Jeep Wrangler - Why should you buy it?

The made-in-India Jeep Wrangler was launched in India roughly a month ago. The company assembles the car alongside the Compass at its plant in Maharashtra, India. It is available in two variants namely Unlimited and Rubicon, priced at Rs 53.90 lakh and Rs 57.90 lakh (ex-showroom) respectively. We walk you through every detail of the SUV to help you take your pick.

What’s good?

The Wrangler has been a pure off-road vehicle for decades. Its capability to tread on any challenging terrain be it gravel, mud, sand, snow, riverbed, rocks etc. is critically acclaimed worldwide. Therefore, it continues to get some dedicated off-road features.

Every Wrangler variant has a Trail Rated badge. According to Jeep, to receive this badge, a vehicle has to go through extreme weather conditions and tough terrains which ensures that it takes on any situation without a sweat.

Both the models are offered with LED headlamp units with LED fog lamps. Also, all doors can be detached for a hard-core off-road experience. Besides, the Rubicon variant gets removable roof panels.

Inside, each model of the Wrangler has leather-trimmed seats, as well as a leather wrapped multifunction steering wheel and a gear handle. Also, the instrument cluster features a seven-inch colour display and there is another 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen infotainment system with navigation. This system supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Moreover, the cabin has a dual-zone climate control system.

The Wrangler comes with various safety and security features such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Trailer Sway Control (TSC), Hill Start Assist (HSA), Electronic Roll Mitigation (ERM), front and side airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, park sense with rear park assist system etc.

If you are an off-road buff and fancy exploring the wilderness, the Wrangler should be your pick. The Wrangler's top-notch off-road capabilities ensure you discover unseen landscapes and wildlife without having second thoughts. 

You can also get your friends or family to accompany you on an adventure trip because this vehicle can accommodate four passengers. Similarly, the enormous boot space of the Wrangler would be able to hold ample luggage of each person going on the trip.

What's not good?

If you think that the Wrangler is a superior vehicle, do not jump the gun, because it has some weaknesses that you cannot overlook. Firstly, as an off-road-oriented vehicle, the Wrangler does not have the best on-road ride quality, especially in the Rubicon trim. If you are driving in the city or on the highways, you may come across some noises. To learn more, please do read our in-depth Wrangler Rubicon review here.

Furthermore, the Wrangler only comes with a petrol engine for the India specific model. However, there are a few engine choices offered in the international version of the vehicle, especially a diesel engine which should have beenprovided in the India spec Wrangler. Similarly, the petrol engine in the Wrangler is not the most fuel-efficient. In our fuel economy tests, the Wrangler returned a city mileage of 6.51kmpl and around 8kmpl on the highway which can be attributed to its weight of over two tonnes.

Drivetrain

The Wrangler has a 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 268bhp and 400Nm of torque and it is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Wrangler further clocked a 0-100kmph time of 8.58 seconds in our acceleration tests.

The five-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited gets Selec-Trac full-time four-wheel-drive system while the Rubicon has Rock-Trac full-time four-wheel-drive system with the ability to lock the front and rear differentials. Also, there is an electronic sway bar disconnect feature. It also has a selectable part-time 4x4 option along with an off-road Plus mode. Additionally, both the variants come with four discs brakes and heavy-duty suspension with gas shock absorbers. Besides, the Unlimited version gets 18-inch aluminium alloy wheels whereas the Rubicon is equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels.