SRT8 Jeep - Good family vehicle?

[kirks5oh]

my brother has one and although he loves the performance, he does have a few gripes. the front struts commonly 'crap out' and take the tires with them. meaning, they wear out, or quickly throw the alignment off on the truck, requiring new tires--runflats, not cheap. mileage is bad, that's a given, you know about that. the car does not handle snow well--most likely not a problem for you. at highway speeds, the rpms are near 3k in my brother's jeep, which can be annoying. they needed at least a 6speed auto on that truck.

interior is nice, and he loves hammering it from a stoplight with unsuspecting passengers. he's considered getting rid of it because of mileage--he does a fair amount of driving, but loves the truck otherwise. its an '07, he's owned it for two years, and has put about 25k miles on it--35k miles total. he's had to replace the front struts, at least 2 tires, and had a transmission sensor issue that caused a tranny leak.

if i can fit 3 car seats in my cts-v, i would hope 2 would fit in a cherokee. i also have had 3 car seats in the second row of my exploder with absolutely no issues--there will be plenty of room.

 

[kevinatfms]

i thought the 06 or 07 trucks had the 100k powetrain and 60k bumper to bumper? why did he need to replace that stuff?

 

[racerat]

I have one as a DD and wouldn't trade it for the world, however, I would NOT take it off road at all. The front chin spoiler will be history.

I have not had any suspension problems at all. It has eibach springs and stock shocks/struts. 87k miles and I drive the crap out of it.

 

[AAG]

I'd get the Tahoe and add a blower if you want more power. It's a better family hauler than the Jeep SRT8 imo.

 

[ModularFan]

If Iam not mistaken you can't even tune the newer GC's yet, apparently Chrysler put a nice hefty lock code etc on their new chrysler vehicles, people aren't too happy about it.

 

[sunburned]

I was considering an SRT8 Jeep or TBSS but ended up with a new WRX. They are both cool SUV's but I wanted a manual trans.

I don't understand people saying they are bad in the snow. They are AWD, but come with crazy wide summer tires. Get some 18's with decent all seasons or winter tires and ball out. That was my plan if I got one of them, but it barely snowed here and I didn't even take the summers off the WRX.

 

[SM0KE]

Whether I buy the Jeep or another type of SUV, it'll be remaining stock or very close to stock. I'm not interested in putting a blower or any other major mods on a Tahoe or any other SUV.

When I mention taking it "off road" I just mean on a dirt road or trail a couple times a year to go camping or whatever. I'm not talking about backwoods trails or anything crazy like that.

I've heard about the tire wear problems and that makes me nervous. Plus, the fact that the thing doesn't have a spare is dumb. I know it has run-flats but $500/tire is nuts! I think I'd just buy normal tires and put a spare tire/wheel in the back. Who knows...maybe this thing isn't a good idea for a family car...? Lol

It's just that everyone has a damn Tahoe, Yukon, 4-Runner, Marano, etc...

 

[johnjon87]

If you go that route as I did swap the tires out immediately. Lol those things are exactly what the company name is good (for a) year.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC

 

[LS2GTO]

It's just that everyone has a damn Tahoe, Yukon, 4-Runner, Marano, etc...

Why not a regular GC? If you were looking for strictly a performance SUV then you wouldn't be looking at Tahoes and 4Runners along with your SRT8.

By getting a 5.7 GC you get the Jeep but without all the problems of the SRT (tire wear, summer tires, bad gas mileage etc.)

I'd take those over any other family SUV like the Tahoe or import crap. Hell, if you can swing an SRT8 then you can swing a 2011 GC which are much better looking and performing than the previous gen. Just the looks and IRS make it a much better car IMO.

 

[SM0KE]

Why not a regular GC? If you were looking for strictly a performance SUV then you wouldn't be looking at Tahoes and 4Runners along with your SRT8.

By getting a 5.7 GC you get the Jeep but without all the problems of the SRT (tire wear, summer tires, bad gas mileage etc.)

I'd take those over any other family SUV like the Tahoe or import crap. Hell, if you can swing an SRT8 then you can swing a 2011 GC which are much better looking and performing than the previous gen. Just the looks and IRS make it a much better car IMO.

My wife's the one that would like the Tahoe or equivalent SUV - not me. I'd ideally like to get the SRT8 Jeep just to keep something sporty, but still be in something that could safely haul the family around without giving me a bunch of problems. But before I buy one I want to get some opinions of some people who have experience w/ this thing. If the consensus is that it'd be a bad choice for a family car, then I'll start considering a Tahoe, Jeep GC, Yukon or something of the equivalent.

 

[yzracer931]

my brother has a 07 as his DD. gets ok gas mileage and is a blast to drive. cant wait to install his headers!

Have been told by a reputable source that by degreeing the camshaft properly, you can pick up close to 20hp.

 

[xXGadfly09Xx]

What about the cayenne?

 

[Neverlift]

If your wife likes the Tahoe and you want the SRT8, a Trailblazer Super Sport is a solid middle ground. It may not be as quick/fast as the GCSRT8, but its close. It gets better gas mileage and handles very well! I averaged 17mpg driving like a dick, wifey averaged 22mpg and loved to rub it in!

TBSS's can be found for much less than the SRT's and come in all wheel drive. The TBSS comes with Bilstein's but also has airbags. Very comfy ride but responsive when you push it. GM's LSx platform has tons of aftermarket support.

My wife is not a gear head by any stretch, and she loved the TBSS! Yup, I said "loved". Unfortunately I can also attest to the safety of the TBSS.. With a kid on the way safety and affordability are key.

 

[sunburned]

Yup, I'd go TBSS just for the extra mileage. I saw a guy towing a big built jeep on a heavy trailer with a TBSS, so its versatile too.

Again, either one you get, just put normal tires on it and throw a spare in the back that's the same diameter, but not quite as wide and blingy to save space. And run all seasons and you can drive the thing in the snow no problem. They are both AWD, you'll be fine. Dirt too.

 

[SM0KE]

We went and drove an 07 4x4 Yukon and an 08 SRT8 tonight. They were within 1K of each other as far as price. I gotta say I felt like I got much more vehicle for the money w/ the Yukon. We drove the Yukon first, then took the Jeep for a spin. Being in the Yukon first made the Jeep feel friggin' small. However, I'm 6'1" and I was able to comfortably sit in the back seat of the Jeep. I'm seriously torn now. The wife likes both of them and doesn't really care which one I choose, but would prefer the Yukon simply because of the space. I also feel like I'd be doing the more practical thing by getting the Yukon. But the other side of me says there's still plenty of room in the Jeep and we'd have a blast w/ it.

I may just wait for the first smoking deal to come along on one or the other and that will be what makes my decision...