2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

It costs a lot of money to pack 4,400 lb of metal into the volume a 4 door Wrangler occupies.

Hell Yes.
People are crazy about their Wranglers and why yes, I just bought a 2016 hydro blue Black Bear edition. It's a wild departure from anything I've owned over the last 25 years and I've wanted one since they went to coil springs back in '97.
I'm not rock climbing Moab, so I went with one that was way more civil to live with every day.
Notice the snow in the background but the top is off...

Seriously we are bitching about the most capable 4wd that is available with a manual trans at every trim level. A sport 4 door 6 speed is a reasonable priced (relative to other new cars) way to get 4wd, manual, and 3500lb towing capacity. Even a Willy's Wheeler which is pretty capable off road will still be under 33k with hard top.

That's a lot when you think back to 1997 vehicle prices but inflation elevates a 20k (msrp for 1997 wrangler Sahara) vehicle to nearly 30k (which coincidentally is MSRP for a 2016 Wrangler 2 door Sahara) without considering options that didn't exist in the 90s or cost extra.

nocones wrote: Seriously we are bitching about the most capable 4wd that is available with a manual trans at every trim level. A sport 4 door 6 speed is a reasonable priced (relative to other new cars) way to get 4wd, manual, and 3500lb towing capacity. Even a Willy's Wheeler which is pretty capable off road will still be under 33k with hard top. That's a lot when you think back to 1997 vehicle prices but inflation elevates a 20k (msrp for 1997 wrangler Sahara) vehicle to nearly 30k (which coincidentally is MSRP for a 2016 Wrangler 2 door Sahara) without considering options that didn't exist in the 90s or cost extra.

That's a good point. I was looking at that for my old Grand Cherokee too. Jeep's pricing has actually tracked impressively well with inflation.

Sticker price on my top-spec Grand Cherokee from 98 was $39,215. That comes to about $57k after adjusting for inflation. Let's ignore the SRT Jeep, as that didn't exist at all back then and compare to a top-spec non-SRT 2016 Grand Cherokee. Sticker price on one of those with the diesel and every other expensive option thrown in comes to just a hair shy of $59k. Considering the extra stuff that wasn't available in 98 (including the diesel), a $2000 increase over 18 years is really not bad at all.

I don't hear anyone bitching, I'm just saying that personality, I'll stick with something I can build to suit my needs rather than writing an enormous check for a new car. I'm not hating on the rubicon, I think they're cool, an I commend jeep for building something so enthusiast focused, I'm just saying that I like to roll my own.

Ok--- sure, the Rubicon Unlimited may not be the most versatile machine on the planet--- I may have had my rose colored glasses on when I wrote my review.

To me though--- it's WAY more fun to drive-- even on the road, than a "regular" SUV. Most SUVs these days are so refined, so smooth, so damn boring. They are antiseptic. This Jeep has flaws, it has rough edges, it has character. I'd take one anyday over a 4-Runner, or Grand Cherokee, or really any other SUV. I have no desire at all for an SUV, but for some reason---- I have a ton of love for this Jeep.

Is my affection irrational? Yep---- but I don't care. I'd rather ride in a bouncy, jouncy funhouse, than an isolated reading room.

Joe Gearin wrote: Ok--- sure, the Rubicon Unlimited may not be the most versatile machine on the planet--- I may have had my rose colored glasses on when I wrote my review. To me though--- it's WAY more fun to drive-- even on the road, than a "regular" SUV. Most SUVs these days are so refined, so smooth, so damn boring. They are antiseptic. This Jeep has flaws, it has rough edges, it has character. I'd take one anyday over a 4-Runner, or Grand Cherokee, or really any other SUV. I have no desire at all for an SUV, but for some reason---- I have a ton of love for this Jeep. Is my affection irrational? Yep---- but I don't care. I'd rather ride in a bouncy, jouncy funhouse, than an isolated reading room.

Couldn't agree more with every point you said. I have no desire to own an SUV (unless I got a dedicated race car that I use frequently), but I would love me some Jeep Wrangler.

The JK is definitely an anomaly in today's automotive landscape, regardless of how any of us feel about them. While they're not my favorite Jeeps, I still like them and they are probably one of the very few new vehicles I would consider buying, were I so inclined.

What I really find astonishing is how many of them FCA actually manages to sell. Given the specs, you'd think they would be a totally niche market vehicle, but they're as common around here as just about anything else.

And furthermore, I'd be willing to bet that a greater percentage end up modified in some relatively substantial way than just about any other new vehicle sold today. Lifts, wheels/tires, bumpers, racks, winches, ect - seems that half of the JKs I see on the road have some amount of aftermarket hardware on board. Even if they are just mall crawlers, I'm happy to see the owners have some degree of involvement with the vehicle greater than "Look, I got my phone synced into the blue tooth!"