I was quite impressed with the Liberty's ability to suppress wind and road noise. Very little of either irritant soaks into the relaxed cabin albeit engine noise under strain is quite apparent. I drove both an automatic Liberty and a manually equipped unit. The manual transmission's direct connection between engine and wheels brought out a little more coarseness from the Liberty's powerplant than did the autobox.

The six-speed manual gearbox will be a sought-after asset by those serious about their off-roading or towing needs. Jeep was wise to include it in the new Liberty lineup, as the four-speed automatic comes up a little short when maximum acceleration is needed. I actually thought the big V6 would pack a little more straight-line punch than it does.


Wrap-up
Jeep has done the remarkable with the Liberty. In addition to completely modernizing it, they have stuffed in more standard content, including side-curtain airbags, while lowering the vehicle's base price, which now resides at $27,695- some $2,696 less than last year. Consumers get more Jeep - Chrysler sells more units, and that's a win-win.


Photo Credit : Rob Rothwell