Few vehicles can match the Jeep Wrangler off road and certainly none in this price range. Driving a Wrangler every day on the road, however, requires some concessions. The tall tires and off-road suspension, which add capability in the backcountry, become a liability around town. This is particularly true of the Rubicon. The ride is harsh and choppy. On the plus side, however, is a torque-sensing limited-slip feature on the rear axle for better traction on the road.
We sampled both the smooth-shifting four-speed automatic transmission and the well-geared five-speed manual, and both match up well to the power and torque curves of the inline six-cylinder engine that comes on most models.
Jeep's inline-6 produces ample power in all conditions. It's rated at 190 horsepower and 235 pounds-feet of torque. The inline-6 gives up some fuel economy to the inline-4 around town, but gets 18 mpg on the highway vs. 20 mpg for the manual-shift four-cylinder.
The Wrangler SE with the four-cylinder engine is an appealing vehicle. It does not offer much power and we wouldn't want to drive all the way across the U.S. in one, but we still like it. There's something poetic about its simplicity, right down to the skinny tires. The low-cut doors and soft top are cool. And the basic SE is more comfortable than the pre-2003 model. The low price is attractive, assuming you can resist adding a lot of options. The SE's 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is rated 147 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 165 pounds-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. That's 25 percent more horsepower and 18 percent more torque than the 2.5-liter four-cylinder that Jeep used through 2002. The new engine works well with the standard five-speed gearbox, a heavy-duty unit with a synchronized reverse gear and a single-rail shift system for good shift quality in cold weather. A four-speed automatic, all-new last year, is also available. Still, the SE does not offer thrilling acceleration. If you don't want a rear seat, don't mind the easy-to-clean vinyl upholstery, and don't feel the need for speed, then the SE is a good vehicle for fishing, hunting, exploring. Having one attached to the back of your motor home comes in handy when tooling around small towns in the American West.