The wife has been badgering me for one of those four door Wrangers (Unlimited) and tomorrow we have an appointment to test drive them. She was originally looking at the Sahara but the new 2011 are awful looking so now she’s looking at the Rubicon. Something about not having the fenders and top painted the same color as the body…
Anyway, how is the new V6 engine? I see that gas mileage is terrible but I’m guessing that the new motors aren’t horsepower monsters, correct?
Should we get the 6 speed manual or 4 speed automatic transmission? I’m thinking the manual.
I was really looking at getting one to replace my 2nd JGC but I got a sweet deal on a in-the-family Esclade.
Nobody ever likes the ‘new’ engine. Same thing in the Jeep forum, BMW forum, VW forum-- the last engine they don’t make and you can’t get is what you want, meh.
Jeeps are what they are, and people have all kinds of issues with them. I sometimes think they use drunk monkeys as engineers. Everything leaks on them. Death Rattles and wobbles.
You want a top-off four door, 4wd- what are your other options?
Wish I had one. Or better yet, wish my best friend had one.
Till Mark let’s you drive his four door Land Rover, it is the only ride in town.
Don’t the new 4 door Wranglers MSRP for over $40k? I just can’t see paying that much for a Jeep. My '91 Wrangler stickered for $10,495, had it since I was 18 in 1995.
Wranglers are great vehicles offroad and the new Wrangler has the best highway manners of the SWB (short wheel base) Jeeps.
Us old Jeep guys don’t like the new V6 and would rather keep our old 4.0 straight 6 and the 360 & 401 ci AMC V8s. However, engine technology and performance continues to improve. The new V6 should serve well.
As for transmission choice, pick the 6 speed- hey it’s a MANual transmission!
The Rubicon is a serious package. It comes with the lower geared transfer case (4:1 vs 2.73:), selectable lockers and larger tires. I believe they also come with a lower final drive at 4.10:1. It will take go places that will stand the hair of a neophyte offroader straight up!
We’ve owned two Jeeps - a '96 Cherokee 4.0 and a '00 Grand Cherokee Ltd. 4.7, both with automatics.
The '96 Cherokee was really quite capable off road. We regularly took it to the beaches of Long Island where it handles the soft sand with ease. The '00 was much better on the road comfort-wise but not as good off road due to the extra weight. Neither could be considered by any stretch of the imagination as top-notch road-handling vehicles.
For serious off roading, the Wrangler is tough to beat, especially with the Rubicon package. But if you’re not going to be taking it off road, I think there are better choices for a daily driver.
BTW, our son has a '08 Grand Cherokee with the 3.7 V6 and it still sucks on gas. None of them can break 20 MPG, even on a level highway cruise.
We’re aware they aren’t great highway vehicles but this will be a third car so it isn’t a big deal. And yes, it will see offroad action. Not crazy stuff but it will go to the beach in Corolla and it will go to the mountains in VA, NC, PA and see some trails. The wife and kids love to go offroading.
It won’t get lifted any time soon (maybe years down the road) but it will probably get some accessories here and there and maybe some upgrade on some components over time.
I got it as bare bones as I could, the only opitons I got were due to the wife. Hard top only, auto trans and air conditioning for those very hot days when the hard top is on.
I’ve added a Best Top versa-trunk for when I have the safari top on. I picked up a set of 17" wheels off Craig’s list for $500 and running boards (again the wife) and added a Kargo Master cage and basket on top.
It gets crap for MPG but the V6 is not bad. I’m not a jeep geek or anything. I can tell you it handles and drives very well. I’ve not taken it on an hard core off road trips, just a few trails here in Colorado. Low 4WD is great, keeps the engine temp down without working hard on steep climbs and while crawling along.
They had one at the dealership. It’s a Rubicon with a couple extra stickers. Nice but not for us.
We drove the Sahara and Rubicon, both with the 6 speed manual transmission and I preferred the Rubicon. I guess the only to do now is let the boss decide on which color she wants.
I won’t say the Rubicon isn’t a solid package, but I still can’t get over that sticker price. Definitely go with the manual, they’ve never put good auto trans’ in Jeeps, and an automatic in a Jeep is a blasphemy anyway. Accessories for the JK Wranglers are expensive as hell too for some reason.
