TigerXJ

Sounds like from the guy who actually owns and drives one, he had no issues "hunting for a gear" with a mix of highway, secondary, and surface street driving. Probably a better resource than someone's cousin's uncle who is a mechanic for Nissan.

Also, if you wanted room, towing, comfort, gas mileage, blah blah blah, you'd just got a cummins-swapped XJ...but since you don't have that, you must not desire all those things. Fortunately for this guy he found it all in the cherokee.

cruiser54

I agree.

Prototype4342

So what do the gear ratios look like? Is it just a bunch of overdrive gears or a bunch of middle gears? If a bunch of middle gears it would seem to be hunting for a gear because it's changing gears constantly to keep MPG up unless you're hard on the throttle.

Also, I will never understand why a 9-speed and not a CVT or similar. I don't like CVTs but when you get to 9-speeds it seems like there is something else that can be done. Good luck with rebuilds in the future heh

priell3

Here is what I dug up for my KL configuration:

1st Gear 4.70
2nd Gear 2.84
3rd Gear 1.90
4th Gear 1.38
5th Gear 1.00
6th Gear 0.81
7th Gear 0.70
8th Gear 0.58
9th Gear 0.48
Reverse 3.73
Axle Ratio: 3.734

Most KL users have reported never seeing 9th gear.

If I find any quirks with my transmission, I'll let you all know.

cruiser54

Whatever you do, don't clutter up this thread with facts based on your ownership and vehicle knowledge, along with your well worded responses based on some excellent research!!!!!!!

All the nay-sayers are spending too much of their valuable time speculating and pontificating.

Rogue4x4

+1 cruiser
...to all the pontificaters out there...

tssguy123

As somebody who doesn't drive/live in an area that sees snow... are snow tires really that bad for fuel economy?! You guys seem to get screwed by snow in so many ways... lol.

dmill89

You don't take a massive hit in fuel-economy with snow tires (stock size anyway) but they do hurt a little. True snow tires (not snow rated A/Ts) are made from a very soft/sticky compound to allow them to grip better in icy conditions and this increases rolling resistance significantly.


Winter blend gasoline and the additional time it takes to get up to operating temp probably hurts winter fuel economy than snow tires. Of course using the 4WD also kills fuel economy and in snowy/icy conditions you'll be using it a lot more than normal.

Just4Kixx

That and the remote starters that are becoming increasingly common as OEM-supplied options. Running your car 15 minutes every morning before even moving it is bound to have a detrimental effect on fuel consumption

cruiser54

Drove a 2.4L Trailhawk today. No gear hunting, great power, handles like a sports car and did quite well off-road.

Prototype4342

I wasn't nay saying, I was asking a question which he answered. I'm pretty neutral toward the new Cherokee I was just trying to add my .02 to the thread that "gear hunting" may be what it was built to do in search of better gas mileage.

I guess discussing things isn't allowed on the KL board without being a first-hand expert on the subject

cruiser54

I wasn't referring to you. You asked good questions.

rt-texas

My first post here...(me) mid 50's business owner, no kids

I have had my Trailhawk 3.2 for app one month/900 miles. This is my very first Jeep, here are a few comments.

-Love driving the vehicle. Very comfortable; my wife was shocked, she was expecting a lot "rougher" ride based on appearance.

-No transmission issues, maybe I am lucky. Occasional harder shift or searching for gears, but seems to be getting better with time and break-in.

-Honestly I do think it would be better with a good six speed or six with a good OD.

-Do really wish you could select the gear you want like on a normal automatic. I haven't seen 9th yet on the local freeways.

-Mileage around 19mpg around town...eeh. Again a "less complicated" tranny I think would help, but just my opinion. I have built cars and bikes so I'm not totally clueless.

+Uses regular gas.

-Interior flippin rocks! Sunroof is great for a more open/less claustrophobic feel inside; electronics are first rate.

-Made a deal on one on the lot. Didn't get the tow package or the Alpine stereo; wish I had gotten these but wanted to drive the specific vehicle I was purchasing to try out the tranny.

-Would I do it again, in a heartbeat. Love the way it drives and looks. Found something that I replaced both a BMW convertible and an F-150 with one vehicle, and for $35,000. $20,000 less than a BMW x3 similarly equipped.

-I never buy new vehicles, only used. Liked this one well enough to not only buy new, but to be a guinea pig and buy a brand new model.

-Going to an off-road park next weekend...neighbor with a Rubicon going to give me my first off-road lesson.

Hope it lasts me a good, long (trouble free) life.

Peace, love and rock-n-roll from Texas

Rogue4x4

This is what we like hearing...solid reviews from real world people. Thanks. Report back with pics and video from your trip, tons of us here are dying to see a real world test off road!!!

cruiser54

Welcome!!

I know I'm not the only one looking forward to future reports.

I drove my first Trailhawk on Saturday. I liked it.