Jeep Wrangler Unlimited review, test drive

We take the legendary Jeep Wrangler Unlimited off the tarmac to see whether it truly lives up to its name.

Published on Aug 30, 2016 11:01:00 AM

65,587 Views

Jeep Wrangler Unlimited review, test drive

Even the driving position is evocative. Use the rock-slider footboard to climb up into the seats and you’re looking out through a pillbox windscreen with a very upright dashboard in front of you. It’s all black plastic, solidly built and hard wearing, but not too plush, and you notice how the speakers are mounted on the ceiling (so they don’t drown when you go water wading, we presume). There’s no powered seats and no parking sensors, but you do get power windows and a high-mounted UConnect touchscreen infotainment system that has Bluetooth connectivity, navigation and voice control.

The pedal positions are weird in relation to the seat and the steering wheel – the throttle pedal has exceptionally long travel and when you adjust the seat to comfortably reach full throttle with your leg, the steering is too close. There is no reach adjustment for the steering to counter this and the stretching you have to do makes your feet hurt after an extended period at the wheel. The rear seats are quite ‘military’ too – despite the wheelbase being stretched 500mm for this five-door Wrangler, the door aperture is small, the seat back is uncomfortably upright and the seat squab has been designed for people with very short legs.

The Wrangler is also a five-seater and thanks to the roll cage running through it, removing the roof and doors (which you can do with a bit of effort) apparently doesn’t affect body stiffness.

Start the 2.8-litre four-cylinder common-rail diesel and it settles into an audible clatter. It makes an impressive 200hp and 460Nm of torque, so it isn’t slow, not even close to it. Its 100kph comes up in 10.79sec and we saw 180kph on the speedo.