4 Things That’ll Annoy You When Travelling with Your Jeep Wrangler

As much as we love our Jeeps, sometimes they can get on our last nerves. Jeep Wrangler modifications can sometimes remedy a lot of these frustrations, but 9 times out of 10, you’re stuck with what you’ve got.

Below are some of the biggest annoyances Jeep Wrangler owners face when taking their vehicle cross country. Even if you’ve never taken your 4X4 monster on a long trip before, you may already face a lot of these issues on your daily drive.

Slow Acceleration on Highways 

Let’s just face the facts: your Wrangler is not a BMW, Audi, or any other type of sports car. And no amount of Jeep Wrangler upgrades will ever make it one. If you’re looking for pure speed and acceleration, you’re probably better off getting one of those vehicles.

As a matter of fact, you’d probably get better acceleration in almost ANY other car. That’s just not what Jeeps were made for. Our vehicles are perfectly practical for driving to and from work/school or to various outdoor activities. However, highway street races aren’t where the Jeep Wrangler strives. 

Unfortunately, if you happen to be taking your Jeep Wrangler on an interstate voyage, there’s little chance that you won’t be faced with a highway at some point along your journey. While Wranglers aren’t necessarily slow by any means, you’ll definitely spend a little longer on the road than say, if you were driving a similarly priced Subaru Crosstrek.

The Subaru Crosstrek and Jeep Wrangler have two major things in common: both are compact SUV’s and contain incredibly well-regarded AWD systems. However, the time it takes each vehicle to drive long distances is quite staggering.

According to Zeroto60Times.com, a 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited can drive a quarter-mile in about 16.2 seconds. On the other hand, a base Subaru Crosstrek of the same year can travel the same distance in only 13.2 seconds.

Now three seconds per quarter-mile isn’t lifechanging by any means. Most people (myself included) would go as far as to say they’d rather spend the 12 extra seconds per mile to drive a Jeep Wrangler than a Subaru. But when you’re going on a long road trip, those twelve seconds really begin to add up.

Let’s say you’re taking an adventurous road trip from sunny Los Angeles, California to the wonderous Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, a 972-mile voyage roundtrip. When extrapolating each car’s quarter-mile time over the distance of the expedition, you’ll find that driving a Subaru Crosstrek will get you to the Grand Canyon and back over three hours quicker than with your Jeep Wrangler. 

Now there’s obviously a bunch of reasons you’d much rather take your Wrangler over a Subaru in this situation, but when pure drive time is considered, it’s hard to pick the Wrangler over most other vehicles on the market right now.

It’s okay though. We’d probably have much more fun at the Grand Canyon than a Subaru owner anyway.

Lack of Aerodynamics

Cars aren’t exactly airplanes, but the way they “fly” through the air has a drastic effect on your Jeep Wrangler’s performance. How your Jeep Wrangler performs ultimately effects fuel economy which will determine how often you’ll have to visit the nearest gas station and how much money you ultimately spend.

One of the least aerodynamic cars in the history of motor vehicles is the luxury Mercedes Benz G-Wagon. It’s large boxy frame and lack of round edges gave it horrific gas mileage. G-Wagon owners often reported a maximum of 14 miles per gallon.

 As much as Jeep lovers would like to disagree, it’s hard to argue the fact that the modern Jeep Wrangler shares similar exterior attributes with the Mercedes G-Wagon. Both have massive box like frames in front, housing their grill and circular headlights. This style can be seen throughout the body designs of both cars. Neither have very distinguishable round corners anywhere on the exterior figure of the vehicle.

 Luckily for us, Jeep and Mercedes consumers are two totally different kind of buyers. We want a vehicle that’s durable and that’ll last us through rain, sleet, snow, and hail. Mercedes customers on the other hand are focused on luxury first and foremost. For this reason, the G-Wagon is stocked loaded with a bunch of features that ultimately add to the weight of the vehicle, further affecting its aerodynamic effect.

 Jeep Wranglers don’t have all of those features, eliminating the weight issue, but you’re still stuck with the large, boxy external body we’ve all learned to love. This puts most Jeep Wranglers at about the 17-21 miles per gallon range when it comes to gas mileage; which isn’t horrible for a 4x4 SUV with off-roading capability.

 However, when compared to similar compact SUV’s, the Jeep Wrangler severely lacks. Let’s bring our 2016 base Subaru Crosstrek back into the equation. The 2016 Subaru Crosstrek will get you about 27 miles per gallon while city driving and 33 miles on the highway. The 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited on the other hand, will set you back about 10 miles per gallon in both categories.

 Once again, while 10 miles per gallon doesn’t sound like an exorbitant amount, when extrapolated to account for thousands of miles of road travel, those lost miles add up and will eventually cost you at the pump.

Limited Storage Space

No matter how little you pack into your Jeep Wrangler storage for a family vacation, there’s a large chance you won’t have enough space. As owners, we all wish for larger Jeep Wrangler integrated storage options for our vehicles. So, Jeep, if you’re reading this, please deliver!

 For now, we’re stuck.

 While 2018 Jeep Wranglers offer marginally better options in terms of interior cargo space, those with older models suffer will incredibly slim pickings when deciding where to store belongings.

 Your average pre-2018 4-door could probably store up to about 2 small luggage in the back seat potentially another luggage and duffle bag in the trunk. If you’re driving a 2-door model or happen to be carrying a full load of passengers, you’re stuck with just the trunk storage. For most cars, this space would be more than enough to accommodate the luggage of 4 people. However, with your Jeep Wrangler, storage is limited. You’d likely have to do a lot of downsizing to get your entire family’s things to fit.

 Additionally, the trunk storage space does not lock and is not covered most times. It would take a thief minimal time and effort to get into your car and slide all your belongings right out.

 Luckily, we here at XG Cargo may have a bit of a solution for your Jeep Wrangler integrated storage issues with our signature Sportsman line, voted top 5 “best new Jeep Wrangler accessories” at the 2017 SEMA Trade Show.

 Our Sportsman provides you an incredibly versatile, sexy, rear cargo solution for the most adventurous of individuals. We also carry models that include multiple floor liners for increased storage options and even a removeable pet mesh window.

No space in your luggage? Wish you had some extra space for a few smaller items? You should definitely consider looking into one of our Sportsman models. You won’t regret it!

 Too Many Adventure Options

You have to admit: owning a Jeep Wrangler is pretty awesome.

 There’s not a single car on the market that enhances your road trip options like the Jeep Wrangler. Feel free to take a leisurely, 2-hour drive to the next major city to see the sights. You could also pack your things up and hit the mountain side for some super fun off-roading expeditions.  If neither of those interest you, you could always take your Jeep Wrangler to any of the several beaches across the United States that allow beach driving. Trust me, you’ll have the time of your life.

 The number of places that are immediately available to you with just your vehicle are increased exponentially just by purchasing a Jeep Wrangler. Few vehicles are able to travel both on the highway and off road as effortlessly as yours. Take advantage and show it off!

 If you haven’t yet, feel free to check out XG Cargo’s list of 7 travel destinations specifically designed with the Jeep Wrangler community in mind. We promise you’ll find your dream destination, or at least an idea of where you’d like to go next! 

Let’s face it, we all love our Jeep Wrangler’s and wouldn’t trade them for the world. Sometimes though, they can annoy us just as much as a crying newborn child.

Does your Jeep Wrangler annoy you in a way that’s not featured on this list? Let us know! We’d love to hear from you.