Jeep Wrangler

Well I recently worked for a bloke who had a 2 door Wrangler short wheelbase petrol with the new 3.6 motor and 5 speed auto.
I was pretty impressed with what it drove like and i guess you could extrapolate it to the LWB.
The 3.6 has little low down torque but the 5 speed auto is responsive enough on the highway to drop down one gear up big hills. It would not pull Moonie Moonie hill in top but the change down was not a big deal like in a 4 speed.
The fuel economy at 110 and in Sydney traffic was about 10-11L per 100kms which I thought was good considering the shape.
The SWB Wrangler gets panned for being vague on the highway , but I thought the opposite , that it was "twitchy" wanting to change direction at the slightest provocation.
Off road even stock it has good ground clearance and not bad articulation , as I accompanied it on Blacksmiths Beach in an FJ Cruiser , and I think the Jeep performed better, mainly because the FJ ran out of clearance .

The interior is quite nice , but I found the high dashboard not to my liking and intrusive , but I am used to Land Rover which have great vision.
It has all the fruit inside with modern bits like bluetooth etc AFAIR.

The soft top was not all that noisy and didn't flap at 110 Kmh , but got very hot on a hot day, but this is common to all softops.

I didn't get to drive it with the hardtop on, but I can tell you its very heavy and at least a two man job to lift on and off and very unbalanced with the weight all at the back.
If I had enough money I would seriously consider a 4 door hardtop with diesel auto,as they have a lot of cargo room and are impressive. The 2013 Rubicon looks great with body painted roof but is 50K and only petrol.
Regards Philip A

G'day Bob, I had been looking around at another fourby, year or two ago, had heard stories about water leaking inside the wranglers... Came across one at a car yard, opened the drivers door and put my hand under the seat, sure enough, about and inch or so of water laying there.. Stories were true! Just for your info. Cheers Odog

Wranglers are quite nice to drive, certainly more comfortable than their closest competitor the LR Defender. All the Wranglers I have been in have low range. They suffer from a smallish fuel tank which can hurt for remote travel and they have a surprisingly low tow capacity even in the 4 door model. The diesel is a pretty common VM 2.8 that they seem to be using in the new Colorados. I would go that way for extra range out of the tank. Very capable out of the box off road. Some people say Jeeps are unreliable....all I can say is some are and some aren't. :-)

Trading in our 3 year old Cherokee for a 2door Wrangler. Pick it up just after Xmas. And can't wait. Been driving tracks with Wranglers for years and where they can go is amazing. Limitation is the driver, not the vehicle.

Jeeps are hard to get fixed if you are away from a city dealer. Parts can be pricey. If you are a DIY type, then you can get parts in cheap from the US. I am not into DIY, so it is better for me to change just before the warranty runs out.

They will go anywhere, but fuel range is an issue when a fair way outback. Towing capacity is also typically not good. To be honest, we use the Patrol for big outback trips for it's long range fuel tank, ease of repairs if needed, towing capacity and space. The Jeep is for play, towing the light camper, and Jeep events.

You need a Jeep to go to Camp Coffs, Jamboree etc. and those are cool. If you get one, join your local Jeep club.

Thanks everyone for the replies. The basic ingredients are there for a great desert tourer - diesel motor, solid front axle, solid build quality etc. Like so many other cars out there the compromise means you can't get the setup you'd like. According to Redbook, none of the diesels come with a transfer case, let alone diff lock. That pretty much rules it out for me.

Bob