Pre-owned Jeep for occasional off-road with decent gas mileage?

Hey ya'll

I am a first-time Jeep buyer. I have always loved them and I figured now is the time to take the plunge. However I am not sure which model to get and I read conflicting reports on each one. I would love to get an opinion from you guys.

Some facts:

- I don't have a lot of cash (trying to keep it under 10k). I will be going with a pre-owned vehicle.

- For that amount I am probably looking at something in the mid 2000s (maybe closer to '07-'08 depending on mileage)

- I would like to find something with less than 100k.

- I live in Southern California and I would not really take the vehicle off-road, except maybe on a rare occasion.

I have been looking at the Liberty, the Patriot and the Grand Cherokee.

Frankly, I love the look of the Liberty but I am told that the mileage sucks and that it is essentially a mini-truck. So driving it in the city/highway would defeat the purpose.

I hear great things about the Patriot but it looks really plastic-y... not sure why everybody loves it so much.

Finally the Grand Cherokee looks awesome but I am worried that it's really big and that gas mileage isn't so great.

I know that ultimately "it's up to me" but... what would YOU choose?

 

Of the 3 that you mention The Grand Cherokee would be my choice. If it is a Jeep it gets bad mileage. If you get a GC try to get a V-8 for the better resale and in my opinion fewer problems, and I believe there are only 2mpg difference on the higway between the 8 and 6.