2008 Jeep Liberty

rsholland

2007 is the last year for the current generation Jeep Liberty. With that in mind maybe it's time to start a new thread on the all-new model, which debut as an '08 model.

To kick it off, Jeep just announced that there will be not diesel for the '07 model, but is looking into a possible diesel for the '08 model. I hope that's true, as I hate the idea of Jeep dropping the diesel Liberty.

A couple of things I would like to see on the '08 Liberty are:

• IRS. More and more SUVs are going with an IRS, and I'm talking about SUVs designed to go off road (like Land Rovers, for example). It's time Jeep jumped on that bandwagon too. Don't want an IRS, then there's the Wrangler Unlimited for the hardcore old-time Jeepers.

• A simplified selection of 4WD systems. What I'd like to see is a full-time 4WD be used across the board, be it Select Trac or Quadra Drive. Get rid of the old part-time Control Trac. If they offer Select Trac, there's no need for Command Trac, as it offers part-time mode, for those who want that. Absolutely keep the 2-speed transfer case!

Bob

odie6l

Jeep does have a 2006 CRD model in the Liberty line-up. It has a i-4 turbo diesel under the hood.

Odie
Odie's Carspace Garage

rsholland

For '06, yes; but not for '07.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/category/cat.Jeep

Bob

manley

I would like to see the IRS if they are going to keep it capable of going offroad and have a towing capacity of 5000 lb.

I don't want to see it go the way of the CRV or Rav4 because they have no towing capacity because that of the IRS system. I don't want my libby to be assamed of its little bothers beacause it has turning into nothing more than grociery getters and soccer team haulers.

Several years ago the honda accord had a higher tow rating than the CRV.

Accord - Solid rear
CRV - IRS

rsholland

I would like to see the IRS if they are going to keep it capable of going offroad and have a towing capacity of 5000 lb.

Absolutely—and it can be done!

I don't want to see it go the way of the CRV or Rav4 because they have no towing capacity because that of the IRS system. I don't want my libby to be assamed of its little bothers beacause it has turning into nothing more than grociery getters and soccer team haulers.

It won't, as that's what the Jeep Patriot is for.

Bob

vmb

does anyone know how to change the interior bulb lights in 06 jeep libby ? Does the cover just pop out or do you have to take out the whole thing ?

Kirstie_H

Hi vmb,
This discussion is about a future Liberty. If you'd like advice on currently-produced models, please visit our Jeep Liberty Group

frostyy

Recent spy shots of the 2008 model show the Jeep has replaced the rear door/spare tire with a hatch-- similar design to the new 2007 Honda CR-V....that is great news but I would also like to see better fuel economy for the gas model--how about a 5 speed or 6 speed tranny and/or Mercedes diesel engine with a 6 speed tranny... and increased cargo capacity with the rear seats down in the 72 cu ft range; otherwise I will be looking elsewhere...

indianrefini

I hope that the 2008 Liberty will have a "normal" front passenger seat (with 6-way power as an option) rather than the "fold flat" seat which is being put in the 2007 Compass, Patriot, and Dodge Nitro. To my wife and me, anyway, they are uncomfortable and sit much too low. Perhaps the "fold flat" seat could be offered as an option for those who are into hauling 8' items.

indianrefining

On the subject of the front seats in the Compass, Nitro and (presumably) Patriot - what the heck is up with those stupid head-rests? The ones in the Compass and the Nitro are cocked forward at such a sharp angle that my wife and I both had "cricks" in our necks before we'd gone a mile. Very disappointing! :confuse:

claudius753

This type of head restraints are designed to help prevent neck injuries in a crash. Active head restraints are becoming more and more prevalent across all makes and models, so be prepared.

davert

And here it is without any disguise!

http://www.allpar.com/trucks/jeep/liberty-2008.html

Rumor says it'll have the hot new 4-liter engine.

frostyy

The 2008 is sweeet!!! That 'mini' Commander front end looks awesome, and with the decent liftgate at the back...this is much improved...more cargo space behind the front seats...Now....all I need is the option for a Mercedes Diesel for better fuel economy and distance and I am in...

