Jeep Wrangler review

Introduction

Even if you’re not remotely interested in off-roading, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the Jeep Wrangler. An icon that can trace its roots back to the original military Jeep of the 1940s, it's an uncompromising 4x4 that's designed to be just about unstoppable in the rough.

There have been numerous updates over the years, with the latest round giving it a slightly meaner looking front grille and more in-car tech. However, the fundamentals remain the same: an old-school ladder-frame chassis with the body bolted on top, as well as rugged, beam-like axles front and rear.

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The best 4x4s – off-road megatest video

Jeep also continues to equip the Wrangler with selectable four-wheel drive that can be engaged using a big lever for added Indiana Jones effect. And there’s still the option of taking the roof and doors off – yes, off – for the open-air feel of being on safari.

So while we class it as a family SUV, this is no school-run special. Instead, the Wrangler is up against such rugged models as the Ford Ranger Raptor and Ineos Grenadier. The Land Rover Defender is a rival too – although the latest Defender provides a bit more luxury on road.

Read on to find out more about how the Jeep Wrangler compares with the competition and which version is best...

What’s new
- March 2024: Mildly facelifted Wrangler has a bigger (12.3in) touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, new safety kit, standard electric adjustment for front seats, higher-quality cabin, extra sound proofing
- July 2021: Diesel engine dropped, extra safety kit (adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking, auto high beam) now standard, exterior colour options widened
- October 2018: Fourth-generation Wrangler on sale with 268bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol or 197bhp 2.2-litre turbodiesel (MultiJet II) engines, with eight-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive. Two- and four-door bodystyles available

Overview

If you don’t plan to leave the road, the Jeep Wrangler is not the car for you – a Land Rover Defender is much more comfortable and refined. However, if you're looking for the best off-roader around, the Wrangler Rubicon is where we'd point you. With off-road goodies such as standard-fit knobbly tyres, three differential locks and a detachable anti-roll bar, it will go places that stop even a Defender in its tracks.

Pros

• Fantastic off-road ability
• Good standard equipment
• Undercuts key rivals on price

Cons

• Noisy, regardless of speed and road surface
• Expensive to run
• Unsettled ride

Trims available

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Sahara

Despite being the entry point to the range, Sahara trim comes packed with kit, including climate control, ambient interior lighting, adaptive cruise control and a powerful Alpine audio system.

Rubicon

The range-topping trim gets off-road tyres (BF Goodrich T/A KM2s), three-locking differentials and a detachable front anti-roll bar. It's the most capable off-roader currently on sale.

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Performance & drive

What it's like to drive, and how quiet it is

There's no denying that the Jeep Wrangler feels like an old-school off-roader vehicle. Its big, heavy axles amplify the effect of imperfect surfaces and cause the body to shimmy in a way you simply don’t experience in the more sophisticated and settled Land Rover Defender.

There's also a noticeable amount of suspension noise when you drive over potholes and raised drain covers. Plus, the chunky tyres generate plenty of road roar at higher speeds, which adds to the wind noise whipped up by the boxy body – something most noticeable in hard-top variants. Even the rather agricultural Toyota Land Cruiser is a quieter long-distance companion.

However, compared with the Ineos Grenadier – with its complete lack of steering feel – the Wrangler responds to your inputs in a surprisingly trustworthy manner. And while even moderate cornering speeds can overwhelm the grip reserves of the tyres (especially with the off-road-biased rubber fitted to Rubicon models), the steering does a good job of letting you know exactly how much grip is available.

Only one engine is available for the Wrangler in the UK: a 268bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol, which comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard. It doesn't sound as sonorous as the six-cylinder units in the Ford Ranger Raptor or the Grenadier, but with an official 0-62mph time of 7.2 seconds, it's quicker than both those rivals. It's also smoother than the (diesel-only) Land Cruiser.

The only thing that stunts on-road performance is that the gearbox is slow to respond to accelerator inputs, although you can overcome that by knocking it into manual mode and changing gears yourself using the chunky gear lever.

Speaking of levers – to ensure you have optimum traction off-road, there's a separate one on the centre console that takes you from two to four-wheel drive, as well as allowing you to switch between different 4x4 modes. It’s a good deal stiffer to move than the gear lever but that feels in keeping with the car's overall sense of toughness.

Once you select four-wheel drive you can lock the centre differential so the front and rear axles get equal amounts of power at all times. The low-range gearbox gives you finer control of the accelerator pedal at low speeds and multiplies the engine’s torque for climbing steep slopes.

On the heavily rutted off-road route at our test track, that combination made the Wrangler far less prone to bogging down than the Grenadier and Defender, both of which got stuck on a rough hill that the Jeep simply sailed up.

The Rubicon version maximises the all-terrain potential. As well as chunkier tyres, you get locking front and rear differentials to further improve traction on slippery surfaces.

