If elegance can be defined in terms of neatness and simplicity, then the Wrangler comes with an elegant interior. The modular instrument panel and heating and ventilation system are big improvements over the last generation Wrangler. High-back front seats are comfortable and offer good lateral support.
This is a small sport-utility, so it's a bit short on utility. There's room for either four people or two people and their gear, but not both. For weekend excursions, the best plan is to leave the back-seat passengers behind, flip the rear seat forward--or remove it--and head for the hills. There's enough space behind the rear seat for a fly rod, a vest and a pair of waders. Flip the rear seat down and there's plenty of room for a tent, a cooler, camping gear and way too much fishing equipment. It doesn't get much better than this.
Need to haul still more stuff? The Wrangler's modest towing capacity is sufficient for those who need to pull a personal watercraft or snowmobile.
Spring runoff had carved deep gullies in the muddy trail as we slogged past Buckhorn Canyon toward Fort Misery. Phoenix sprawled, forgotten, to the south, while Whiskey Springs rose 6700 feet above Horsethief Basin to the east. The primitive road wasn't even on the Arizona map, and for good reason. A car simply would not have made it up the muddy, rutted hill climbs. A big four-wheel drive sport-utility might have gotten through, but not as easily as the Wrangler.
Yet, when we left the trail and turned south onto I-17 toward Phoenix, we were grateful for its smooth, comfortable ride quality. That's the essence of the newest generation Wrangler. It provides the ultimate in off-road capability without punishing its occupants on the long road back to civilization. It's the right choice for perilous off-road treks like California's Rubicon Trail. But it's also fun when cruising around the neighborhood. And it makes a statement about your lifestyle--or at least what you'd like your lifestyle to be.
The new Wrangler isn't a luxury car, but it's not the penalty box it used to be. Paved roads seem much smoother. Corners are handled with more dignity. The interstate feels stable at 80 mph. And wet pavement is not to be feared. At the same time, the Wrangler's off-road capability is superior to that of even the legendary Jeep CJ. It's an impressive balancing act.
Wrangler's engineers achieved this balance by designing a coil-spring suspension to replace the Jeep's 50-year-old leaf-spring suspension. And they mounted it onto a rigid new chassis that provides a stable platform for the suspension to do its job. Coil springs provide better handling on and off road and enormous suspension travel. Wrangler's Quadra-Coil suspension boasts an additional seven inches of articulation over the previous leaf spring setup.
Greater approach and departure angles mean the Wrangler can cross trenches and clamber over rocks and fallen trees that would trap the old one. Few vehicles can match the Wrangler's rock-climbing ability. At the same time, it does not feel like a utility truck when winding down a curvy road.
A cautionary note here. The Wrangler is certainly sporty, but it's not a sports car. Its handling is competent, but the basic design is essentially truck, with a high center of gravity. Hurrying this or any sport-utility vehicle around tight corners is not a good plan.