liter V8 in the Grand Cherokee, makes 210 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 225 ft-lbs. of torque at 4,000 rpm. A 2.4-liter inline four is standard, and either motor can be mated to a five-speed manual or "multispeed" automatic transmission. A V6 with an automatic transmission can tow up to 5,000 pounds. Part-time Command-Trac 4WD is optional with either engine, while full-time Selec-Trac 4WD is optional only with the V6.
Inside is room for four (five in a pinch), chrome-ringed black on white gauges, and satin aluminum accents on the center stack and steering wheel. Two handy power points are located in the dash, while A-pillar grab handles are provided to assist entry and exit. In back, the rear cargo door, on which the full-size spare tire is hung, opens from right to left and includes a handy pop-open liftglass hatch. With the 35/65 split folding rear seat in use, Liberty offers 31.2 cubic feet of cargo space; room is increased to 68.7 cubes with the rear seat folded. Tie-down hooks and grocery bag hooks are thoughtfully provided.
Liberty offers side-impact airbag head-and-torso curtains for both front and rear passengers, and rest assured that if a rollover accident occurs, this Jeep's roof, whose strength exceeds federal standards by up to 90 percent, will resist crushing. Multi-stage front airbags that deploy according to seatbelt usage and crash severity, and antilock brakes with electronic brake force distribution are standard. Off-road enthusiasts will appreciate the fact that Liberty's ABS system is defeated when the truck is placed in 4WD Low range, and is designed to retard false activation on bumpy surfaces, such as a washboard gravel road.
Two trim levels are offered: Sport and Limited. Since key competitors include the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Nissan Xterra and Toyota RAV-4, expect pricing to range from the high teens for a 2WD four-cylinder to the mid-20s for a loaded Limited 4WD with the V6. Jeep also showed a concept called Renegade, decked out for serious off-roading with roof-mounted fog lights, heavy-duty towing and suspension components, and a large roof rack. We wouldn't be surprised to see this debut as a production trim level, or a special edition, after Liberty arrives in showrooms this summer.
Why should you care?
Jeep spokespeople were adamant about their claim that this is not a "cute-ute" or "soft-roader." Liberty will go anywhere you want it to, designed to be a Jeep first and a suburban grocery-getter second. Still, Tom Sidlik, Jeep's general manager, called Liberty "the best of both roads." With SUVs getting more car-like all the time, and losing maximum capability in the process, it's good to know Jeep still builds an affordable utility vehicle that can do it all, rain or shine. If the truck maker manages to launch Liberty without multiple recalls or major component failures (unlike the 1999 Grand Cherokee), Liberty looks to be winner.
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