Thinking about buying my second Jeep: need guidance from the Base “Sport” model owners

[5ABI]

To give some background, I am a very happy owner of a JLUR. Within the next couple of months or by this Winter I may need a second car for job related reasons. My current alternate car (2009 Honda Civic 4 door) may not cut it for me as my job requires me to drive from Long Island to New England or Upstate NY or Maryland once a week on average. The civic is simply too old and I still want it to last a couple of more years before donating it. I also dont want to use my nearly $60k JLUR for work purposes and intend to get a new vehicle as the company’s Car Allowance is very generous.

I am looking at getting either a JLU or a JT Base Model Sport with a six speed manual and a hardtop (and almost nothing else). Can a base model owner of either a JL or JLU or JT guide me in terms of what they miss the most in their Basic rigs? How difficult is it to have a car without any power windows or power mirrors as a daily driver and for long 250 mile plus road trips? The last time I drove something without any power mirrors or windows was back in 2010 (a used 1990 Nissan Stanza). Will like to know how likely I am to get frustrated as I have had power mirrors, windows and locks for more than ten years now.

trying to see if I am making the right decision or whether I should consider a Sedan instead that will have the power group and a similar price tag of $35k or under before taxes. Not too concerned about MPG either.

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[Willys2Gladiator]

To give some background, I am a very happy owner of a JLUR. Within the next couple of months or by this Winter I may need a second car for job related reasons. My current alternate car (2009 Honda Civic 4 door) may not cut it for me as my job requires me to drive from Long Island to New England or Upstate NY or Maryland once a week on average. The civic is simply too old and I still want it to last a couple of more years before donating it. I also dont want to use my nearly $60k JLUR for work purposes and intend to get a new vehicle as the company’s Car Allowance is very generous.

I am looking at getting either a JLU or a JT Base Model Sport with a six speed manual and a hardtop (and almost nothing else). Can a base model owner of either a JL or JLU or JT guide me in terms of what they miss the most in their Basic rigs? How difficult is it to have a car without any power windows or power mirrors as a daily driver and for long 250 mile plus road trips? The last time I drove something without any power mirrors or windows was back in 2010 (a used 1990 Nissan Stanza). Will like to know how likely I am to get frustrated as I have had power mirrors, windows and locks for more than ten years now.

trying to see if I am making the right decision or whether I should consider a Sedan instead that will have the power group and a similar price tag of $35k or under before taxes. Not too concerned about MPG either.

I am a Base Sport owner and would have it any other way.

First I special ordered mine.
- Sting Gray
- Max tow
- Hard top
- Auto trans
- Accessory Switches
- Bed liner
- Tonoeau cover
- Slush mats.
Nothing else. $36,400 + distinaction fee. This leaves lots of room to build it later the way you want. Didn't want a big payment either.

Reason for Base.
1. I miss my 1952 Willy's truck. It was basic, simple and stock and it might be my most favorite and rememberable vehicle.
I ordered mine as basic as possible to try and get some of that feeling back. I LOVE the roll up windows. One of my favorite things about it. Manual locks hell yeah. 5" touch screen because I couldn't get a delete. LOL
2. Base model has the same engine and drivetrain. Same frame.
3. Didn't get it to hard core 4 Wheel. Just a fun truck that's fricking cool.

I've since added a sun ridder top, Rubicon takeoff shocks, rock rails and rims. 1.5 leveling kit and 35x10.5x17 tires and couldn't be haperier.

I wouldn't do anything different if I had to do it all over.

 

[Willys2Gladiator]

I am a Base Sport owner and would have it any other way.

First I special ordered mine.
- Sting Gray
- Max tow
- Hard top
- Auto trans
- Accessorie Switches
- Bed liner
- Tonoeau cover
- Slush mats.
Nothing else. $36,000 + distinaction fee. This leaves lots of room to build it later the way you want. Didn't want a big payment either.

Reason for Base.
1. I miss my 1952 Willy's truck. It was basic, simple and stock and it might be my most favorite and rememberable vehicle.
I ordered mine as basic as possible to try and get some of that feeling back. I LOVE the roll up windows. One of my favorite things about it. Manual locks hell yeah. 5" touch screen because I couldn't get a delete. LOL
2. Base model has the same engine and drivetrain. Same frame.
3. Didn't get it to hard core 4 Wheel. Just a fun truck that's fricking cool.

I've since added a sun ridder top, Rubicon takeoff shocks, rock rails and rims. 1.5 leveling kit and 35x10.5x17 tires and couldn't be haperier.

I wouldn't do anything different if I had to do it all over.

 

[Foodtruck12]

I had the same dilemma. I ended up going with a sport, but I opted for the upgraded stereo to get apple CarPlay and larger screen for backing up to a trailer. This added p/w and p/l. It is nice to have the power when the weather is nice and I want to roll all the windows down. I don’t have to pull over to do it.

 

[Gobi-Wan Kenobi]

To give some background, I am a very happy owner of a JLUR. Within the next couple of months or by this Winter I may need a second car for job related reasons. My current alternate car (2009 Honda Civic 4 door) may not cut it for me as my job requires me to drive from Long Island to New England or Upstate NY or Maryland once a week on average. The civic is simply too old and I still want it to last a couple of more years before donating it. I also dont want to use my nearly $60k JLUR for work purposes and intend to get a new vehicle as the company’s Car Allowance is very generous.

