The Good :)
Unique and stylish looks. Solidly
built. Fun to drive.
The Bad :(
More versatile engine needed. A
power operated soft top would be great.
Engine
6Cyl 3.8 Liter
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Output
202 hp / 237 lb-ft
Top Speed
100 mph
0-60 mph
9 sec (est.)
Weight
4,129 lbs
Price As Tested
$34,905
The 2008 Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited is quite an
impressive vehicle, not only for its legendary off-road prowess, but
also for it chameleon like ability to transform itself in so many
ways. We recently tested the Rubicon Unlimited and were
amazed at its ability to be all things in one; from the summer open-air
topless beach cruiser, to the family hauler SUV with its hard roof
installed, to the go-anywhere 4-wheel drive off-road beast. The
Rubicon Unlimited can do it all and with the host of modern day
improvements such as the touch-screen navigation system and room for
your friends to sit comfortably, this may be the best Wrangler ever.
The current Wrangler styling was first introduced in 2007 and has been
quite popular for its improved on-road handling as well as the upgraded
interior. Most buyers will not know that the bulk of the
improvements are hidden beneath the bodywork. For instance, the
frame is 100 percent stiffer than the previous generation
Wrangler. The body is now 50 percent stiffer and both the length
and the width have been increased. There are three models of the
Wrangler from the X to the Sahara to the ultimate in off-roading, the
Rubicon. There are also two body styles from the classic two-door
to the new four-door which is called the Unlimited.
Unfortunately, all models now come with the same engine, whereas in the
past you could opt for a 4-cyclinder if you were a city dweller and
wanted to save on gas, now the only choice is the more powerful
3.8-liter V6 engine producing 202 horsepower and 237 lb.-ft. of torque.
While the engine numbers sound low specially considering that most V6’s
today produce upwards of 300 horses, the Jeep Wrangler seems to handle
daily life pretty well. If you find yourself doing mostly highway
commuting, then the Wrangler is not the ideal vehicle. The engine
simply doesn’t have the ability to move this 4400 pound vehicle up to
speed fast enough. The Wrangler’s horsepower rating comes in at
5000 rpm while the torque rating is quoted at 4000 rpm. This
means that you really have to press on the gas pedal to get the
wrangler moving. What makes it worse is that the gas pedal is
located so deep in the footwell, much more so than the brake
pedal. So either you have to sit really close to the steering
wheel NASCAR style, or you have to be really tall with long
legs. However, living with the Wrangler on a daily basis
with lots of driving around rural towns, on back country roads, and
even in cities is a pretty good experience. The engine is smooth
and very quiet as long as you stay below highway speeds. The
automatic four-speed transmission works well, but it’s not the best
gearbox we have seen. The feeling of slowly yet powerfully
moving forward from a stop could be greatly improved with a six-speed
transmission. The steering response is good with very little
vibration; however, the turning radius is very poor. The
Wrangler’s suspension is stiff so in daily driving there is little
squat or dive. The Wrangler’s enhanced rigidity is evident in the
way it feels driving around town. Overall the Wrangler feels
smooth and solidly built. With the hardtop installed, wind noise
is not a issue at all. Only at highway speeds do you hear road
noise from the large mud tires coming into the cabin, however, it was
not very intrusive or annoying.
With a speedometer only going up to 100 mph, it’s quite apparent the
Wrangler is not really meant for fast speeds; it has an entirely
different purpose in life. While we didn’t get an
opportunity to take the Rubicon over some really tough trails, we did
go off the beaten path on back country dirt roads where there were some
challenging terrain with boulders, uneven surfaces and lots of
water. The Rubicon inspires you do go over things you wouldn’t
dare in any other vehicle. Its massive 255/75R 17 BF Goodrich mud
tires easily handled all the terrain. The Rubicon has heavy-duty
front and rear Dana 44 axles and also has an electronic-disconnecting
front stabilizer bar, called the Active Sway Bar System, which delivers
additional wheel travel for challenging terrain, such as when you’re
climbing boulders. What also makes the Wrangler an
appealing rock climber are its short front and rear overhangs.
The Rubicon has an approach angle of 44.3 degrees, a breakover angle of
25.4 degrees and departure angle of 40.4 degrees. There are also
three skid plates underneath coving the fuel tank, transfer case and
the gearbox oil pan. The Rubicon model is also equipped with an Off-Road Rock-Trac two-speed
transfer case with a 4.0:1 low-range gear ratio, as well as electric
front and rear axle lockers, all of which aid in the quest to uncover
undiscovered territories.
