Improve Fuel Economy of Jeep Wrangler?

[deerfield]

My kid sister will be selling her Chevy crew cab pickup and GMC Yukon. Both consume tons of gas and have specialty conversion features no longer needed.

Without going into why, her dream car is a 4-door Jeep Wrangler. Have not asked her, but am guessing the Sahara model. She could buy new, but is sensible with her money, so could be used if available in her market area.

It would be rare, if ever, that the Jeep would leave pavement to travel off road. Most of her miles would be interstate and county roads through hills and mountains of West Virginia. Wants a hitch in the event she needs to tow a light utility trailer.

When I asked what stands in the way of the Jeep, she said gas mileage. I looked at data for the past twenty years and it seems that regardless of year, average mpg is in the 14 – 16 range. Where she lives, it might be even worse mileage.

My questions:

• What, if anything, can be done to a Jeep Wrangler that would produce a material improvement in fuel economy?
• If taken to a specialty auto shop, are there after market products to bolt on or replace OEM that would get fuel economy above 20 mpg? 25 mpg?
• What kind of money would this require?

If unable to show her how her dream car can get much better gas mileage, I think she would buy a Subaru Outback or Forester, both of which are nice cars and get pretty good gas mileage, just not her dream Jeep.

Thanks, guys!

[zabooda]

Superchips programmer claims a percentage on gas mileage. I use a chip but I can't claim better mileage. Don't go with larger tires.

[KnoxMojo]

I hate to say, but there isn't much out there to get better fuel economy in a 4 door jeep short of tall skinny tires, maybe a rear axle swap to a higher gear, intake, exhaust and a fuel economy type chip may net you 2-3 miles per gallon. You have to factor that cost into how many miles must be logged to come out even and then ahead, which may be several years. So that being said, if she wants the Jeep, buy it, make it look nice and save the money for fuel instead of add ons in hopes of better mpg.

[zabooda]

I had 35 Toyos that dropped the gas mileage from 18 to 12mpg. I got never used Rubicon wheels and tires dirt cheap and sold my 35s. The chip is used to change the speedometer and change the off road performance. I have a 2007 two door.

[MLA]

Trailer it :p Best MPG you will ever get. Other wise, its a flying brick.

[sandm]

if jeep was able to produce 20mpg's, they woudl have from the factory.

[patrick232]

Wait and buy a new '18 new design. If used Jeeps in her area is like in Columbus you can get a better deal on a new one than a used one almost. I've seen ones with 30K miles used for what I almost bought a new on for.

[trayson]

Just do some math. How many miles is she driving a year?

This weekend gas prices here were $2.85 a gallon for 87. Let's compare a few MPG numbers on a yearly or monthly basis.

If she drives x,xxx miles a year, the difference between 15mph and 20mpg is as follows:


7,500 miles = $356 more per year or $30/month
10,000 miles = $475 more per year or $40/month
12,500 miles = $594 more per year or $49/month
15,000 miles = $713 more per year or $59/month
17,500 miles = $831 more per year or $69/month
20,000 miles = $950 more per year or $79/month



on a yearly or monthly basis isn't not THAT much money. Would I pay an extra $30 to $80 a month to drive a badass vehicles vs something boring and more fuel efficient? All day, every day. That's why my daily driver Euro wagon has a fuel sucking V8.

For some people cars are simply transportation. But she really, truly wants to be a vehicle she enjoys then go into it with eyes open and enjoy the ride. My wife went from a Honda Ridgeline to a F150 Ecoboost with a 6" lift and 35" tires on 20" wheels. It drinks the gas. She never even sees 15mph. But she only drives it 7500 miles a year, so it's not that big of deal.


Or maybe do an analysis of the "total cost of ownership" for the various vehicles she's considering and give a total monthly amount including gas. Then say it'd cost xxx per month to own a Jeep and xxx per month to own a Subaru. Is it worth it? only she can answer that. People get way too worked up over gas numbers that don't always change the overall picture that much.

[kaneboats]

Rent a jeep for a week and drive it everywhere. That will clear up her fantasy about how fun a jeep is.

[KG's Supra24]

Rent a jeep for a week and drive it everywhere. That will clear up her fantasy about how fun a jeep is.

No lie. Jeep is a great 2nd vehicle.

Is her dream car a Jeep with the top dropped or an actual 4 door Jeep? We went through this when the wife was shopping and after borrowing a friends, she knew it wasn't going to be her daily driver. Now we skim the classifieds for an older jeep to fill that need without having to deal with daily driving it. Don't have one yet .... too many people also like them!

[Darter]

+eleventy billion on getting a Subaru Outback.

Ok, I have one. In terms of the combination of comfort, daily practicality, people moving, hauling, towing, inclement weather driving, and fuel economy, the Jeep just can't touch it. The Jeep does certain things better off road, has a higher view of the road, and has a gazillion aftermarket parts for it dating back to the stone age and going into the next millennia, but the average roadway citizen won't benefit much from these things.

And yes, I tow the Mobius with it on occasion. Could easily handle whatever her "light trailer" is.

[wolfeman131]

she will lose more on depreciation/resell on the Subaru than she will spend on gas for the Jeep.

[deerfield]

Guys - I will forward all of your experience, advice, comments, observations, and thoughts regarding the Jeep when I see my sister this weekend. I really appreciate your taking the time to respond. Very helpful. Thanks! - Deerfield