Quandary... Keep the Raptor or...

[Double Tap]

And by the way, have you actually tried the Raptor out on some of those trails you're worried about? I've been pleasantly surprised at the places I've fit mine. All it takes is a little patience, maybe a minute or two hoping out and scouting, and the willingness to hit reverse sometimes. Seriously head out with wife in the Raptor to one of those trails before buying the Jeep and see... my wife and I love working together to get around and thru stuff. Makes the experience more fun for both of us.

Yeah, we took it up to Kentucky's Land Between The Lakes about two weeks ago and shoe-horned it down some trails that I thought were going to result in body damage. Luckily it came through just fine, and we had an absolute blast doing it.

It also took about 4 hours to completely clean up the truck afterward, and there were some moments when the pucker factor was at +11 when we thought we were about to ruin a $50K truck.

Honestly that's what's got us thinking about the Rubicon Unlimited as a second vehicle. It's not a $50K Raptor, it fits down trails easier, and will be a little easier as a daily commuter for parking/fuel reasons. Thankfully we are in a position to own both, albeit it slows down some of our other projects -- like the new house. More on that later.

Anyway, we're going to go see about putting in our order tonight. The new engine, refined amenities and 0% financing make it a no-brainer to go new instead of used.

 

[gordhunt]

If you think you'll get 20mpg in a jeep rubicon you are dreaming. I sold mine when I got the raptor and I was getting about 14-15mpg in the jeep and I get about the same or a little less in the raptor

 

[Raptoyd11]

I've found myself in a bit of a quandary lately. I love my truck and it's by far the nicest vehicle I've owned to date. My wife loves the truck almost as much as I do. We constantly get comments on it from absolute strangers and it seems to garner a lot of attention on the road, which is both fun but also annoying at times.

But recently I've begun to reassess some of my priorities as well as how the Raptor fits into our lifestyle. Prior to owning the Raptor my wife and I both owned FJ Cruisers and I really enjoyed the fact that I could take the FJ damn near anywhere -- including doing some medium-duty offroading. The Raptor seems plenty capable of going anywhere that it can fit, but that's one of the problems. It's too damn big for a lot of the trails near us and we're halfway across the country from the nearest desert.

On top of that it's becoming a pain in the ass to find parking places big enough for it and we constantly have to consider whether there will be parking appropriate for the Raptor wherever we might go. I don't mind parking away from the crowd -- and prefer it -- but sometimes even that isn't an option, let alone practical.

Lastly, when I consider the cost of fuel per month, the relatively low MPG the truck gets and the fact that I could reduce my monthly car payment by almost 30% were I to go with a smaller offroad vehicle, and it's seriously steering me to contemplate other options.

I think I may end up going to test drive a 2012 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited this evening after work. I'm not sure what's going to happen after that. I'm torn between the emotional tug of the Raptor and the practicality of something more economical to own/operate and what might actually fit our lifestyle a little better.

Just had to vent a little. Anyone else facing similar decisions lately?

Consider that your Raptor is and will be a collectors item, the FJ don't think so. Just 2 cents worth. Oh and nothing wrong with garnering a little attention in your ride just means there is some jealous people out there. My biggest concern is those very few people who would actually do the truck harm like key it or something stupid like that just out of spite because life has not been too good to them.

 

[Aaron]

My biggest concern is those very few people who would actually do the truck harm like key it or something stupid like that just out of spite because life has not been too good to them.

I worry about that too. Some people operate on the principle of "If I can't have nice things, nobody should."