I am thinking about buying one of these jeeps. Does anybody have any experience with this vehicle. Miles/gal?
I just happened to check the mpgs on Consumer Reports for the diesel Liberty yesterday - it got 18 mpg overall, compared to 16 mpg for the gasoline v6, both with average reliability.
Motor Week has a good review of the Liberty CRD.
http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2415.shtml
Ed B.
Who makes the diesel engine used in the Liberty?? Support for these vehicles may be zero after bankruptcy dust settles…You get no tax write-off for owning one of the worlds fastest depreciating vehicles…
But of course Daimler the old partner. I believe this vehicle is only used and likely a decent price a fuel prices are down so demand for diesel vehicles is too currently.
The parts will continue to be made for the engine as the majority of euro marketed Jeeps and rest of the civilized world use diesel engines due to a true price of fuel.
I would have thought Daimler, but the review says: "The engine is built for Jeep by VM Motori of Italy. "
Who dat?
“True price of fuel”? Care to elborate on that?
I was going to ask about that ‘true price of fuel’, too - Europe has for years taxed diesel at lower rates than gas, so diesel vehicles are, in effect, subsidized over there. They are starting to move away from that, but diesel sales in Europe result from the tax structure and relaxed pollution regulations as much as better mpgs.
After a few owners (including Mercedes), VM is currently co-owned by Penske Corp and (gulp!) General Motors. So, once again, a valid question is, “Who is going to provide parts support for these engines in the future?”.
Fuel taxes do not fully sustain the costs of our roadways and transportation. We use federal tax dollars from taxpayers to make up the difference. Beyond the fuel price does address the environmental costs associated.
Diesels come in different flavors… If the Liberty diesel only gets 19mpg, it must be a low compression, glow plug, indirect injection, pre-combustion chamber design that is not worth squat over a more powerful, more versatile gas engine…
I looked at the Liberty Diesel when it came out. Diesels are a EXCELLENT application for SUV’s. Toyota and Nissan have had them in Europe and South America for years…I was NOT impressed with the Liberty’s mpg. 18…My 4-runner averages 17…The 4runner with the 4-cylinder Diesel in Europe averages 25…Great idea Jeep…but Not very well implemented.
The money for roads would have to come from somewhere. As for the enviromental costs, how can anyone come up with an exact dollar amount for that? Are you suggesting that fuel should be taxed here like it’s taxes in Europe?
The Liberty was rated at 22 city/26 highway for mileage, not 19. The engine is a turbo-charged, direct injection, common-rail system with 290 FtLbs of torque at only 1800 rpm (not too shabby for a 2.8L engine). Yes, there are better engines, but it wasn’t that bad.