I bought an 07 Sahara Unlimited and have since dumped close to two additional MSRPs into mods. Lots of fun! I had some lessons learned though, if you want to go 37s, your going to need to do axles, brakes, drive shafts at a minimum. That will also require a long arm lift (I started with a Short Arm) upgraded power steering pump (I went fully hydro). If you go hardcore with winch/full size spare with carrier you’ll also probably need to look at a ACOS to even out the lift front to rear. I also concur the 6spd is a must, but if you want to go rock crawling you’ll need a hand throttle that works with the drive-by-wire which isn’t cheap. V6 works OK until you build it out big, then its out of guts. If you stick to 33s and 35s, throw an CAI, chip and exhaust you’ll have plenty of power even with 4.10 gears. Although, you should consider 4.88s with 35s. I haven’t done a hemi because I have a full spare 3.8. I figure if I ever blow this one I have the backup. I could go on and on here, don’t want to side track. I know people are really hating on the new special edition video game version, but it is a blacked out rubicon which I think looks pretty cool. Just rip the stickers off and your all set
I am ryanm on there as well. I’ve discussed most of my build but I stopped posting due to getting a warning/ban because I used parts that they won’t allow to be discussed from a couple of vendors the site refuses to work with. Ever since then I haven’t really been back. I can’t help the bad blood between the admins there and a couple of vendors that quite a few people use, especially when its some of the higher end equipment. Really hamstrings participation and open discussion.
If you plan to mod, buy the cheapest 4wd 2dr or 4dr and start from there. If you don’t plan to mod, I highly recommend the rubicon. Its 95% kick ass right out of the box and solves your locker solution if you do plan on going bigger later on. I can’t emphasize this enough, if you plan on going big–lockers are going to be a major concern for you at some point. There is nothing wrong with the MOPAR Rubicon e-locker solution and you will save yourself thousands of dollars. Thousands upon thousands. You also get a dana 44 front and unless you aspire to bigger than 37, that is all you will ever really need. (you still need to beef up the c-brackets for 37s on the 44s) The Rubicons are the only wranglers that come with the dana 44 front out of the box.
Eletric sway bar disco is a slick solution as well.
No experience with the new Wranglers, but have owned two other Jeeps, and there have been another 7 or so in the family. I am currently on the lookout for a late 70’s or early 80’s CJ.
My Jeep experience has been very positive. No major mechanical failures to report. Typical maintenance, and relatively inexpensive at that. The I-6 was easy to work on yourself, but no experience with the new V-6 models. There are currently 2 in the family and they are comfortable, reliable, and capable.
My only real complaints with Jeeps is that they tend to be underpowered. While the gearing tends to make up with pep, they lack in towing and mileage seems to suffer from their aerodynamics and lack of power.
I like Jeeps and wouldn’t hesitate to buy another.
You cant take your experience with a GC and compare it to the Wrangler.
I have an 01 Sahara that has been Rubicon’ed with all the mods I made over the years.
Straight six that has been around for years.
New Wranglers look pretty capable and first major under side work in years with engine, etc. I would not hesitate getting a new one. Definitely trying to convince the wife to get the 4 door unlimite for her next car.
As for Jeep forums - check for local clubs in your area. Great for Q&A and even wrench-a-thons if you need help. Seen them work for beer.
A Rubicon is almost as expensive as a loaded Grand Cherokee, and that’s with out looking at what used 4x4s you can get for around the price of a Rubicon. But there is nothing else like it. If we had a three car garage, we’d have one- but it was just too Spartan and not big enough for us. That and the floppy doors that don’t have stops, killer ith a tight garage, two cars and little kids.If they ever comeo out with the Yukon sized one and some kind of third row seat, I’m all over it. Ya, ya I know- its not a Wrangler then.
Big Jeep fan. The Wrangler unlimited is GTG for the uses you describe, and the new engine will be fine. I’ll let the motorheads split hairs on what is lost between the 4.0 and (3.7?). I prefer the standard transmission for more driver control.
We shopped for an Unlimited early this year, and the dealer was hovering between 24-28k for one built to my spec and nicely equipped. I forget which submodel, but it wasn’t a Rubicon. Maybe a Sahara.
