))
The only thing that the latest version of Jeep's Wrangler Rubicon lacks for serious off-road traveling is a snorkel – just in case you find yourself driving through a river that turns out to be a bit deeper than expected. Everything else is part of the package.
There's a 4:1 "Rock-Trac" low range transfer case, locking front-and-rear Dana 44 axles and a pushbutton-detachable front anti-roll bar, just in case you get high-ended on a rock or berm.
The exterior has the same rugged, simple good locks that had ensured sales success for this machine, as the rest of its parent company, Chrysler, has struggled for market share. However, this is Jeep's first four-door Wrangler. It's grown a bit from the door, as a result.
The new Wrangler is not only 5.4 inches wider than the machine it has replaced, but it is also 20.6 inches longer, overall, and at its wheelbase (173.4 inches).
The interior is delightfully retro. The radio controls are simple knobs. The instrumentation is a simple collection of white on black gauges. And the slightly balky 6-speed manual transmission "falls readily to hand" as they used to say back in the heyday of the T-series MG.
The front seats are more readily adjusted, thanks to a height adjustment mechanism not on the previous Wrangler; and the hard plastic door panels are molded without a resting place for the elbows. But those are small matters indeed, when you size up the interior.
Under the hood, a 3.8-liter V6 producing 205 horsepower at 5,200 rpm, and peak torque of 240 lb/ft at 4,000 rpm has replaced the venerable in-line six-cylinder engine that dated back to the time when Kaiser Corporation owned Jeep. There's also an electronic throttle that slows engine speed down sufficiently to make lower range off road driving easier. As with all prior Jeeps, the construction is elegant by its simplicity: a body consisting of welded steel stampings, setting on top of a full-length ladder frame.
The front suspension consists of a rigid axle, located by four leading links and a Panhard rod. That's coupled with coil springs and the aforementioned manually engaging anti-roll bar. The suspension setup in the rear, mirrors the construction of the front, save for the deletion of an anti-roll bar: rigid axle, four leading links, and Panhard rod and coil springs.
The Wrangler Rubicon comes in a hardtop and soft-top version. We evaluated the soft-top version but were forewarned by the manufacturer's representative, not to attempt taking it down; since putting it back up would be so complicated. Looking at the photos of this machine gives you a pretty good idea of how accurate that statement is.
The Wrangler Rubicon is an easy vehicle for someone to drive who is familiar with a car or truck with a manual transmission. Reportedly, spring rates were softened by 10 percent and that is noticeable. While the latest four-door Jeep won't vibrate on the road like a Buick, at the same time it won't jar loose the fillings in your teeth.
Equipped with BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A tires and fitted with 7.5 by 17 inch cast aluminum wheels, this machine is really in its element, off-road. Hard cornering on the open road gives you feedback of just a bit of tire squeal, telling you to back off the accelerator.
Now that Cerberus Capital has taken the reigns at Chrysler, Kuka Flexible Production Systems Corporation, which produces body panels for the Jeep Wrangler, is expecting things to get a bit tougher, according to a recent article in Automotive News.
"We're preparing for them to be tighter on our purse," said Larry Drake, president and CEO of Kuka, " Let's just hope that Chrysler LLC realizes what a good thing it has with the new Wrangler Rubicon and doesn't grind on its suppliers too much. "
The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon starts at $28,895.00. The tested version listed at $31,180.00, due to the addition of the $695.00 "removable" hardtop and an upgraded radio.
Comment on this article
Send This Link To Friend
)){kind=link}