Is it me, or does the JT really struggle...

[PyrPatriot]

...going up hills. I swear, I could be driving it empty and it still drops the mpgs and sounds like it struggles even up small grades. Today I drove it up a park road (pavement) ranging from 9-11 degrees and it dropped all the way down to 2nd gear.

On highways, any hill requires pretty good gas pedal depression to maintain speed. I can IMMEDIATELY feel when there is even a slight slope because the Jeep will slow down in 2 seconds.

ETA: paved road hills. Off road it is great!

ETA2: I made this post owning the JT for 4 months. Now, almost 3 years and 60k miles later, I feel it is fine. Perhaps there was just a learning curve for the engine. 17 pages...really?

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[Renegade]

You never owned a Jeep before? These things are race cars compared to the stuff from the 80’s and 90’s.

 

[futzin']

For what it weighs, it needs more power, IMO.

 

[takeitsleazy]

Handles hills better than my 2013 2 door soooo I’m happy

 

[PyrPatriot]

You never owned a Jeep before? These things are race cars compared to the stuff from the 80’s and 90’s.

Compared to a 4cyl Honda Element the JT drags on hills. My 4cyl Honda Civic felt better. I have never owned a Jeep. Got a Patriot as a rental for a week, it was ok, felt underpowered. The JT drives GREAT for me, just the immediate wall it hits when there is any incline is surprising.

 

[LostWoods]

No worse than my Tacoma. It's typical for this market segment and still miles better than compact and mid-size trucks I've owned over the years.

 

[Jay Gatsby]

No complaints here...Love it.

 

[jwilson2899]

No worse than my Tacoma. It's typical for this market segment and still miles better than compact and mid-size trucks I've owned over the years.

Agreed, I find the 8 speed to be light years ahead of the 6 speed my 3rd gen Tacoma had. Far happier with this setup.

 

[Renegade]

Compared to a 4cyl Honda Element the JT drags on hills. My 4cyl Honda Civic felt better. I have never owned a Jeep. Got a Patriot as a rental for a week, it was ok, felt underpowered. The JT drives GREAT for me, just the immediate wall it hits when there is any incline is surprising.

It’s all about perspective I guess. This engine makes power fairly high in the RPM range. The 8-speed transmission allows it to work sufficiently well in my opinion.

 

[futzin']

I'm definitely a fan of the 8 speed tranny.

 

[TheITGuy]

My Ridgeline does the same thing. As mentioned above, these 3-3.6L naturally aspirated V6's in most mid-sized trucks make their power at a relatively high RPM band, thus necessitating the drop in gear to haul their ass up a hill.

 

[Incommando]

You can’t be afraid to step on the gas a little to get the transmission to downshift and move the RPM’s up into the engine’s power band. As stated above these V6’s make their power high in the RPM range and you have to get them up there. I don’t really notice the hill thing that much but it may be my truck’s 4.10 gears.

 

[Oilburner]

... As stated above these V6’s make their power high in the RPM range and you have to get them up there...

This right here = it's a cultural change to keep an engine above 3,500rpm to reach the 3.6L power band. I struggle with it, that's why I am a diesel fan. (not that there aren't compromises with them too) I always feel like I am running the s**t out of a poor gas engine these days lol

 

[saintpauljeff]

I don’t really notice the hill thing that much but it may be my truck’s 4.10 gears.

Same. With the max tow setup I'm wondering if its downshifting is less drastic.

 

[PyrPatriot]

Same. With the max tow setup I'm wondering if its downshifting is less drastic.

I have the Max Tow

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