The exterior of the Rubicon Unlimited is classic Jeep. Going back
for decades, the Wrangler still retains the old classic look which is
still quite stylish today. Here the Unlimited model sports
4-doors while the Rubicon trim gives it huge 32 inch off-road tires and
a host of other goodies. The front has classic round headlamps
with a seven-slot grille. There is a large black steel bumper
with integrated fog lamps and two large hooks, which are useful in
pulling you out of messy situations. The side profile is classic
with exposed door hinges. Noticeably lacking are step rails which
would make it easier to get in, however they also would take away from
the classic look. Rear doors blend nicely into the profile of the
Wrangler. They are much smaller than the front doors, but they
don’t cause too much of a problem getting in and out. The
Rubicon also has large fender flares made of plastic that do a very
good job containing the flying mud when you’re off-roading. Very
attractive five spoke 17-inch machined aluminum wheels offer an upscale
appearance with the large off-road tires. The Wrangler’s very
large ground clearance also makes it appear larger than it is from the
exterior. The roofline is flat and appears low from the exterior,
however once inside there is ample headroom. The rear cargo door
has a classic spare tire attached to it and a glass rear window opens
upward once the door is open.
We think that the new Wrangler Unlimited’s styling is quite good with a
great mix of original Jeep looks extended to serve the family. We
suspect more and more people will find the four-door Wrangler well
suited for their lifestyles and growing families. The problem
seems to be that people who buy a Jeep Wrangler tend to keep it for a
very long time and so we do not see many of these four door models on
the road today. If you buy a Wrangler Unlimited model while you
are in your twenties, you can enjoy the active lifestyle and still find
use for it when you’re a middle-aged manager with a wife and three
kids. It is a unique car that makes you feel good as you drive
it, which is very hard to do for most cars and trucks.
Interior styling is a mix of rugged looks with a blend of modern
conveniences. The exterior paint scheme is brought inside with
doors having metals panels showing. Ribbed checkered plastic trim
is used in combination with with smooth plastic in other areas.
There is plenty of headroom and legroom. The Wrangler is wide so
you sit nicely spread out from other passengers. There is a wide
central console in between the front two seats where the four wheel
drive transfer shift lever is located. Large cup holders are
located here as well. A arm rest houses a deep storage area which
is lockable for when there is no roof on your Jeep and you are out
shopping. Sitting in the driver’s seat you have a very nice
leather wrapped four-spoke steering wheel which has a large circular
center with the Jeep logo. The steering wheel looks and feels
great in the Wrangler, something we think is essential to any
vehicle. The Instrument cluster is exceptionally nice and
compact, with two large dials for speed and tachometer, flanked by
smaller dials for fuel and oil temperature. There is also a
digital section that shows various readouts like trip computer, average
fuel economy, clock and temperature.
What we especially liked was the narrow upper dash, bringing you very
close to the windshield, and the road. The distance from the edge
of the dash to the windshield must be only eight inches and this is so
unlike other vehicles where you have one or two feet of upper dash
space. The short dash give you the feeling of being closer
to the road and makes the whole Jeep experience that much more fun.
The Wrangler’s interior looks very modern with the addition of a touch
screen Navigation system which is being placed in all Chrysler
products. The stereo system consists of a SIRIUS Satellite Radio
and the MyGIG Multimedia Infortainment system that has touch screen
controls with integrated navigation system. This system allows
you to store your own music via an USB port in the built-in 30 gig hard
drive. You can also put pictures and set your own screen
saver. It’s very easy to use and going from AM/FM/SAT to CD and
then to Navigation happens flawlessly with a few clicks.
Sirius satellite radio also provides real time traffic information and
so while driving you can see accidents pop up with warnings on your
route path. Sound quality from the many speakers in the Jeep was
quite good, great for a party at the beach.
Window switches and the climate control system which is a manual one
are located in the central console below the navigation screen.
Two 12volt dc outlets and buttons for sway bar release, axle lock,
emergency blinkers and ESP off are located at the very bottom of the
central dash. On the passenger seat side, the lockable glove
compartment storage area is nice but the owner’s manuals take up most
of the room. The horizontal grab handle for the passenger
is very convenient when off-roading especially when there is not a
ergonomically placed grab handle on the door.
The rear seats have nice legroom but the sitting angle is a bit too
upright. That’s not too much of a pain considering that we should
all be happy the Wrangler finally has rear seat in the first
place. They also fold down very easily with just one pull of a
release with the headrest automatically folding into position.
Having a large flat cargo area is very useful making the Wrangler much
like a large SUV any soccer mom would have. Here your mom would
be quite famous driving you around in a Wrangler everyday.
The trunk is spacious but it’s hindered by the mechanism of the folding
soft-top. The entire soft-top when closed is right in the way of
putting things in the trunk. You either have to put bags by
sliding them underneath the soft-top or by carrying it over the top of
the unit and into the trunk area. It’s too bad that there
isn’t a lever that allows you to raise it so you can easily take things
in and out. This is specially a problem when the hardtop is on
since there is no way to raise the soft-top assembly. We
would like to see a power roof as on the recently tested Smart Fortwo.
The interior in the Wrangler is spacious with 54.8 cubic feet of volume
with 48.3 cubic feet in the second row. Cargo volume in the
trunk area is listed at 17.1 cubic feet but if you use the
fold-and-tumble feature of the second row seats, cargo volume
dramatically increases to 56.5 cubic feet.
