Posted by MoparNorm on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 1:10PM :
In Reply to: OT..Cherokee vs Liberty question posted by George in NW Michigan [209.206.129.155] on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 9:02PM :
..use it for.
The Cherokee has the better motor for off-road, the 4.0 fuel injected in-line 6 has more torque than the 3.7 V-6 in the Liberty, unless you buy the CRD optioned Liberty.
The Cherokee has a solid front axle, the Liberty has independent front suspension. This gives the Liberty an edge in comfort on the highway and "wash boarded" dirt roads, but gives it less ground clearance off-road. The coil spring suspension on the Liberty prevents if from being lifted more than 2.5 inches. Full lifts, including long arm lifts are available for the Cherokee.
Contrary to some of the posts, the wheelbase and stance is pretty much identical, the Liberty has more interior cargo volumn than the Cherokee, but the Cherokee has more usable cargo space as it has more length behind the rear seats. The Liberty is more comfortable in the seating area than the Cherokee and the rear door entry is easier in the Liberty.
Bottom line, the Liberty has more creature comforts and is geared towards the driver who lives in areas than have snow but doesn't go off-road very often. The Cherokee is more spartan but more capable off-road and can be modified to perform in extreme off-road conditions.
Avoid Cherokees built before 1990, poor fuel injection systems and earlier models used a gm split crank V-6, pure junk.
Some models of Cherokee have Dana 44 rear axles, most have Dana 35's or Chrysler Corporate 8.25. The Liberty also has a Dana 35 rear but an aluminum Dana 30 IFS in the front which is VERY light duty. Avoid Liberties built before 2005, they have a rear cargo area that does not allow the rear seats to be folded flat, it is very irritating to load your camping gear and ice chests on an unlevel floor, also 2004 and newer have rear disc brakes.
MN