Let’s consider ketchup.
Not simply ketchup, but rather, the packet.
From ages 1 to 28 for me, the only ketchup packet available for consumption was the foil packet.
On some days the packet would rip too far down the side, not rip at all, or if the conditions were just right, spray all over my Looney Tunes shirt.
Then, once the packet was open, you could empty the contents in one-fell squirt; patient, rhythmic squeezes; or roll it up like toothpaste and extract every ounce of Heinz (if you were lucky, or something that tasted like soap if you weren’t) onto your fries.
Then it ‘s over.
You could lick the packet if you wanted — do you really want to know where that’s been? — but the foil’s job was complete.
Now let’s consider the 2012 Jeep Liberty.
Similar in design to the ketchup packet, the Liberty is an unfussy box, beaten around the corners with a couple smooth bends, but largely plucked from the brain of a designer who’s been equipped only with an Etch-a-Sketch.
Also like the packet, the Liberty appears to only specialize in one context: transporting the contents arranged between its sheet metal from point A to point B.
The Liberty could be messy, knobbly, squirty and overly serious.
Both have changed though.
First, if you haven’t seen the new multi-function ketchup packet yet, I’m happy to introduce you two. Possibly the greatest condiment innovation since Chick Fil-A sauce, the dip-and-squeeze ketchup packet is singularly responsible for rekindling my love of French fries.
Second, the 2012 Jeep Liberty is in the twilight of its second generation since flopping onto the market in 2002, and it’s a good one because it’s just as useful.
Redesigned in 2010, the Liberty sports a tougher, more rugged exterior, and is a dead ringer for a Jeep most of you probably remember from two decades ago.
If ELO is what the Beatles would have sounded like had they stayed together, the Liberty is what the Cherokee would have looked like had the nameplate survived the 1990s.
In fact, the Liberty is sold as a Cherokee everywhere else but here. There’s a great diesel version too. Basically I’m asking if Change.org accepts petitions to bring car names back to life?
Probably not, but the Liberty looks like a Cherokee and is as wildly useful as those were too.
Four doors, five adults, 9 inches of ground clearance and 26.1 cubic feet of cargo space, gives the Liberty has better ground game than Lombardi’s Packers.
Does the Liberty have its flaws? Sure, but so does ketchup.
The Liberty doesn’t go well on long hauls; similarly, ketchup isn’t great on steak. But you shouldn’t ask both to do either.
Inside, the gauges are a little dated, and the interior materials need a refresh like Eddie Murphy’s movie career but as far as capability, the Liberty still makes the world accessible.
Crawling up mountains and around Utah driveways, the Liberty is capable and useful. I’ve had the chance to take a Liberty around the tougher parts of Moab, and I can report that the Liberty is just as useful as a Wrangler.
And perhaps that’s the problem. It’s harder to justify a Liberty when a four-door Wrangler exists and is nearly as comfortable and perhaps more capable.
I have no problem recommending a four-door Wrangler to a family looking for a second SUV that can work and play too. (In fact, I did. Just ask my brother.)
But I do have hesitation recommending a Liberty to a similar buyer looking for something that can handle winter and summer and everything in between.
The Liberty’s 21 mpg rating on the highway is a little thin, and probably thanks to its old-school 4-speed automatic transmission. (Expect that, and the standard 3.7-liter V6 to make way for a better, more efficient 3.6-liter V6 next year and five-speed next year.)
But, perhaps that’s a willing compromise for no-holds barred capability and the best sunroof option short of a convertible in an SUV — I think it’s called a safari roof though just “awesome” works too.
And at $23,360 to start the Liberty is good value for money.
Is it perfect? No. But neither is ketchup.
They just both go on nearly everything.