tmj91

I have owned about 7 vehicles in my short driving life so far, ranging from convertibles, to muscle cars, to tuners. I currently have a 2005 SRT-4, a 64 Dodge Dart and an 88 Cherokee. I love all three of my vehicles equally, but something really draws me to the XJ, I decided to put it in words...

I love my Xj because I truly believe it would take me anywhere, it would find a way to get there, and if it hits a tree along the way, we Don't really care. I love how I can go out and hack it up with a grinder, hacksaw or sawzall and attach cheap, homemade mods to it and they function just as well as EXPENSIVE products. I love that if something breaks, I go the junkyard and get what I need. I love that I can get in it covered in mud, blood, or sweat and not worry about it. It looks just as happy dirty, as it does clean. I love the expression it puts on my friends faces when they say "It cant do that" or "Were going to get stuck" and the XJ proves them wrong. I love that it ALWAYS makes it home, even if its limping. I love that I bought it five years ago for 500 bucks and not a SINGLE drivetrain failure has happened. For some reason, I even love the burning oil stench it puts out. I love the diversity of the Cherokee scene, from 93491238409 dollar build, to 1000 dollar trail capable rings, to stock Cherokees. I love that I know no matter how deep the snow is in the winter, ill be just fine.

Why do you love your XJ?

JLW_2K13

Because XJ!!
Just kidding, because these things are beasts!!

C H E R O K E E 98XJ

The faces of friends when they can't climb something and then the cherokee just puts the torque down and gets it done!!

Unknown XJ

I often drive around in mine with my dog in the back seat to get centered. I love that she has personality and isn't some dead eyed mass produced one off. They all really have different personalities. No two are the same.
She forgives my mistakes and neglect....waits patiently until I have the funds. ALWAYS starts and gets me where I'm going and gets me home as well.
When her transmission went out she still wanted to go I made her rest and wait for the dolly. I sat there like a someone would when their dog was very ill....praying everything will work out OK.
While hurricane Sandy was going through my area there was at least 4-5 inches of snow on the road ( the plows couldn't keep up) she got me to my destination without incident. The snow was blowing side ways and it was near whiteout conditions.....just turned on the radio,fired up some cigarettes and enjoyed every minute of it. It took three hours to drive fifty miles. It truly was epic.
I love the fact that she is mine.... She chose me when I was in the market for one and I looked at a few.... Saw her and was in love.... Dead set, she was it.
I love the fact that her brother and sisters have created a culture of really different backgrounds and nationalities all bound by the love of our XJ's. She really is a unique vehicle.
I am amused that my wife sometimes seems jealous her.....she's been brought up a few times lmfao.
Look I could write a novel here but I'll spare you folks that lol.

Tony_SS

First Jeep, first XJ. I love it so far...even more so since I dropped in a new engine.

I like how basic they are, I can haul the family and then some. Excellent turning radius. Parts availability and a great core group of enthusiasts. I hope to keep my XJ for some time.

rmoore1031

Reliable and parts are everywhere. Fits any driving condition I may encounter. Decent MPG. Online community is very active.

Tony_SS

I did get 17mpg on the engine I blew up. LOL.

I hope I'll get just as good on the new reman.

After doing the engine install... I did sort of fall in love with xj.. we just became so close.

greasemonkey123

i love my Xj because she is my first car and will be for a long time. originally was a temporary until we got the cj in the garage restored ive decided i love this jeep more than i could love the cj. shes had issues shes broke down but has gotten me home even when her tps was going out. many issues come up but i don't care because i know they can be easily be fixed screw the mechanic as a jeep owner its better to work on something you love than let someone else do it. she's still a work in progress when it comes to getting fully outfitted but she waits patiently for any upgrade i give her. because of this one jeep i never want to own anything else. ill be an Xj owner no matter what if she got in an accident i would do everything i could to fix her. and i dont mind spending the many hours it takes to fix her. its funny how my girlfriend can be jealous of the Xj but love it at the same time.