Now, the idea of having to manually lock and unlock differentials might sound intimidating, but Jeep has made it super easy. If you want to lock the front and rear at the same time, you simply flip a rocker switch. To unlock them, you press a big red button labelled Off.

True, the Grenadier gets front and rear locking differentials too, but it requires you to follow a multi-step process, and getting it wrong can confuse the system, preventing engagement.

Most impressive of all, the Rubicon features a clever detachable anti-roll bar that allows for even more suspension travel. Once it's unlocked, the sensation is rather strange, with the body staying upright regardless of how rough the terrain is. No rivals offer this feature, and when combined with all the other off-road kit, it makes the Wrangler the most capable off-roader on sale today.

“The Wrangler has a wading depth of 760mm, which I think is more than you're ever likely to need.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

If you appreciate a commanding driving position, you’ll enjoy being behind the wheel of the Jeep Wrangler. You climb up into the seat and get a great view down the long bonnet and on to the road ahead.

Add in tall windows and beefy wheelarches that clearly mark out the corners of the car, and this big 4x4 is remarkably easy to place when you're navigating narrow green lanes or tight car parks. Meanwhile, the presence of a reversing camera, and front and rear parking sensors as standard also helps with manoeuvring.

Less impressive is the fact that the centre console intrudes into the space where you'd ideally place your left foot. That said, you can at least stretch your left leg out in front of you, whereas in the Ineos Grenadier you have to sit with your feet offset to the right due to a massive hump rising out of the floor. Not ideal.

As you would expect from a rough-and-ready off-roader, the interior looks rather basic but it features an appealing mix of materials and is screwed together well. There’s soft-touch plastic around the centre console and on the door handles, a supple leather steering wheel and solid-feeling switches. Sure, it’s not as plush as a Land Rover Defender but it's on a par with the Toyota Land Cruiser.

All Wranglers get a 12.3in touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring. The screen is responsive and within close reach, while the graphics are fairly sharp.

Our only complaint is that the lay-out of the menus is not particularly intuitive. Indeed, the Defender's infotainment system is more advanced and simpler to use.

“I like the way the Wrangler's screen can show off-road-specific data, such as the angle you’re driving at and the temperatures of the mechanical gubbins beneath you.” – Doug Revolta, Head of Video

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

The Jeep Wrangler was available in two body lengths but the shorter, three-door model (which was about the same size as a three-door Land Rover Defender 90) was discontinued a couple of years ago. Instead, the only option now is a five-door (which is closer in size to a five-door Defender 110).

There's plenty of leg and head room up front, although some occupants might feel a little pushed up against the door. Meanwhile, useful oddment storage includes a large central cubby and trays on the dashboard to help make up for the fact that the mesh door pockets are pretty useless.

Back-seat passengers get loads of room, so even your lankiest chums should be comfortable. However, if you need a rugged seven-seater you’ll have to look at the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Defender 110.

The official boot capacity figures suggest that the seven-seat Defender 110 has a much bigger boot than the Wrangler (when the Defender's third row of seats is folded away), but these are misleading because Land Rover measures boot volume to the roof and Jeep the luggage cover. In reality, both cars will swallow up to seven carry-on suitcases.

Where the Defender does have the edge is seating flexibility. Its second-row seats slide, recline and fold flat, whereas the Wrangler's only fold down, and they leave a step down to the boot floor when they do.

Then again, there's another option for transporting bulky loads: the standard three-piece roof design lets you take off the top section or remove the whole thing, allowing you to carry items that would be impossible to accommodate with the roof in place.

“I found the side-hinged tailgate a pain sometime because you can't open it fully if you're parked close to another vehicle or a wall. That said, the top-hinged glass section means you can still drop in smaller items, such as shopping bags.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

The Jeep Wrangler is not cheap but it does undercut the Ineos Grenadier and Toyota Land Cruiser. The Land Rover Defender starts at around the same price but costs more if you go for the longer Defender 110, which is a more comparable size to the Wrangler.

On the other hand, the Defender has the potential to be much cheaper to run if you choose the P400e plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version. Not only will this be easier on fuel if you plug it in regularly, but company car drivers are taxed on under 20% of its value, whereas the Wrangler attracts the highest, 37% rate.

In some markets, Jeep offers a PHEV Wrangler, called the 4xe, but it's not sold in the UK due to the complications of converting it to right-hand drive.

Entry-level Sahara trim comes with plenty of luxuries as standard, including climate control, ambient interior lighting, heated leather seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless go and adaptive cruise control. However, we recommend upgrading to Rubicon trim for the extra off-road hardware it brings.

In terms of safety, the Wrangler was awarded just one star out of five when it was tested by Euro NCAP in 2018, although that was partly influenced by a lack of driver assistance technology. Since then, Jeep has added blind-spot monitoring, front collision and lane-departure warning systems, and a driver drowsiness detector.

“The Wrangler struggles to do much more than 20mpg in the real world, so I think you’re likely to end up on first-name terms with the staff at your local petrol station.” – Claire Evans, Consumer Editor

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