► Mildly-revised Jeep Wrangler 4×4 driven
► New interior tech, same off-road dominance
► Four-door only now; priced from £61,125
Jeep’s perennial Wrangler is, quite possibly, one of the best off-roaders this planet has ever seen. In recent years, the JL generation has aimed to make the Jeep a more accessible and user-friendly model for more people, without losing the car’s off-road ability.
Since then, the Wrangler has been given a nip and tuck for 2024, adding in some new tech and keeping the 4×4 flame alive.
At a glance
Pros: Unparalleled off-road, feels tough, roomy and practical, deeply charming and fun
Cons: Sloppy steering, gruff engine, nowhere for the driver’s left foot, there are more refined cars out there…
What’s new?
The 2024 update is a bit of a rationalisation more than anything else, tweaking some of the specs available for the UK market and adding in some more up-to-date technology.
Little has visually changed to the exterior, save for a lightly redesigned seven-slot grille, some fresh wheel designs and some standard (and quite tough) ‘rock rail’ side sills.
Inside, the Wrangler now has electric front seats and features a large, glossy central infotainment screen that uses the same software as other cars with their roots set in the defunct Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group – like the Fiat 500e or Maserati Grecale. As well as some side impact airbags now standard, additional safety tech designed to adhere to General Safety Regulation 2 rules have been applied including a driver attentiveness system, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition.
The 2024 update also sees the removal of the two-door option as demand for it was so low it didn’t feel worth Jeep continuing to offer it, but the four-door still has hard-top and soft-top options available.
What are the specs?
One body style and one engine now, with two trim variants available. Said engine is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder ‘Hurricane’ unit that develops 268bhp and allows the Wrangler to sprint to 62mph in a perfectly fine 10.4 seconds.
Unlike Europe, we don’t benefit from the Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid, mainly as demand isn’t high enough to warrant selling it here – which is a shame, as it’s arguably the best version. And the silly V8-powered Wrangler 392 remains an OTT novelty across the Atlantic.
Both Sahara (starting from £61,125) and Rubicon (which is £2k more, pictured) trims come loaded with equipment, with heated seats and steering wheel, that large central infotainment screen, a load of standard safety and driver assistance tech and tough leather upholstery. Rubicon is the tougher off-roader, throwing in an ‘Off-Road Plus’ mode, the ability to disconnect the front roll bar for better wheel articulation during off-roading and knobbly BF Goodrich R17C ‘Mud Terrain’ tyres thrown in, as well as other toughened off-road details.
What about the interior?
It’s all about being functional inside the Wrangler, but it manages to feel good and look interesting at the same time. There’s still an almost van-like driving position, and drivers continue to be seemingly punished for having right-hand drive cars by having nowhere to put our left foot, but the overall interior feels tough and well-built.
The dashboard itself is still very button heavy, but quickly makes sense after a few miles behind the wheel – with many functions still welcomely physical, rather than relegated to the screen. And said screen looks bright and clear, with crisp graphics. We’d be hard pressed to call it an out-and-out improvement over the Wrangler’s old system; yes, the old tech was more basic, but it was one of the most usable and easily navigable systems on the market at the time – something we can’t quite say with this newer system.
Rear space is good enough, with just enough room for a tall driver behind a tall adult, and the boot space available is really impressive – but then it should be, as it’s a chunk longer than the very practical Skoda Kodiaq.
How does it drive?
This is the part of the Wrangler that’s changed the least, post-update. The 2.0-litre petrol engine is quite grumbly and makes a lot of fuss under hard acceleration, settling nicely enough down and slurring between the car’s many gears at higher speeds. It’s not especially fast, but it’s potent enough for overtakes and pulling away quickly from roundabouts.
Some of the handling characteristics are dependent on which spec of Wrangler you choose and are namely down to the tyres. Even so, both versions ride well on the road and absorb a lot of lumps and bumps pretty easily – that tough off-road engineering means some properly sophisticated suspension designed to handle the worst. Both also have the same gearbox, which shifts relatively smoothly, too.
The Wrangler’s steering isn’t all that accurate regardless of spec, feeling a little soggy and vague, but the Rubicon’s knobbly tyres when on the road only exacerbate that to full on old-school Hollywood movie levels of play. Tyre road is pronounced when you spec the Rubicon, too, but is damped better in the four-door model than the older, defunct two-door could ever muster.
Then we come to the Wrangler’s party trick: its imperious off-road ability. Our drive across the Yorkshire Dales in the updated Wrangler included some tough off-roading trails, with steep rock crawls and craggy, loose-surface runs up hillsides and a couple of brief dips into streams and rivers. And, as you’d predict, the Wrangler shrugs it all off like it’s nothing – so much so that our committed and experienced guides proved you could even do some of the tougher stuff without using the Wrangler’s low-range ratios, or even four-wheel drive at all. Aside from something like a Defender, little else can keep up with the Wrangler’s off-road ability – and, with some careful guidance, even a novice can plough their way towards a Yorkshire moor and come over the other side unscathed.
Before you buy
Naturally, the Wrangler is very much a heart-over-head kind of car. People buy these because they really want one, having fallen for its charms or superior out-and-out off-road ability. Why? Because, there are less dynamically flawed cars for the money like Land Rover’s Defender, for example. And that becomes especially apparent on price; at the time of writing, an entry-level Defender 110 SE D250 is priced at around £64k – not far from the Wrangler’s entry price.
Verdict: Jeep Wrangler
Precious little comes close to the Wrangler’s abilities off-road, and it remains up there with the best 4x4s currently on sale, perhaps even ever. Unlike something like a Defender, there are more refinement compromises to be made here with a noisy engine and some soggy on-road handling characteristics, but the Wrangler wins you over with its charm and its un-serious nature. But that £60k+ price is still a lot to ask.
You buy one a Wrangler because you want one, rather than need one. But you’re rewarded with something that’ll make you smile and keep you moving even in the toughest or most remote settings.