I am looking at getting either a JLU or a JT Base Model Sport with a six speed manual and a hardtop (and almost nothing else). Can a base model owner of either a JL or JLU or JT guide me in terms of what they miss the most in their Basic rigs? How difficult is it to have a car without any power windows or power mirrors as a daily driver and for long 250 mile plus road trips? The last time I drove something without any power mirrors or windows was back in 2010 (a used 1990 Nissan Stanza). Will like to know how likely I am to get frustrated as I have had power mirrors, windows and locks for more than ten years now.

trying to see if I am making the right decision or whether I should consider a Sedan instead that will have the power group and a similar price tag of $35k or under before taxes. Not too concerned about MPG either.

I don't regret getting the base sport. But if my lifestyle was different it might get annoying at times. I prefer manual door locks and windows but power mirrors would be nice.

I don't keep anything in my Jeep so I leave the doors unlocked. The glove box and center console lock so I can keep small items in my truck without worrying about theft. But if I needed to keep my doors locked, unlocking the back doors would be annoying. There are no key holes on the back doors so you have to unlock the front door and then reach over the seat to unlock the back doors and it is awkward to do.

As long as you are the only person driving the Jeep, lack of power mirrors is not a big deal. If you share the Jeep with someone who needs mirrors adjusted differently it would be very annoying. I adjusted my mirrors once and I am good to go, with someone sitting in the passenger seat to move the passenger mirror for me it only took a minute or two to get them just right. But I am the only driver of my Jeep and if my girlfriend needed to drive it thankfully we are similar enough in height that we generally have seats and mirrors adjusted the same.

I generally only roll down the driver's window so manual windows is not a problem. I often get annoyed at power windows because it can be hard to crack the window just a little on the first try, way easier with manual windows. When I take the top off I also take the doors off and power windows just add weight. If you are someone that likes to roll down other windows lack of power windows might be annoying.

The thing that annoyed me most was that I didn't realize the base sport had a different instrument cluster and it doesn't do the little Jeep animation when you start the truck. I mean this doesn't matter at all, I was just disappointed when I realized it.

I have no issues with driving the Jeep, I think it would be fine on trips. It is more comfortable then my last truck but most modern vehicles would probably be a little more comfortable on trips.

 

[Willys2Gladiator]

I don't regret getting the base sport. But if my lifestyle was different it might get annoying at times. I prefer manual door locks and windows but power mirrors would be nice.

I don't keep anything in my Jeep so I leave the doors unlocked. The glove box and center console lock so I can keep small items in my truck without worrying about theft. But if I needed to keep my doors locked, unlocking the back doors would be annoying. There are no key holes on the back doors so you have to unlock the front door and then reach over the seat to unlock the back doors and it is awkward to do.

As long as you are the only person driving the Jeep, lack of power mirrors is not a big deal. If you share the Jeep with someone who needs mirrors adjusted differently it would be very annoying. I adjusted my mirrors once and I am good to go, with someone sitting in the passenger seat to move the passenger mirror for me it only took a minute or two to get them just right. But I am the only driver of my Jeep and if my girlfriend needed to drive it thankfully we are similar enough in height that we generally have seats and mirrors adjusted the same.

I generally only roll down the driver's window so manual windows is not a problem. I often get annoyed at power windows because it can be hard to crack the window just a little on the first try, way easier with manual windows. When I take the top off I also take the doors off and power windows just add weight. If you are someone that likes to roll down other windows lack of power windows might be annoying.

The thing that annoyed me most was that I didn't realize the base sport had a different instrument cluster and it doesn't do the little Jeep animation when you start the truck. I mean this doesn't matter at all, I was just disappointed when I realized it.

I have no issues with driving the Jeep, I think it would be fine on trips. It is more comfortable then my last truck but most modern vehicles would probably be a little more comfortable on trips.

I personally love the Instrument cluster. Fuel and temp gauge versus digital. This was to me just another thing that made me love the Base.

 

[Gobi-Wan Kenobi]

I personally love the Instrument cluster. Fuel and temp gauge versus digital. This was to me just another thing that made me love the Base.

I like having actual gauges. I just watched too many videos of about the Gladiator before buying one and thought it was neat that each trim level got it's own splash screen. It is not important and only disappointed me for like 5 minutes.

 

[JTpoor]

Base Sport owner here. My build only has a hard top, max tow, and auto transmission. Final cost out the door was just over 36k. The $3k+ for pwr windows and pwr door locks was more than I was willing to pay for those two perks.
1. I’m the only one who drives it so my mirrors or seat never change. Also makes having manual door locks not such a big deal.
2. Passenger window is easy to roll down if you want both front windows open.
3. Radio for me is usually news or podcasts so the base system is fine.

Overall, I’m very pleased with my choice. The $3k+ I saved bought my spacer lift, Tazer mini, new wheels and new 37’s. All that being said....If could’ve found a Sport S for just a grand or so more, I probably would’ve gone w that. Really comes down to what kind of deal you can find and how patient you’re willing to be.

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