Want the trickest-looking Jeep Wrangler Rubicon this side of a Utah ‘rock garden?’
Easy. To show you just what you can achieve with a Wrangler, the official Jeep parts book, plus a ‘parts & accessories’ budget of a little over $33K, local importer Jeep NZ pulled a new ‘un out of stock and specced it up like a Boss!
The result is a real head-turner, to the point when I had it for a week I spent as much time – or so it seemed – taking to punters about it as I did driving it.
For what you could call ‘everyday on and off-roading’ (whereby, say, you always stay on formed tracks and trails, an ex-showroom Wrangler (particularly if it is a line-topping Rubicon) is fine. Start pushing the envelope, however and you soon find the limits (as we did) of the ex-factory approach, departure and (particularly) ramp over angles, as well as ground clearance.
A real rock ape!
Try the same trick in the modded version and you’d have to be a real rock ape (and no that’s not meant to be an insult!) to hook anything up. There is the extra clearance provided by the AEV lift kit for a start. Then a further boost thanks to the 37-inch tyres mounted on 17-inch dia. AEV ‘Borah’ alloy wheels.
As the guy at Jeep NZ said as he went through his ‘pre-flight’ check list with me before I ventured out of the company car park; ‘trust me, you are not going to get stuck!’
Nor did we, even in the pillow-soft sand at the base of the dunes along Muriwai Beach (which have been known to quickly swallow up and incapacitate many a late model TD DC 4WD ute).
Indeed, off-road the modded Rubicon was everything you might imagine it would be – and more.
Not so much!
On the road, and in daily use, however, not so much.
Getting in and out, for instance, requires the agility of a gymnast and the flexibility of a contortionists. The floor really is so far up that, without a footstool or even rock rail, you have to haul yourself up then across and in with a combination of arm, leg and bum (the latter to try and hold the door open as it tries to flop shut on you) muscles you probably didn’t realise you had.
Memo to Jeep. Find some Mopar rock sliders with (they must make them!) foot holds.
Once inside everything is tickety-boo; until you start really concentrating on your driving, and realise that there is no ‘clutch foot’ rest for you to brace your left foot on. Sure it’s a small thing, but when there isn’t one there believe me, I notice its absence.
Again, though fitting a set of 37 in BF-Gs is great for bragging rights at the pub or down ‘the club of a Friday night, the combined rolling resistance puts a real dampener on everyday performance on the road – to the point where I always felt I had to seriously ‘row the thing along’ to keep up with the 110-115km/h pace on the one stretch on Auckland motorway which still flows nicely (outside the morning/evening commute anyway).
Doing this, not surprisingly, had a fairly major impact on how much fuel the 3.6 litre V6 Pentastar engine used.
Finally, while I enjoyed playing with the A-pillar mounted 50” Light Bar, I’d be reluctant to fit one myself after having experienced the wind noise and mounting ‘flutter’ of the unit fitted to the test vehicle.
Memo to potential buyer. Beware what you wish for!
To sum up.
Customising is an intensely personal process and what someone at Jeep might think is essential might well be the last thing you or I might like or want.
By putting it out there though you can at least see what is available and what your ‘perfect’ Wrangler might look feel and go like.
Upgrade list
- Mopar bonnet
- 7” LED headlights
- Mopar front bumper
- Mopar winch mount
- Mopar brush guard
- Mopar skid plate
- Mopar mount bracket
- Warn winch 10-s
- Rubicon decals
- Hurrican flare kit
- AEV Borah wheels x 5
- BF Goodrich 37x12.5R17 LT-MT tyres x 5
- AEV 4.5” lift kit
- Mopar rear bumper
- Mopar hex bolt kit x 4
- Mopar tyre carrier & bracket
- Mopar tail light guards
- 50” Light bar & brackets.
- Ends
SPECIFICATIONS
Vehicle: Jeep Wrangler Rubicon LWB
Engine: 3604cc Pentastar V6 petrol 209kW@6350rpm & 347Nm@4300rpm
Gearbox: 5-speed auto w/ Rock-Trac 4x4 system
Features: Rubicon is top spec which means Tru-Lok diff locks front & rear plus Dana HD front & rear axles and electronic front sway bar disconnect plus full ESC/HSA/TC/ERM/TSC electronic safety suite.
RRP: (ex-showroom) $70,990 + mod package valued @ $33,277 = $104,267
To read the full story in the May 2019 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (April 22) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store
