Why we ran it: To see if the all-American icon translates over here, especially as a new all-British icon arrives…
Month 3 - Month 2 - Month 1 - Prices and specs
Life with a Jeep Wrangler: Month 3
We’ve been finding out if Jeep’s most hardcore 4x4 can cut it against techheavy new rivals. What’s the verdict? - 11 November 2020
They wave to each other, you know. Jeep Wrangler owners, that is. I didn’t know at first, but after a few months of remembering to wave back, I’ve got into it. US Wrangler fans refer to themselves as Jeepers. Like a Caterham or a motorcycle, the Wrangler is a recreational or hobby, not utility, vehicle. An off-road sports car, if you like.
And it’s an enjoyable one. This Wrangler arrived in July in full hobbyist Rubicon specification, which means uprated axles, better off-roading angles and beefier tyres than lesser models in the Wrangler line-up. Those and a £50,000 price tag. It’s the purist’s choice, perhaps, although in the Wrangler’s home market, the US, loads of Jeeps are modified within a few weeks of being delivered, with lift kits and even more hardcore axles and bigger tyres, so a base starting point there would matter less.
As standard off-roaders go, though, a Wrangler Rubicon is as tough as they come. Which was the point of us running one: to see if the original 4x4 is still the best car off road, and whether that compromises its on-road performance. Answers are: it’s there or thereabouts in the rough and bearable on road, at least for me. It arrived with 18,000 miles on and leaves with more than 25,000, so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to find out. In effect it came and went as a used car, but was serviced before its arrival so needed no attention and no oil – and not even AdBlue – while it was with us. So, sadly, I can’t tell you too much about the ownership experience.
Our big off-road test took place in August, alongside a new Land Rover Defender and a Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Neither was on tyres as knobbly as the Wrangler’s BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain KM2s (32in outside diameter), so we did our best to factor rubber out of the equation. That it was a dry, dusty day helped in that respect. But while the air suspension of the Land Rover Defender raised its ride height to boost its clearances, and the Mercedes had three locking diffs, the Jeep – you’ll not be that surprised to note – more than held its own.
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When is the next update coming? It's been over a month since month 2. This car has so much character it's impossible to judge it objectively.
I am making a good salary
Why do we buy so few of 'em?
Two reasons: 1) Unaffordability. A double whammy of extraordinarily ambitious UK dealer pricing (the Wrangler is NOT a luxury vehicle but, over here at least, is priced like one) plus exorbitant fuel taxation; 2) Anti-American sentiment. For decades the British motoring press has sneered at US-designed vehicles, as much (I suspect) out of envy as any serious appreciation of said vehicles' capabilities, and made ludicrous claims about their "sheer size" (the latest example is in this very article). The two-door Wrangler is shorter than a Dacia Duster or a Honda HR-V and narrower than a Volvo XC-60 or Kia Sorento, but the average Autocar reader could be forgiven for thinking it's bigger than a Bentayga!
Ans
That and it drinks diesel, costs a fortune in tax, over weight, slow, expensive, looks cheap inside, on the road it's poor, off road well how many people want to spend 50k on a Fiat and bent it in a field when they can get a far better Toyota or LR.
You'd think ANS had been fooled by such topics, but it seems he doesn't even bother to read teh review, just jumps straight to talking rubbish....
-Drinks Diesel? - I mean the review established how well it does on fuel considering what type of vehicle it is.
-Costs a fortune in tax - It costs the exact same as any other vehicle costing over 40K and after a few years costs the same as every other vehicle?
-Over weight - Its ligher than a Defender, a Land Crusier, a G wagen? Over weight compared to what?
Perhaps no point in even going any further, what a load of rubbish your speaking!