The Patriot....little too small....
The Commander....little too big...
The Liberty.....just right!!!

davert

Rumor mill says the current 3.7 continues with the new 4.0 liter V6 as an option, and eventually another diesel; a fabric roof was spied; and the looks change rather dramatically. full story at http://www.allpar.com/trucks/jeep/liberty-2008.html with new photo of the roof

frostyy

I am anxious to see all of the exterior and interior and to hear of the latest features/options for the 2008 Liberty.

Wondering if it will be officially unveiled at the North American Auto Show in Detroit in January/2007 or later???

08libertygirl

No. It will be revealed at the New York auto show.

frostyy

I guess we all have to wait until April 07 then...

frostyy

The newly redesigned 2008 Ford Escape (with Hybrid version) will be in production about the same time as the 2008 Liberty...and

The all new 2008 VW Tiguan (small SUV) will be coming out as well with a rumoured 2.0L 4 cyl Bluetec (Clean TDI)diesel engine as an option, along with an optional 4WD off-road package...

I sure hope the 2008 Liberty has an optional Bluetec diesel engine option as well or it may be left behind...

08libertygirl

:lemon: The 2008 will have a diesel engine option, but from what I hear it is not going to be made in the first batch of cars. I think it is one year from the relase date of July 1 07.

I personally do not like the look of the 2008 Escape. I like the "baby commander" look of the Liberty.

The VW Tiguan is pretty nice thou. I wonder how the pricing stacks up to the Liberty. Does anyone know the base price of the Tiguan?

frostyy

Ya, I like the Tiguan too...I believe the press release indicated that more info (perhaps including pricing) will be available in early 2007...it will be interesting to compare the Tiguan and Liberty with respect to cargo capacity/utility (fold flat rear seats), exterior dimensions (not too big so I can store more stuff in the garage), fuel economy (the higher the better of course) etc...

I, too, am not real impressed with the Escape, Hybrid or otherwise...

I'm thinking my next vehicle will be either the 08 Tiguan diesel 4WD or the 08 Liberty (diesel hopefully) 4WD...they are the closest to what I am looking for so far...

clarkkent

"without any disguise!" What have you been smoking? I see lots of disguises on it. Send me a photo of the new Lib. without ANY black covers on it anywhere, (When your head is clear of all the stuff you have been smoking!)

CK

siberia

Use you x-ray vision, Clark.

clarkkent

I would, but Daveit is using Kryptonite! And I can't see through the smoke coming from his bong!

CK

sturm_ruger

and much better than its Dodge Nitro sibling. Now if only DCX will see fit to equip the new Liberty with a version of the 3.0 Liter diesel V6 that's currently being offered in the Grand Cherokee, mated to a 6-speed manual, I could get very interested!

Jeep has let me down twice before. First when it decided not to build the slick Wrangler-based Gladiator pickup, and again when it decided the off-road package for the Patriot mini-ute would only be offered with the CVT tranny.

Please, DCX, don't screw the new Liberty up by forcing us to take an automatic transmission to get the off-road package!

knickerbocker

Forget a mini- commander... What it looks like is the iconic Cherokee(not the grand)

jeep learned the hard way that is made a huge mistake by scrapping the boxy design which was soooo popular.... They tried to fix that by going to the supersized commander... which to me does not look right, then the upcoming patriot, and even the four door wrangler.... All these vehicle emulate the discontinued Cherokee sport... So it is nice to see jeep coming to their senses and returning to their roots... BOXY IS GOOD !!!

I would also like to see a Diesel... My next car will either be a hybrid or a diesel... and It would be nice if I could climb back into a a boxy jeep.

nsande1

My wife and I were considering selling our '04 Liberty and buying a Nitro. Thank goodness for this forum. I think we'll wait for the new Liberty now.

libbynpghpa

:mad: Maybe I will be the only defect in this forum, but from what I can see the current jeep liberty is very popular. I believe it got that way because it did not follow the boxy styling or external tail lights that seems to plague the jeep lineup. When I go out in my Libby it is nearly impossible to see less than a bakers dozen of other Liberties in a one way trip. It will be very disappointing to see a miniature version of a Commander in the 2008 Liberty's future.

