Jeep Liberty or Honda CRV pros and cons.

[jsrore]

I have narrowed it down to a Jeep Liberty or Honda CRV
used between 1998 and 2005
looking for any advice
I will be using it as a work car/ daily commutator about 60 miles a day
and want to tow behind the MH
any advice is greatly appreciated.

Jeff

[tatest]

They are quite different cars. Drive them both, check out the room for people and stuff, how things work, how they ride and handle.

Consider how you will use it. I would choose the CR-V if I wanted a car that big, but I don't so I drive and tow a Fit. But if I were doing a lot of loose surface back road things, I would probably choose the Liberty, or a Wrangler, as my towed vehicle. Right now I have a high-clearance pickup for those uses.

[legolas]

mowermech wrote:

jsrore wrote:
Will be looking at a CRV today i hope

i also like the Subaru but the head gasket issue ....just not sure

That's why I would not want a 6 cylinder Subaru. I have never heard of a head gasket issue with the 4 cylinder. In the past, we owned an Outback SUS (Sport Utility Sedan) and a couple of Outback Wagons. We had no problems whatsoever!

FWIW When we moved to the mountains of NC (Asheville area) I knew I would need a 4X4 or AWD. Not wanting to give up my 99 Silverado 2WD we traded the wife's 2000 Avalon for a 2009 Subaru Forester. We absolutely love it and no problems whatever. Drove it to Flagstaff 6 months after we bought it and it now has 57,000 on it. I highly recommend the Forester or Outback to anyone and everyone.

[RJsfishin]

Our '05 4WD Liberty was good, reliability good, towed great, and handled great.

But it rode rough, and got bad mpg, and just not roomy enuff anywhere.

I will now be Dollying a Grand Caravan.

[tropical36]

jsrore wrote:
I have narrowed it down to a Jeep Liberty or Honda CRV
used between 1998 and 2005
looking for any advice
I will be using it as a work car/ daily commutator about 60 miles a day
and want to tow behind the MH
any advice is greatly appreciated.

Jeff

Will you be doing any offroading during your travels and as far as we're concerned, our Wrangler and DW's DD does it all, along with burning a little more fuel, but not a factor at this stage in our lives. The Liberty will go most places as well.

[KA4EBU]

2008 Jeep Liberty. Started towing jeeps in the 70's, tried a VW for a few trips to FL. We go everywhere and I want the 4wd for going everywhere when I get there.
Mine has given me one problem, battery was running down at random times. One of my in dash brilliant wiring jobs.
It's all about what you want.

[Medico]

I also have no idea where the reliability remarks disparaging Jeeps comes from. I have owned 3 Liberty's with one problem. I had an AC compressor replaced under warranty. These are definitely not built for gas mileage, but are VERY EASY to tow, with easy switch from driving to towing. Takes about 10 seconds.

And the comments about the ability to go off road with the Jeep compared to the Honda is right on. I have to admit, if the majority of your driving is to/from work on highways, then go with the Honda, but if you are spending time traveling to sites to actually see the site, especially outdoor sites or off road sites, there is no choice, the Jeep all the way!

[et2]

We've owned 4 jeeps including our current. Never had a problem with any of them. Drove one of them 236,000 miles before we traded it in. Got a letter two years later from the person who bought it said it was a great car and was at 290,000. So I don't buy the quality remarks it's not dependable.

Our last Liberty towed great. My wife had someone turn in front of her while she was traveling 45 mph. She should have been killed. So the crash reliability is great as far as I'm concerned.

That is why we now drive the Cherokee. A Honda will never be one of our considerations. If you want to get on some rough off road trails the Jeep should be a better choice. It'll take you places the CRV won't.

[DaveG39]

I took my previous 2002 on many off road treks in Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Worked fine though be cognizant of frame clearance when going over ruts and rocks, etc.

[jsrore]

Thanks for all the great advice.....
just bought a 02 CRV 4WD
looking forward to towing it....
if i want to do any serious 4 wheeling i can always bring my truck

again thanks

Jeff

[rjstractor]

It's hard to compare the two because they aren't the same class of vehicle. The CRV is smaller and lighter as well as being car based, so it stands to reason it will get better mileage. I think it boils down to your needs. For a daily driver with little or no off-road, CRV. If you need a little bigger rig with real off road capability, Liberty.

[2gypsies1]

We bought our 2004 Jeep Liberty new and have never had a problem with it. It's an extremely reliable car with 150,000 road miles and 68,000 towing miles. It's also a very comfortable ride.

If you plan to do any 4-wheeling the Liberty is the way to go. It has a much higher clearance with skid plates underneath. We've done some very difficult Jeeping such as rock crawling in Moab, UT and Silverton, CO. It has given us a lots of fun.

[PUCampin]

The Subaru head gasket issue was generally limited to the late 90's through around 2003 2.5L 4cyl. The 6cyl never had the head gasket issues as far as I know, but I don't think the 6cyl was ever offered with a manual transmission. I miss my Subaru

[DaveG39]

Had 2002 CRV. Great car. We had AWD version. Now have 2012. Also great car.

[rk911]

we have a 2010 liberty and couldn't be happier...with the ride, the reliability(no mechanical/engine problems since purchase in july 2010) and ease of towing. yes, the mileage isn't the best but then mileage wasn't high up on the list when we were shopping for a new vehicle to tow. jeeps make wonderful toads as there are absolutely no speed/time/distance restrictions.

good luck in your search.