The Fast Lane CarThe Fast Lane Car is a quickly growing YouTube channel, recently reaching over 1 million subscribers. As a quickly growing reviewer, companies like Jeep need to listen to what this reviewer has to say. Especially when being in the driver's seat for exactly a year, our presenter has the capabilities to relay important information on things that work and things that just don't work on the car. Things that the regular consumer may think to tell their dealer, or concerns that may just never otherwise make their way to Jeep HQ.
The Red Two-Door Jeep Wrangler Willys Sport On-Road
Our presenter tells us straight away that he will be brutally honest on everything about his Jeep Wrangler. He tells us that the purchase price last year was $35,000 and that the on-road capabilities are surprisingly good. Even though this is the short wheelbase, with off-road tires and a soft top, one would think the on-road experience would be horrid. He swears though that the suspension is set up perfectly that you don't arrive sore after long-distance trips, and the soft top and tires are rather quiet. It is very easy to drive on the road.
The downsides are that the manual shifter is a little too soft. There is no “clunk” to let you know you are in gear, so this results many times in missed shifts. The other problem with it has a six-speed transmission, which results in always having to be in a lower gear than you'd normally be in another car. An example he gives us is “imagine you're on an uphill traveling 40 mph, normally you could change to fourth but in this, you NEED to change to a much lower gear, otherwise it just won't move.”
Annoyances With The Jeep Key
Once the rant begins, it doesn't seem to stop. A major concern our presenter has is with the key itself. Unlike other vehicles today for much less money, the Jeep key does not power anything. The doors, including the trunk door, need locking and unlocking using the key itself. This doesn't seem like a huge issue until “you're lying in bed wondering if you've locked every door.” On a normal car, you could just push the key fob lock button. With no buttons in consideration, you would expect a small key. Unfortunately, not. The key is massive and doesn't even fit in your pocket, as he demonstrates.
Jeep Wrangler Two-Door Is Not Practical
Our host continues on his rant, getting visibly more frustrated. He tells us the things you would expect from this truck are just so deceiving. He opens the rear door and shows us the nonexistent trunk space. No one is expecting the two-door to have a huge trunk, but there is less than you would even imagine. To get any sort of space, you need to unlatch the rear on the back seats and fold them forward. However, when you do this the seat does not lock into this position and if you have softer things like groceries, bread, eggs, and milk bags, the rear seat falls on them while driving and this usually ends up being disastrous.
These are things that Jeep needs to address — $35,000 is a lot of money, and choices in this price range are endless.