All the doors on the Wrangler feel light weight and make a weak
clanging sound when closing. Sometimes you have to close the door
more than once just to confirm that it closed. Perhaps the door
was intentionally made to be lightweight since you can remove them so
easily. Removing the doors requires you to unscrew the two bolts
in the door hinges and then disconnect the wiring harness. Quite
fun to be able to remove so many parts of the vehicle, if only we all
lived near the sand dunes of california.
The hardtop also has special feature which is called the Freedom
Top. This means the two front panels above the driver and
passenger seats come off very easily with a turn of a few latches to
give you a semi-convertible look. The two light weight
pieces can then be stored in the trunk area. But as we all know,
the Wrangler is not truly a Wrangler unless it’s completely
topless. Figuring out how to get the rest of the hardtop off is a
little challenging. In fact it’s so challenging that you have to
open up the owner’s manual which has pages and pages of information on
how to remove almost every part of the exterior, from complete doors to
front windshield. Of course the section on how to play
around with the soft and hard top is a bit confusing. To remove
the hardtop fully, you have to pull out a wrench with #40 Torx
bit. Then you have to remove six screws located throughout the
rear trunk area, and then two more that are in the top of the hardtop,
which you get to by jumping on the side door frames. There are
also two large knobs that you have to unscrew inside the car that are
located on the b-section roll bar. You also have to unplug the
wiring harness in the rear that has a built in plug for the rear glass
windshield wiper fluid.
After you finally get everything unscrewed you will probably be
dripping in sweat. With temperatures near 85 and humidity at 90
percent during our test, even 15 minutes of this can be pretty
painful. The next step requires you find a partner to help you
lift the top. It’s really heavy and since there are no grab
handles, the sharp plastic edges will eat into your hand like a sharp
knife going through butter. Luckily for us we didn’t spill any
blood, but the process was still painful nonetheless. In short,
it’s not easy removing the hardtop or finding a place to store
it. We didn’t feel good about just resting in on the lawn; it
needs its own parking space in your garage. When its finally off,
the Wrangler is truly looking like the dune buggy it was meant to
be. It looks very nice with a full open top and beckons for
adventure. If only we could jump in and drive off on a wild
safari. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to do here in the
northeast; we can’t even take it on the beach.
Most owners will find that the hardtop is totally unnecessary, at least
until winter rolls around. The built-in soft top is nicely stored
in the trunk area and also has a vinyl cover to keep it wrapped up
tightly. Folding it up is simple but a little tricky.
It’s much easier with two people, one on each side, since the Unlimited
is so large. The top manually folds up and towards the front
where the two latches connect to the front windshield. That’s
basically it with the only thing remaining to do is to stretch and fold
the rear trunk apron into the metal frame. There are plastic windows
that you can zipper on to cover the rear cargo area. Living with
the softtop with the ability to lower and raise the roof in minutes is
what makes the Wrangler so special. Who would use a hardtop in
the spring, summer and fall, especially when it makes the Wrangler look
like a Hummer H3?
Don’t think the classic shape of the Wrangler means that it doesn’t
have modern day safety features. In fact, the 2008 Rubicon
Unlimited is packed with almost every conceivable technology to aid the
driver in case of an accident. Safety features include front air
bags, anti-lock brakes, brake assist, electronic roll mitigation,
electronic stability control, side-impact door beams and tire pressure
monitoring system.
Our test vehicle started off at a base price of $29,535. Optional
items were the red rock crystal pearl coat of exterior paint for $225,
the Customer Preferred Package 24R for $1,585, which included the
freedom top. The power convenience group costs $800 and includes
all power windows, locks and remote keyless entry system. The
automatic transmission is $825. The MyGIG Infotainment system
with navigation cost s$1,275. A destination charge of $660 bring
our total to $34,905. This included a 3 year basic warranty with
towing assistance and a lifetime powertrain warranty. The window
sticker shows a city rating of 15 miles per gallon and 19 on the
highway, our mixed results averaged only 16.5 mpg.
The Wrangler is a special vehicle with over 65 years of heritage.
While most buyers today are male and looking for an outdoor lifestyle,
the Jeep is well suited for anyone looking to have a good time.
Its ability to go from closed roof to fully open convertible in minutes
allows one to fully enjoy the wind-in-the-hair experience. Other
features like removable doors and a folding windshield means that the
Jeep is well suited for anyone looking for some adventure and a
connection with nature. There is also a strong bond among
Wrangler owners, we routinely got waves or headlight flashes when
passing by other Jeeps on the road. This doesn’t happen with many
other vehicles, we can think of only Porsche owners and Harley riders
who wave at each other when driving by. The 2008 Wrangler
Unlimited Rubicon is perhaps the best Jeep ever made; it simply looks
incredible and has a pleasant and comfortable interior for modern day
use. Combine this with its ability to go anywhere and you have a
compelling vehicle that may do just about anything you ask of it.
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