Jeep left others in the dust in 2018. What's the secret?

After testing the latest Jeep Wrangler, Consumer Reports dinged the iconic off-roader for excessive wind noise on the highway, stiffness and an overall lack of "reflexes and agility" for a contemporary vehicle.

But Jake Fisher, the magazine's director of auto testing, said he had a blast driving it. He said it was fun bringing it home, getting waves from fellow Jeep motorists and taking off the doors and roof. It's definitely not a serene ride, and the steering isn't the smoothest, but he said it was an enjoyable experience.

That conflicted reaction might help explain why the Wrangler set an annual sales record in 2018 with 240,032 deliveries, powering the Jeep brand to a 17 percent U.S. sales gain in 2018. The story was the same for the Compass and Cherokee, which had their best years ever despite blunt assessments from Consumer Reports. The Compass had the lowest reliability rating in its segment because of its rough ride and noisiness, and the Cherokee was knocked for its "uncooperative transmission."

Indeed, reliability and quality reports over the years haven't been kind to Jeep. But consumers have, keeping the juggernaut brand charging ahead in a slow-growing but truck-friendly market. With a record 973,227 units sold last year, the onetime niche brand is now on the verge of 1 million in annual sales, a benchmark that only a handful of mainstream brands have attained. And unlike the others, Jeep doesn't have a three-row vehicle, a pickup (yet) or a single car.

So what's the secret? Credit the power of the brand, which has carved out a place as a free-spirited, All-American symbol of fun and adventure, said Patrick Foster, an automotive historian who has written several books chronicling Jeep's history. Foster said the seeds for Jeep's transition from niche to mass-market player were sown when American Motors released the Cherokee in 1974, a vehicle that purportedly put the sport in "sport-utility vehicle."

Dealers say there’s more to the story than that: the versatility of the vehicles, shrewd marketing, style, competitive pricing and incentives (except for the Wrangler), and a wealth of trim levels. The Grand Cherokee, for instance, is offered in seven trims, from the basic Laredo to the nearly $90,000 Trackhawk.

Jeep's average transaction price was $33,954 in 2018, ALG says. Incentive spending for the year averaged $3,484 per vehicle, up 9.9 percent from the previous year, according to Autodata Corp. Incentives for GMC, another all-truck brand, averaged $4,618 per unit last year.

Steve Wolf, a Jeep dealer in Houston, said the strong residual value of Jeeps gives them an advantage in the financing office. Banks are more likely to approve consumers with marginal credit histories when buying Jeeps, Wolf said, because they know the vehicles will hold their value better than other makes. ALG puts the Wrangler's residual value at 63.5 percent after 36 months. As a brand, Jeep sits at 50.5 percent after three years.

"The quiet ride, that's not why they buy the Wrangler," said Wolf. "They buy it for its capability. I've heard about this for years. Bad on J.D. Power, bad on this, bad on that. But you show me one car that holds its value as well as the Wrangler. There aren't any."

Wolf is looking forward to the next phase of releases that will get the brand over the 1 million mark. The long-awaited Gladiator pickup is on the way in the second quarter, and down the line, a three-row Grand Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer could join the lineup.

With so many more global markets and segments to tap into, Foster said, Jeep hasn't reached its full potential. He thinks there's room for another crossover below the Renegade, and maybe even a line of all-wheel-drive cars one day just in case consumers get tired of utility vehicles.

He just hopes the brand remains accessible with its pricing, especially on the Wrangler, which some dealers say is getting too expensive.

"There is a market for a lower-priced Jeep," Foster said. "That'll bring in a flood of buyers."

Even the Wrangler does that job, as a halo for the brand and a symbol of versatility, said Fisher, the Consumer Reports tester.

"When you look at the Cherokee and some of the other Jeeps, and even for the Wrangler, it's not about using it for off-roading," he said. "It's about the image of what Jeep brings. I think all of the products are benefiting from this Jeep image."

Fisher noted that the Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade are essentially the same under the skin, but the 500X hasn't come close to matching its Jeep counterpart in sales. Fisher compared Jeep's appeal to that of Harley-Davidson. Harleys, he said, aren't necessarily more reliable than other motorcycles or better-performing. Yet people are drawn by the Harley heritage and design.

"Maybe the Wrangler is the flagship that gives them the image, but is there more appeal to a Jeep Cherokee just because of the Jeep name? Absolutely. If the Jeep Cherokee was called the Chrysler Cherokee, would it have the same image or the appeal? I don't think so."

One Northeast dealer said that despite the brand's strong performance and its cult-like status, he'd like to see Jeep get out of the Consumer Reports cellar.

"Years ago, when you said you bought a sport-utility, you said you bought a Jeep. Now, we've got this icon status," said the dealer, who did not want to be identified. "The real issue we've got to make sure of is product quality. Grand Cherokee is rock solid. They've juiced that Cherokee pretty well, and it made a difference."

"They're not that great on fuel economy," he added. "If you read [Consumer Reports], you'd never buy a Jeep."

Fred Wagner, a 62-year-old ExxonMobil retiree who splits time between Houston and Galveston, is looking to buy the Gladiator. He's owned a two-door 2016 Wrangler Sport for about three years, but is intrigued by the added utility of the Gladiator's pickup bed. He enjoys the "open-air freedom" of the Wrangler when he goes roofless, and sometimes takes it on trips to a nearby beach.

The Wrangler's highway ride proved to be more "jittery" than he thought, so he keeps to the right lane at around 65 mph. But the car has held up mechanically, with the only shop visits being for oil changes and routine maintenance.

"The Gladiator fits all of our lifestyle needs in terms of something that's good for the beach, and then something that can go to Home Depot and haul a bunch of mulch and everything else," he said. "I think that's where the niche is."