Stickers_XJ

For some reason, I can't describe the bond I have with my XJ. Maybe it's because it's my first car, or maybe it was meant to be but I just love it. I love putting my last dollars into it, I love putting my time into it, I love doing the research on forums and rigging up my own mods. I just feel right driving it and hearing it run. It's body is still stock but it stands with pride. Even with the countless issues, it's my dream car

jordan96xj

I love my XJ because the older I got the more "vanilla" everything seemed to get. Sensible, predictable, disposable. No flavor, no excitement, no adventure. It doesn't sit with my soul or who I am very well.

Then the XJ happened.

I have owned probably 20+ vehicles. Many of them were unusual. But the XJ is the only one that I get excited to drive every single day. It makes a statement that I don't throw things away. I fix things, I care for things, I build things.

I love the smile that it puts on other people's faces, and the waves I get.

Bugout4x4

Because it's long enough inside to sleep in.

bsieb

I thing I loved my about my 94 SE was the creaky, hard to open doors. My neighbor would have kept it, but his wife and kids couldn't operate the doors, so he put a price ($1800 cash) on it after 6 months. 115K, I6, 32RH, NP231, not a speck of rust anywhere, white and clean. The seats, now sporting black Dickies, are intact and look very good to new. The neighbor owns an auto service center and had changed all the fluids, as he thought it had been parked in a garage for at least 10 years. Some cleaning, lube, new door checks and brackets, and the doors are golden again. I put some P235 Mud Claws on it and have never looked back, it gets me all over the mountain and back on a daily basis. I hope this is my last vehicle.

OldTires

Like other's have said, the XJ is fun to drive, reliable - even when breaking down it gets me to where I need to go. And the turning radius kicks ***. Drove a Corolla recently and it felt like I was taking the longest turns ever. Granted, the Corolla is more reliable than the XJ, but not as fun.

I bought my XJ 10 years ago, around this time.

wristwister

My daughter and I are currently building "Frankenjeep II" She's a Jeep chick through and through, and has had a couple old Wranglers that I've fixed up and kept going. A couple years ago she needed something for a major road trip and a winter spent in the snow, so we got an XJ, fixed it up, built a whole slick bed/storage deal in the back, and she dubbed it Frankenjeep due to the stitching of cable ties holding a couple panels together. It's served her well, but it's in pretty bad shape rust-wise, the transfer case is now having issues, and that 4-banger can hardly get out of it's own way. So we just picked up a great bone-stock 4.0 95 XJ for $1000. We're now transferring the lift kit, wheels, rack, and lots of other cool goodies from Frank to Frank II. She's got some ideas on gnarlying it up with bedliner, decals, lights etc. We're having a blast building her next ride together.

So ... why do I love XJs? What other car can be had for $1000, support a dirt cheap build-up, take her anywhere, and earn her the Jeep respect she so craves?

Joshua White

I've owned a few of them over the years (not many years honestly, I'm only 32) and I kick myself for getting rid of a couple of them.

I just don't feel anything else fits me as a person as well as an XJ (well maybe my second love...Subaru rally prepped cars). Not many vehicles are as capable while yet being as attainable as the XJ. They can work well in so many ways, you find them owned by folks from all walks of life, and those people ENJOY that experience for the most part.

In the end it comes down to a lot of things already mentioned but for me the list is something like this...

1 - Price and "Lego car" compatibility
2 - Availability
3 - And this is a relatively newer observation, but "rarity" as they're not found all over anymore.
4 - Character - The style, the look when modified, the message it tosses out to other folks when you pick up your kids at the school circle ;-)

The list could go on but you get the idea ;-)

EDIT: I see that points #2 and #3 are a bit contradictory. My point is that you're seeing less and less of these rigs out on the road as they get used up, hacked up, or just plain ole' neglected so finding a nice clean (especially the 97-01) Cherokee is getting tough without dropping some coin. But on the grand scheme of things with a production run from 91 - 01 that damn near swap part for part they're "availability" is hard to match.