I would also like to add in my thoughts of the Compass. Although it is relatively attractive I was very upset to see they didn't follow the original concept design seen here:

http://www.motorsblog.com/uploads/JeepCompassConcept2002.jpg

The Patriot looks like a cherokee from long ago, but it fits...I like it

Here is my opinion:
Keep being different. If jeep wants to appeal to more and more buyers then they would have to keep some boxy designs and also expand on designs like the current 02-07 Liberty, Concept Compass and Production Compass. Maybe even an all wheel sedan type thing like an AMC Eagle would be awsome.

ryanmcv

I agree. I absolutely love the design of my current 2003 Liberty, and I see at LEAST 10 others on the road every day. You can call the Libby cartoonish, feminine, or whatever, but the fact of the matter is that it is very well designed. It keeps the traditional Jeep look while also appealing to a much broader audience. I love the look of the spare tire on the back as well as the overall round, smooth look of the car's design. I was looking forward to buying a new Liberty within the next year or so, but after seeing these prototype images, I'm beginning to have second thoughts. The new design is much too boxy and will definitely not appeal to the average Joe. If they do release this model, I sincerely hope that they continue to sell an edition of the Liberty that retains its current design.

libbynpghpa

Don't get me wrong, but the boxy look is nice too. But not on the liberty. I works on some of the jeeps, not all. I think the compass would be better if it followed a more rounded/flowing/fluid styling. But when I look at the patriot I find it very attractive as well. It reminds me of the cherokee ALOT, but it's still different. Does anyone think an AWD Jeep Sedan would be neat? Kinda like the AMC Eagles from long ago??

knickerbocker

I disagree... I'm sure Jeep did alot of research before they decided to "Scrap" the current liberty design... There is tremendous appeal for a boxy SUV... And rememnber the "U" in SUV... Boxy vehicles tend to have more useable space...and better visability...

As far as popular... NOT... The vehicle it replaced... the iconic Cherokee sport maintained its broad appeal with only minimal changes from 1884 (I believe that was it's intro date) How many vehicles can claim that... In fact it was so popular they even put off discontinuing it after the planned replacement date... And to this day used car jeep dealers can not keep them in stock ... As a replacement for the iconic cherokee and as a UTILITY vehicle it fell far short and left Jeep with a void...

As an avid outdoors person( I've been a white water and sea kayaker for 20 years.... The boxy cherokee sport was ideal.... rugged... good ground clearance, low flat roof line... easy to load kayaks and bikes... ample room behind the back seat...It definately put the Utility is SUV.

The liberty on the other hand is a "pretty" SUV... bubble room... crappy short roof rack... hard to load boats and bikes on....very little room behind the back seat...

And while it had "cute" look some people liked... MANY more people hated it... And if it was so popular why redesign it???

There were many more hard core jeep enthusiasts that felt it was a betrayal to its iconic predicesor...

The chereokee (sport) was the work horse of the jeep line... (the Grand was the flagship, the commander the soccor mom car, the wrangler the off road fun truck and the patriot will be the fuel friendly entry level) What Jeep needs is a good utility vehicle, rugged, useable at a decent price (similar to the Nissan X-tera) The liberty offered none of that... it sold because it was cute and relatively inexpensive... But it was a far cry from a true SUV... in the tradition of what SUVs were designed for... you want cute by a WV beetle...

But as far as I'm concerned the liberty was an embarrassment to Jeep... and to the cherished vehicle it was charged with replacing

That is why Jeep have returned to their roots with their designs...

The new liberty loses the bubble roof... in fact I think the roof line is lower... which will be good for folks who carry kayaks and bikes... it will be longer with more room behind the back seat for additional cargo storage...

