Looking at a New Alpha or a JK

[tomp]

If you are serious about offroading and rock climbing, get the JK-Rubicon. Hard to beat from factory with SFA & front/rear lockers with auto-disco swaybar up front. Lots more aftermarket parts at reasonable prices too.

If you want something very offroad capable and still is well mannered on the street, plenty of power and with nice looks, then get the Alpha. The V8 is very nice! In stock form, all you need to do is tweak the front torsion bars and add some extended shocks and you then have plenty more front ground clearance - which is a benefit of IFS. I feel safer in the H3 and the later year models have more air bags than I can remember.

We have an H2 and when it was time for a second new vehicle, we chose the H3 over the JK for it's extra interior space, comfort, looks and can still go offroad with the best of them. I test drove the new 4-door JK when they came out and I was just not impressed. H3 has 100K warranty as well, and that's hard to beat.

The Jk & H3 each have their own set of Pros & Cons, so take all the input with a grain of salt and decide what's best for you.