One Week With: two thousand sixteen Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4×4 75th Edition, Automobile Magazine
One Week With: two thousand sixteen Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Four×Four 75th Edition
I `ll admit it right up front: I`ve always been a fan of the Jeep Wrangler. In fact, in the late 1990s I wielded a TJ. Loved every minute of that three-year relationship; nothing but smiles, joy, and sun. Mind you, for a man in my position, admitting to Wrangler affection can be a harsh position to be in, mostly because fellow auto journalists love to poke joy at the Jeep`s heft, jouncy rail motions, lousy gas mileage, and general drill-sergeant behavior. To which I always reply, «Yeah? Well I`ll bet Marlon Brando was a ache in the booty to be around, too–but nobody would call him anything less than an icon.»
In late August, I flew from L.A. to Michigan for a family reunion in the leafy «up north» lakeside village of Glen Arbor. Awaiting me at Detroit`s Metro airport was a shiny-new two thousand sixteen Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Four×Four seventy five th Anniversary Edition. Yep, Jeep`s most famous model has been around in its basic form since the original one thousand nine hundred forty one «GP» of World War II. If anything, it`s even more iconic than Brando. But in the ensuing years, the equipment has been so scrupulously refined (aside from its famous boxy looks) it`s doubtful G.I. Joe would recognize it. The seventy five th Edition ($Four,680) goes even further. Kicking off out as a mid-level Sahara–already nicely tooled–it adds such extras as leather and cloth seats (heated in front), bronze 17-inch aluminum wheels and assets accents, a Power Dome bondage mask, and various exterior bits painted in assets color (my test vehicle was a spectacular Silver Billet Metallic). Also on board was another $7,660 of options, including a Freedom three-piece hard top, 5-speed automatic, Alpine speaker system, automatic A/C, Tru-Lok rear diff, and remote begin. Bottom line: $48,530. Yikes! Maybe Jeep thought they were still pricing this thing for Uncle Sam.
Okay, everything the Jeep naysayers love to point out is true. Driving northward on I-75, bombing along with the rest of traffic at 70-80 mph, the Wrangler was every bit as quiet and buttoned-down as a foam party. The steering was numb, the chassis pogoed over dips in the road, and just keeping up the speed required a hard right foot (lifting off felt like a rear parachute had just been deployed). As for fuel economy, well, driving a equipment with the aerodynamic efficiency of a jukebox yields an EPA highway rating of twenty mpg–at best.
But once up in Glen Arbor, all was forgiven, for the Wrangler was now fully in its element. I instantly popped off the two front roof panels and headed out to explore the forests and lakes of the idyllic Leelanau peninsula. Soon I commenced running into other Wranglers–reminisce the Jeep wave!–and finding off-road trails to reconnoiter. And, man, is the Wrangler just ideal for that. You`re up high, with a commanding view, the roof is open, windows down (I could`ve taken off the doors and folded-down the windshield, too), and in Four×Four mode, you can go anywhere you want. A duo times I came across regular cars that were turning around, afraid to thrust on as the mess road deteriorated. Me? With one of the world`s most capable four-wheel-drive systems, almost ten inches of ground clearance, and treatment and departure angles that rival a bear`s, I didn`t think twice. Brief of coming across an unexpected volcano or a herd of armed deer, nothing was going to stop me. I was rewarded by finding several hidden catches sight of with stunning views of Lake Michigan.
Jeep has done a fantastic job of upgrading the Wrangler to meet modern expectations–standard on this equipment were keyless entry, power windows, a leather wheel, and tire-pressure monitoring–yet still retaining that classic, square-jawed look and can-do personality. The Wrangler wins you over because there`s indeed nothing else like it. No other SUV–hell, practically no other car–can boast such everlasting appeal and red-white-and-blue charisma. You could park this Wrangler next to an original GP and everyone would know the two share a bloodline. The Jeep has been right from the very beginning–it`s like a four-wheeled Douglas DC-3 that way.
Is there anything I`d switch? Frankly, despite having two hundred sixty pound-feet of torque on tap, the Wrangler needs more bottom-end oomph. Peak torque doesn`t come on tap until Four,800 rpm, and you`ll never reach revs like those when you`re creepy-crawling around. The good news: for the two thousand eighteen model year the Wrangler is said to be getting an optional diesel. I`ve got my fingers crossed it`s the same Trio.0-liter EcoDiesel six I recently sampled in a Jeep Grand Cherokee, ‘cause that baby`s got four hundred twenty pound-feet, and it`s all ready for duty at just two thousand rpm. That engine in a Wrangler would be creepy-crawling, off-roading perfection. Yum.
Until then, I`ll fondly recall my week up north with the seventy five th Edition (I racked up one thousand miles all in). Maybe it`s the history, maybe it`s the look, maybe it`s the capabilities–or a combo of all three–but driving a Wrangler just makes me glad. I salute you, Jeep. I`ve never liked going slow more.