It is a great design direction jeep probably wishes it had taken as a replacement for the cherokee to begin with... but from the looks of it... they have corrected that mistake

libbynpghpa

We will definately have to agree to disagree. In my opinion Jeep should broaden their design styles such as they did for the Current Liberty and the Compass to be able to appeal to a broader consumer base. Why not introduce this '08 Liberty as another Cherokee and elaborate on the current Liberty design. Make it "cute" if that's what you think, but don't make it another boxy vehicle like others in the Jeep lineup. And I'll say this again...The boxy look isn't a bad thing, it's just that it looks better on some rather than them all.

alfa_xray2010

In the Nitro, you can only get the 4.0 as a package with other stuff I don't want or use. Does anybody know if the '08 Liberty will be the same way or will the 4.0 be offered without any "attachments"?

clarkkent

I was looking at the Patriot. But I think not. Great looks but I'm concerned about the CVT tranny in the awd. They are going to use it instead of a two speed transfer case.

I have had a two speed transfer cases in all my Jeeps since back in the 50's. I just could not get used to a CVT.

I do like automatic transmissions in Jeeps. With (hi-low)
transer cases they are truly hard to stop.

I hear the Patroit will use the CVT at a lower ratio instead of a low range transfer case. but, the low ratio will be not as low as a true low range.

That is probably the only reason I'll wait for the Liberty. That and the 4L engine.

Does anyone know of any interior photos of the 2008 liberty?

CK
CK

ryanmcv

The 2008 Jeep Liberty will be revealed at the New York International Auto Show in early April. From what I've heard, Chrysler/Jeep will be hosting a press event before the actual show even starts, so you can expect an announcement sometime around April 5th. Then you'll have all the pictures you could ever want of the new Liberty.

billymay

I agree, Jeep had a distinctive design and met my needs perfectly. Now the Liberty looks like the Patriot, Nitro, Commander, old Cherokee and a bunch of other generic trucks.

Bland. When my lease is up, I'm done with Jeeps for a while.

iowaporsche

I have to agree. I love the huge sunroof but the front end would stop me from buying one.

bruce32

Owning both a 03 Liberty and an 06 Commander, and having a 2 month old baby, I'd like to point out that the Liberty has enough backseat space to place the rearfacing baby seat behind either front seat or in the center, while the Commander does not have enough space behind the front seats and the baby seat can only be put in the center...oops.

Bruce32

mable91367

Do anyone know when the 2008 Jeep Liberty be available?

highfashionlad

I love the more boxy look. We just bought a commander and absolutely love it. It has every option and the look is terrific. I can't wait for the new Liberty's to cime out.
The Patriot is great but a bit too low to the ground for me.
I need to be aqble to see about the bigger trucks ect.

Elizabeth

highfashionlad

I love the more boxy look. We just bought a commander and absolutely love it. It has every option and the look is terrific. I can't wait for the new Liberty's to come out.
The Patriot is great but a bit too low to the ground for me.
I need to be aqble to see about the bigger trucks ect.

Elizabeth

mb789

Hello.

Does anyone know when 2008 Libertys will be at dealerships? Are they already on some lots? I'm in southern Ohio.

None of the dealers in my area show them as in stock on their web inventories, but I thought maybe this was because they are trying to sell the 2007s first and haven't loaded them online yet. Thanks.

wwwkjjeepcom

the new KK will keep the 3.7L engine of the old KJ...

although it seems to "look bigger"...the interior dimensions are almost the same...

the fold flat cargo area is the improvement...

I had a 2002 KJ and after seeing the "new look" of the 2008 KK, I decided to get the 2006 CRD...

I just happen to like the KJ looks a bit better and the diesel option

twain

I like the styling of the new Liberty. Getting the tire off the back is a plus. But gas mileage is still bad. Put a diesel in it.

wwwkjjeepcom

The original Liberty KJ was the best selling Midsize SUV from the start...more than the Ford Escape, Honda CRV, ect. To say it was a failure is just plain ignoring the facts. The problem is these days models change every 4-5 years on average...the Jeep Liberty KJ lasted 6 years. The new 2008+ Liberty KK is a completely different looking animal than the KJ. Looks are so subjective that it is almost a waste of time to argue about. Some will like the KJ, some the KK and still some will like both for different reasons...there will even be some that like neither.

