When cornering, the Wrangler’s handling is entirely predictable: it’s a big car that feels its size and weight; jumps in with a lot of body inclination; and has limited front-end grip, which prevents its steep nose from slipping increasingly into understeer as you accelerate.
But almost all of these criticisms are the result of mechanical specifications and tuning that give the Jeep its unwavering off-road capability. The boxy shape ensures good visibility; The slow steering means you won’t hurt your wrists climbing over boulders and you can easily make finer course adjustments. And while these Bridgestone Dueler H/T tires aren’t full-fat off-road rubber, they’ll get you further off the pavement than the standard tires you’ll find on regular midsize SUVs.
Comfort and isolation
The Wrangler rides with a comfort and civility that, while nowhere near what you’d find in a more typical midsize SUV, could easily pass as an everyday family vehicle.
The suspension absorbs larger bumps reasonably well, and even if the rebound is less cleverly controlled, the car still doesn’t jerk or hover too much over hilltops.
More inconsistent surfaces inevitably throw a spotlight on the chassis’ tendency toward animation, but while the bustle and distant lumpiness of the axles’ movements are a constant presence in the car’s driving experience, they never really become overwhelming or dominant factors.
However, the Jeep is most unhappy on particularly rough stretches of country road, where uneven bumps and intrusions that put more stress on one side of its axles than the other affect its handling. Head throwing is particularly common here, but this does not cause the severity of motion sickness. Elsewhere, the 2.2-litre diesel engine tends to make itself heard under hard work, while road noise and wind noise are an almost constant aural accompaniment on a long-distance cruise.
However, the latter is all the more noticeable, mainly due to the fact that the removable roof panels and the cabin seal do not provide any significant sound insulation, which in general must necessarily be less effective than in the average SUV.
Our decibel meter measured cabin noise at 70 dB at 70 miles per hour. For comparison, the Land Rover Discovery TDV6 tested in 2017 returned a value of 67 dB, while the Ineos Grenadier recorded 73 dB.
Offroad Notes
Even if you don’t buy the Wrangler in a go-anywhere version, it’s a remarkably capable off-roader. In every respect it surpasses a Mercedes G-Class and a Toyota Land Cruiser in terms of maximum wading depth and ground clearance, as well as clearance angles across the board. A Land Rover Discovery can wade through deeper water and has more ground clearance, but even that can’t match the Jeep’s approach and departure angles.
We didn’t have the opportunity to test the car in its most robust form (only the Rubicon trim features BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain knobby tires, the ultra-low-range transmission, heavy-duty axles, lockable front/rear differentials and switchable front anti – Roll bar), but were seriously impressed by its ability to climb steep slopes, crawl over rocks and find grip on slippery surfaces. An accelerator and torque converter automatic transmission superbly tuned for extreme low-speed control and effective traction control electronics ensure it can go places you’d swear a car simply couldn’t reach.
Even a Wrangler Sahara can navigate deep valleys and bumpy trails with seeming ease, climbing steep paths, slippery trails of loose rocks that I would rather not climb. You’ll probably have to go to a purpose-built off-road center to remotely challenge and experience the standard Wrangler, let alone the Rubicon’s capabilities.