2005 Jeep Liberty Review

The Jeep Liberty offers a good balance for someone who enjoys the outdoors. Day in and day out, it takes the place of a car or wagon. The Liberty seats four comfortably and can carry up to five people and their gear. Fold the rear seats and it can move two people and some serious cargo. Turn off the pavement and it's able to negotiate most trails with confidence.

True to Jeep heritage, the Liberty offers legitimate off-road capability. In this respect, it stands apart from the herd of compact sport-utility vehicles, few of which offer true off-road capability. The Liberty gives up some refinement and road agility to do this. On the road, it does not ride or handle as well as some of the other small SUVs.

But the Liberty is among the best of the small sport-utilities for drivers who need serious off-road capability on the weekend yet need practicality and affordability during the week. For 2005, the Liberty gets a new engine and two new transmissions. With the addition of an advanced, 2.7-liter common-rail diesel engine, Jeep becomes the first midsize SUV available with a diesel engine in the U.S. The Diesel is backed by a five-speed overdrive automatic transmission. A new, six-speed manual transmission replaces the previous five-speed manual. The Liberty Renegade has seen the most change for 2005, having been fitted with a flatter hood, taller grille, off-road foglamps and taillamp guards.

The Renegade now has functional rock rails, four skid plates, and new options, such as taller P235/0R16 all-terrain tires, a GPS navigation radio and an overhead light bar. The fresher appearance extends across all 2005 models. All receive a new front fascia, grille, foglamps fender flares, and body side-moldings. Interior refinements include relocated power window switches, new instrument panel cluster graphics, and improved seat comfort.

With its seven-slat grille and round headlights, there's no question the Liberty looks like a Jeep.

The Liberty's body is tall, providing the driver with a commanding view of the terrain ahead. In terms of exterior dimensions, the Liberty fits between the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee. With an overall length of 174.4 inches, the Jeep Liberty is slightly longer than the Ford Escape. It's longer than the Wrangler, but significantly shorter and lighter than the Grand Cherokee.

2005 Liberty Sport models get a new body-color grille, provisions for optional fog lamps, and higher turn lamp locations for more protection from road debris. The front bumper runs across the bottom of the grill with a twin-tube design.

Renegade appeals to a slightly different type of buyer than the basic Sport and more sophisticated Limited models. A flatter hood complements the traditional round Jeep headlimps for a distinctive Jeep appearance. A new body-color grille is part of the re-styling for 2005, as are large freestanding fog lamps with black bezels, and a new sill to protect the body sides from road blast. Tow hooks and a bright silver metallic applique across the new molded-in color front fascia are standard features. Bolted flares are also molded-in color for more durability and have chrome-plated attachment details. A new luggage side rack with beefieer molded-in color end pieces, and a brushed silver metallic tubular side rail combine to suggest a rugged appearance. The black off-road light bar, standard in prior years, is now an optional feature. Fender flares, combined with the off-road light bar and taillamp guards give the Renegade a look that stands apart from the Sport and Limited models.

A neat feature on all models: Yanking hard on the outside door handle causes the glass hatch to swing up as the door itself is swinging out, which saves time and effort. Pulling on the handle with less force causes just the glass hatch to swing up. Also, the door swings open from the right, better for curbside pickups at the airport.

The Jeep Liberty debuted as a 2002 model. 2003 brought enhancements aimed at improving on-road stability. 2004 brought upgrades in safety equipment, and in comfort and convenience options. Among them: Chrysler's Enhanced Accident Response System, which unlocks doors and turns on interior lights five seconds after an airbag deploys.