If ever a vehicle could be described as a box with a wheel at each corner, it has to be the Jeep Wrangler. Few vehicles have changed less in their basic design over half a century than Jeep’s muscular off-roader. The Wrangler is bigger, wider, keeps its rather aggressive “no messing” appearance but won’t scare the horses. The extra 53 cm of wheelbase adds some much
needed room to the interior and Jeep, who have worked hard at maintaining performance, claim that has not affected the off road capability. All the much-loved Wrangler characteristics are there: Exposed hinges, removable full-framed doors, a fold-down windshield and a drop top that has kept generations of repair-manicurists in business. But hey! It’s a Wrangler! This is not for the guy who thinks ‘off road’ means two wheels of his SUV on the sidewalk while overtaking atJeddah traffic lights.
The 2007 Wrangler — carrying the name ‘Unlimited’ from last year’s stretched two door — is much more comfortable, convenient and holds more cargo (and passengers). And it has electric windows; are we goingsoft here? Add in the rather generic looking though comfortable front seats — the rear seats might be challenging for long journeys in terms of comfort and just-adequate leg room — extra sound insulation and a spacious feel to the interior and the four door Sahara model provides a feel angling toward a normal SUV.
The test model used the new 3.8 liter pushrod overhead 12-valve V6 common to the new Wrangler range.
Developing 202 horsepower — 12 more horsepower than the previous reliable inline-six that powered Wranglers for more than 20 years, it has the same peak torque but at a higher range.
The Unlimited Sahara test version had a part time four-wheel drive and low transfer box. The net effect when attempting to push the 4door up sand dunes was that, throughthe six-speed auto box locked (a four speed version is optional) in 1st gear that it just was not quite enough.
All Wranglers sport a five-link straight axle suspension front and rear, revised shock absorbers and springs, a re-circulating ball steering system and a fully boxed frame that Jeep says is twice as stiff as the previous version. On road surfaces, there is a low rumble that communicates road surface through the suspension, slightly softer than the Unlimited Rubicon version. The huge 81 cm wheels (including tires) soak up bumps and straddle potholes, softening the bumps. The largewheels finally remove the traditional ‘box perched on wheels’ look that previous Wranglers had and give a very satisfactory look. The standard transmission is a six-speed manual, which fits the Wrangler’s personality; the optional four-speed automatic overdrive is for those who appreciate convenience more than aesthetics.
The Wrangler is traditionally a trail vehicle first and then a town vehicle. Limited front storage space and undersized shallow cup-holders that do not hold a 1.5 liter water bottle are niggles — as is the position of a driver’s side door map-holder that machined a groove in my shin over two days. The seating position is a little too upright and the dash is tall, but visibility is perfectly good. Power windows and locks are offered for the first time and some neat engineering solutions assures that the doors are still fully removable. Cargo room is class-leading with up to 2.44 cubic meters available with the second-row seats folded.
The dashboard is tall — the only way to describe it, really. Basic climate control knobs and lots of plastic on the doors though utilitarian and in the tradition of the Wrangler image are perhaps a little crude for the price tag. The radio and CD player, bless the lads at the design department, has rotating knobs for volume and station selection — much easier than some of the advanced all electronic gizmos that have become the vogue.
Dashboard instrumentation is simple, largely analogue and easy to read. Excellent.
There are however, issues. First though let it be known that I own a Jeep — my second. Secondly, I have expectations of the Wrangler as a hard edged brawler that has an attractive lack of dignity and oodles of power that allows the driver to get off-road and go virtually anywhere. Thirdly; I have an allergic negative reaction to automatic gearboxes in off-road vehicles. Biased? Yep, so that’s got that out of the way!
I fear the four-door has been the victim of some changes that haves and papered the rough bits to make it useable as a family vehicle and compromised the drive of the machine. The move to the 3.8 liter V6 has changed the power characteristics from thumping low-end torque to higher end power band — and it simply runs out of steam. Acceleration was soft and lacked bite — over 11 seconds to 100 kph. Kick-down — if not done decisively and with a heavy foot — occasionally seemed to find the wrong gear and a sort of false neutral until it made its mind up what to do.
The 2007 Wrangler has a nine cm wider track, high-pressure mono-tube shock-absorbers and standard antilock disc brakes on each wheel. Thus it tracks better on the highway and leans less in turns — but its 43 meter stop from 100 kph was only adequate.
In a sharp emergency maneuver — avoiding a car accelerating out of a side turning — the front nearside wheel did actually lock up.
Now, Saudi Arabia does a fine line in sand dunes. The Unlimited four-door Sahara — which you might think was designed with sand in mind — was perfectly happy on decently compact quite soft sand on the straight andlevel. But those dunes — the little rascals — proved the great leveler.
Jeep does a lot of testing on the famous and very rugged Rubicon Trail in California. The four-door Unlimited by all accounts makes easy work of it. Indeed, over fractured rocky surfaces and up steep inclines in the hills outside Jeddah, it handled very well and the 25 cm ground clearance ensured very little bottoming even with the 53cm extra wheelbase. However, even charging 37-degree dunes and taking full advantage of the 45-degree approach angle the car allows, the extra weight and the higher revolution torque band of the Sahara its toll.
The Unlimited four-door has heaps of street credibility and is most definitely fun to drive. It will handle a wide range of off road conditions and is a much more comfortable car than the earlier two door Wranglers.
It is still most definitely a Jeep and is way up at the top of its niche market — however suffice it to say, smaller high- end torque engines in the big 1,803 kg body is not the way to go — at least in sand.
And lots of potential Wrangler buyers love to play in the sand.