SeaVee

After a scary I-81 crash that totaled my XC 90, I'm looking at one of these. 70k miles, one owner, clean car fax 4x4. Primarily a highway demon for my daughter at college , but we do need to drive on the beach to get to our getaway house. Biggest concern is the 20 inch rims/tires, I hear there are not many off road tire choices in that size? Can you go down to 18's with different rims? Any mild ( 1-2 inch) lifts out there? Any info/advice is appreciated. Will have a cherry '01 XJ for sale if this goes thru!!

94zj318

Yes, there was an option to get 18" wheels and tires on the Overland, so it's possible. In terms of lifts, the Overland has factory air suspension via the Quadra-Lift system, so I'm not sure if that would impact installing an aftermarket lift kit or not. If you're looking for a vehicle for your daughter to drive to college, then you're definitely on the right track with the Grand Cherokee, especially in the Overland trim. It's comfortable, has plenty of room for cargo and maybe even 1 or 2 of your daughter's friends (if you let her carry passengers), and she'll love all the technology (including a nav system to keep her on course). The HEMI V8 is a bit thirsty when it comes to fuel (despite being equipped with cylinder deactivation at highway speeds), so the 3.6 Pentastar VVT V6 is probably the best option if you do a lot of highway driving (our '14 Limited has that engine, and we've had it almost a year... we do a lot of highway driving and use it as a commuter to and from work 40mi a day, and it gets great gas mileage and is very reliable... plenty of power too).

Hope this helps, and hope everything works out for you and your daughter.

-Vince

SeaVee

Thanks for the info! I was actually sent the original window sticker and it has just about everything the Overland package has except it's not actuallyvan Overland, just a loaded Laredo. That is fine with me, the air suspension looked like something that couldvbecexpensive to service/fix. still has the 20 inch rims. Would like to change those to 18's to get more tirecselection/small lift

94zj318

You won't get ventilated seats, only heated ones (although they'll be heated in BOTH the front AND the rear, and you MAY get a heated steering wheel as well). I've actually heard the "ruffled" leather seats in the Laredo X and Limited are more comfortable than the ventilated ones in the Limiteds and Overlands (we have the standard "ruffled" heated leather seats in our '14 Limited). If you have 20"'s on a Laredo, you WON'T have the air suspension or Quadra-Lift air suspension.