Bought the wife an '05 Jeep Liberty CRD over the weekend and all I can say is WoW! We test drove a new '05 Durango with the 3.7 V6 gas and the liberty with the 3.7 V6 and the little 2.8 diesel just walks all over them in terms of power.

The CRD seems to have as much power as the 4.7 in the 02 durango we traded in. The power does not come on as fast as the 4.7. It does seem to have a slight turbo lag but once spooled up hang on! You can really feel the torque until about 3200 rpms then it tends to drop off. It can cruise at 70 MPH at around 2000 RPM with little effort and still has some pedal left if needed. It's very quite and does not smoke unless you really hammer it.

We have run 2 tanks of fuel thru it and are getting about 24.5 MPG in mixed driving. That sould only get better as it gets broken in.

Overall a great little ride and very fun to drive.

Noting like an all Diesel houshold

 

I just got my wife a Libby too, but I had to get the 3.7 gas engine. Taxachusetts does not allow the sale of a any diesel "non-trucks" that aren't already in the state. The 3.7 gets pretty thrashy under heavy acceration, and I'm not too crazy about it. But the rest of the vehicle is solid, and stiff, and I'm very pleased with that aspect. Plus with the 4WD, I'll never again get those morning phone calls "I can't get up the driveway!" when it's snowing. I see by your location you don't have to worry about that!

 

Got the itch to BOMB yet??

 

Yeah I'm lovin' my Jeep CRD. At idle it does sound identical to the John Deere 770 we bought. And it tows better than my '04 Ram 1500 V8 did. Oh, and it gets mid-20s no matter how I drive it.

 

That would be cool. I hear that there may be some boxes coming out for the CRD. A Jeep CRD with 250 hp and 425 tq would be a blast to drive!

 

The liberty seems to be a good overall daily driver. I think we paid $1250 more for the CRD than the 3.7 and hope the extra money was worth it. I was impressed overall with the 3.7 but the torque of the CRD sold me. Sorry the CRD is not an option for you guys up there.

I hope the CRD catches on and is not one of those options that is available for 2 or 3 years.

 

What is the matter with Massachutsits? Are they trying to beat California with stupid laws? Can't buy a diesel in a car? What are the heck are they afraid of? Maybe the K's won't get enough diesel for their yacht or Mercedies?

 

It's not only the diesel which helps the CRD, but also the 5 speed automatic transmission.

 

Not to flame you at all, but I disagree with this. The Ram 1500 I had used the same 5-speed automatic, and it was "supposed" to help fuel economy but it actually made it worse. With more gears to choose from the tranny was constantly shifting up and down, up and down, up and down. It got really annoying and it sucked the fuel down faster too.

The ONLY good thing about the 5-speed auto. in the Jeep CRD is at least it's built stronger than that junk 42RE auto. they put in all the gasoline Libertys. My wife has one of those and I hate it.

Personally, the BEST combo would be the CRD with 6-speed manual. That would produce some sweet fuel economy numbers. But the stupid government has such strict laws that I think Jeep is scared to attempt selling a 6-speed here in the States.

 

4 other states beside CA have adopted CARB restrictions. They are NY, VT, MA, and ME. If you live in these states, you cannot register a diesel vehicle (other than a truck) that isn't already registered in the state. The exception is a new resident bringing a diesel car into the state. If you sell a used diesel car here in Massachusetts, it's snatched up in a second. These restrictions will ease in 2006 when new fuels hit.

 

All gas Libertys, with an auto, have 4 speeds. Nothing you've said convinces me that the 4 speed auto gets better mileage or performance than a 5 speed.

My wife, too, drives an '04 Liberty with the 3.7, so I'm guite familiar with it. It, also, hunts all over the place for gears unless you lock it into what ever you want to use. In the mountains, it gets better mileage, power and throttle response if OD is locked out. On real steep grades it does better if it is held in 2nd, or sometimes 1st, instaed of constantly shifting. On those steep hills, having the choice of an extra gear would be nice. It doesn't have as firm of a shift as the 5 speed has. After driving the CRD, and eliminating the differences between the gas and diesel engines, I'd just as soon have the 5 speed, thanks.

I'm not sure what the government has to do with whether or not Jeep sells a 6 speed manual CRD in this country. If the customer demand is there, I'm sure a way will be found for it to be sold here.

 

what do the laws have to do with a 6 speed?
They already sell a 6 speed here anyhow, it just happens to be in a TJ

 

I am not sure if the 5sp auto has alot to due with fuel milage but it can't hurt in my opnion. The step between 3&4 or 4&5 is very small if I remeber correctly. I do notice it hunting a little when in stop and go or slow rolling traffic. Once it's locked and on the highway it is very smooth and does not down shift or unlock unless you drop below 45 mph. Even at that speed the CRD has enought torque to get you back up to whatever speed you want without downshifting.

A 6 speed manual would be a sweet setup if I could only teach the wife to drive a stick.

 

I thought the Liberty CRD was 50 state legal? I know that was an issue with the pre 03 cummins. You could not get a HO cummins in certain states. Didn't know that was an issue with other small diesels. It's a shame the Gov. wants to get involved with what you drive. Texas has not yet begun testing or restricting diesels yet but it's probably comming shortly along with ULSD in 06.

 

My understanding is that the EPA does mandate what auto manufacturers are allowed to use as transmissions.......doesn't make sense to me, but that is the reason I was told they don't offer the 4.7 V8 in the toyota tundra with a manual transmission. I bought one when they first came out and really wanted a manual tranny, but they said one with a manual tranny didn't meet emissions. I don't think you can get a manual tranny in a half ton chevy or gm truck with the 5.3 either........however, if you go to 3/4 ton that combo is available. Same with the ford half ton with the 5.4. I wish someone in the know would enlighten us with this.

Waylan