For myself, I looked at spy shot and some insider shots of the 2008+ Liberty before I decided what to do with my 2002 Jeep Liberty Limited 4x4. I ended up buying one of the last 2006 Jeep Liberty CRDs. The Diesel engine was a big factor in that decision plus the fact that I knew everything about the KJ.

I will say that the "Sport Model" of the 2008+ Liberty looks better with the color coded grill than the "Limited Model" with the chrome grill. I think they should have used the 4.0L engine instead of the 3.7L (since a diesel was out of the question). I also think that since they put a headlight pod in that looks like two quotation marks, they should have made them better with HIDs or Projector Beams...they missed a chance there IMHO.

As for the added length of the new 2008+ Liberty...some of that is in the hood...why a longer hood area? The interior dimensions are very close between the KJ and KK if you look at the numbers. The Dodge Nitro is ewven longer with a longer wheelbase than the 2008+ Liberty. It might be a better choice for some if you really want more room and you can have the more powerful 4.0L 255hp vs the 3.7L 210hp V6.

sailingmystic

Hi there,
The 2008 Liberty is out (and arriving by the truckload if you haven't been able to see it yet). I took my 2004 Jeep Liberty in for an oil change last week- and took the 2008 Brick Red/limited for a test drive...that lasted well, let's just say I'm still driving it I like the new Liberty- huge change in comfort/seating and space. I commute a bit- and the ability to change the seat 6 ways is great. I like the design/look as well. It's a very smooth ride and very different from the previous design. If you haven't seen it- or driven it- I'd say it's worth it to go check it out.
I'll add my hitch and upgrade my tires later. But very happy with the extras and comfort...and the sound system is excellent!
D.K.

xtec

Congratulations on your new Liberty.I looked at some this last weekend,and I liked it.They didn't have much stock,plus there isn't any good deals yet.I would like to know how your fuel mileage is.You might have to wait till it gets broken in.Thanks and good luck.

libertyinct

Has anyone test driven the new Jeep Liberty with the Sky Slider Option? I haven't seen one in my area with this option yet and I'm curious about what everybody thinks.

unclejjg

Can anybody account for the fact that Jeep lists the Limited 4x4's ground clearance at 7.8" while the Sport 4x4 is 9"? What the heck happened there? Edmunds lists it at 7.4"!

sailingmystic

HI there,
I'm not an expert, but the Sport comes with 16" wheels and the limited with 17 or 18"-- maybe it's due to this?
What I am interested in learning more about is why or how do I use my electronic tire PSI monitoring alert system when off roading (let's say on sand) when I need to take the air out of my tires and/upgrade tires, etc. Does anyone have experience with the alarm/alert and how changing out tires is effected with this system yet?
Thanks,
D.K.

sailingmystic

Hi there,
She's finally broken in -- just under 1,000 miles (only takes 300 miles to brake them in now), but drives like a dream. I've read some threads about the lack of handling- and was surprised. It's drive is smooth and responsive- not tight (not a sports car). It's almost like a truck- but very comfortable and smooth/quiet. Very different than my former 2004 Liberty. This one I feel wouldn't off road - but it's so comfortable to drive. I have the Limited ed. w/ leather-- so the seats are firm and comfy. I previously had cloth- and was very happy with them in the 2004 model. But now I like the 6 adjustments in the driver's seat. The gas is similar to the previous Liberty models...not seeing too much of a difference there at all. Tends to use more in 4wd as well- but that's OK. I like the capability of this vehicle and the simple perks- remote start, sound system and quiet ride. Still very pleased
Cheers,
D.K.

xtec

Thanks for the update.I heard nothing but good things about the 08 Liberty.The redesign the front suspension which is suppose to give it a better ride.Plus its a little bigger then the first Liberty.I'm glad you like it.