Jeep Rubicon Drive

Took a Jeep Rubicon out on an off-road course over the weekend. Impressive vehicle. Locking front and rear differentials, sway-bar disconnect, and a 72:1 low range. With only a 2" lift, that sucker went over things that I would not have thought possible. I could even live with the interior...much has changed since the CJ5!

It truely is amazing what a little ground clearance and locked differential will do, isn't it?

They are amazing. I've never driven a Rubicon, but my last CJ was the same thing except all that pesky suspension flex
I'd be amazed driving a jeep that well built that flexes that well.

Do you think they are livable on a daily basis? They generally get terrible reviews from publications that deal with on road vehicles. I love the idea of the four door with the easily removable top and doors. Instant dune buggy! Uh, was that beer before or after your drive?

bravenrace wrote: Do you think they are livable on a daily basis? They generally get terrible reviews from publications that deal with on road vehicles. I love the idea of the four door with the easily removable top and doors. Instant dune buggy! Uh, was that beer before or after your drive?

My Wife wants a new Wrangler. We rented one on vacation and it was plenty nice for a DD for us, but would be pretty rough for someone used to a nice sedan. We used to DD a Cherokee on 33s with a 5.5 inch lift, so I'm probably not the best to judge. I can say Jeeps have come a LONG way since my 87 Wrangler. Also, we plan to get the hard top which should cut down on NVH. I want the Rubicon, but we may end up with the base plus rear locker and other options....it will all depend on what kind of deal we can work. There is also the option of buying used...she wants new, but if the right used one comes along we may go that route. I'd really like an 06 Rubicon unlimited (2 door with extended cargo area), with the 4.0 inline 6, and a hard top. They are difficult to find though and always seem to bring strong money.

Finally something I know a little about...I DD'd a 07 Wrangler for almost 3 years. Mine was the Sahara, 4 door, 6spd, 4.10 gears, it also had 33x12.5s without a lift. It is actually a very comfortable DD and I really miss it. Doors off, tops off, one foot on the running board = pure awesomeness. I've had almost every Jeep ever made from an 80 CJ5 to the 07+ Wrangler. The 07 was way more comfortable than any of the others. Let's be honest the 4door was built for soccer moms, so they had to make it comfy. Two car seats easily fit in the 4 door Jeeps. Heck I think in 09 or 10 you could even get leather interior in the JK.

My only complaints were 1) that 14-16 MPG that I was getting.
2) And that it did not have super take off speed. The 07 had the new for its time V6 that was only making 205 HP or somewhere along those lines. Now mine would cruise the interstate all day at 80mph, but around town it was a slug. The 2012 and newer V6 got a HP bump to 265 or something like that. What pisses me off about Jeep is that Ford and Chevy can both make a V6 with 300+ HP and yet Jeep only gives you toned down motors. Grrrr.

jkowners.com and jk-forum.com are two great stops for the 07+ jeepforum.com and jeepsunlimited.com are both good for the older Jeeps. and pirate4x4.com is kinda like the grassroots of the Jeep and 4x4 world, those guys build crazy trail rigs of whatever comes to their imagination.

Cotton- if you end up looking at 07+ and need more infor let me know. I started out looking at the 06- Unlimiteds but the thought of cortoring myself to put the kiddo in the back seat was too much. I was always afraid I'd bash their head on the roll bar going in or out. If you want me to look for an 06 over in Knoxville area let me know. I saw some in Maryville last weekend, but I didn't note if they were Rubicons or not.

Uh, is it just me, or does OP look like Daniel Craig? I pray to god you've gone to at least one halloween party as James Bond...

I have driven a friend's. It drives fairly nice for a truck on the road. The gas pedal felt really really weird though. It felt like there was almost no travel.

HiTempguy wrote: Uh, is it just me, or does OP look like Daniel Craig?

I was thinking the same thing.

bravenrace wrote: Do you think they are livable on a daily basis? They generally get terrible reviews from publications that deal with on road vehicles. I love the idea of the four door with the easily removable top and doors.

I could live with one daily. I wouldn't because I don't really like driving tall vehicles but it didn't seem to have any bad road manners except a bit of extra tire noise.

octavious wrote: My only complaints were 1) that 14-16 MPG that I was getting.

Funny thing this. I've owned 14 Jeeps, from a 1946 to a 2000. 4 bangers to v-8's, stock to lifted and locked. I got 14-16 no matter what! Bizzarre.

Nice catch on the Daniel Craig...it's a Photoshop job. (I am so ugly, I might break the internet)

The interior is what made me think that you could live with one as a DD. There was as much room inside as my old Grand Cherokee, and the dash is great. The rubber floor mats and rough materials are actually perfect for my messy slobs...I mean...kids. The price of the Rubicon wouldn't be worth it for me (how many boulder-strewn 60% grades do I tackle on the way to work anyway?) but a hard-top 4-door is on the list. With the new engine of course.

And it's Iced Tea.

Mileage always kills a Jeep for me. Otherwise I want one in the worst way.

An '06 with the 4.0 please.

When the JK first came out, I saw four doors and yelled SACRILEGE! And then I read V6 and thought about swearing them off altogether.

Then I had a kid. Then four doors really started to make sense.

I want one.

octavious wrote: Cotton- if you end up looking at 07+ and need more infor let me know. I started out looking at the 06- Unlimiteds but the thought of cortoring myself to put the kiddo in the back seat was too much. I was always afraid I'd bash their head on the roll bar going in or out. If you want me to look for an 06 over in Knoxville area let me know. I saw some in Maryville last weekend, but I didn't note if they were Rubicons or not.

Thanks, I didn't realize until your post that the 2012 got such a large power bump. I took a look at the stats and saw 80+ more hp, a 5 speed auto as opposed to the 4 (wife won't drive a manual) and a few other goodies. One test had the 2012 at 6.7 seconds 0-60....never thought I'd see that in a Wrangler. I love the 4.0 i6, but after reading up on the 2012 I think we will lean towards it if we can work a good deal. No kids for us, so the 2 door works for us and will save some cash. I will still have the 89 Suburban for when we need lots of room.

The new Wranglers are the first I've actually liked. Make mine a 4 door Rubicon with the 6-speed please.

Of the JKs the 2010s got the better folding soft-top, I kid you not it takes less than 1 minute to drop it if you're practiced, and about 2 to put it up. 2011s got the 'fold back sunroof soft top and better interior, looks nicer but still made of plastic. 2012s got all the aforementioned stuff + the pentastar V6.

My wife has a 2010 Sport 2-door automatic. It's not as serious as the Rubi but it'll go where we want/need. Also, one of the cheapest/easiest mods to this car is cruise control so don't let the fact it's missing scare you off. Just buy the stalk, horn harness with extra pigtail, the new surround, and get a couple of screws from a hardware store ~$70 all in, and with a flat head screwdriver and a socket it shouldn't take you more than 20 minutes to swap over (throttle is computer controlled so all you have to do is plug in and it works)

I've added running boards so my wife could get in and out easier (need to get rock rails for what she wants to do with it) and plan on upgrading the stereo, but other than that it's a fun little vehicle.

The Rubis are a helluva rig nowadays, we looked at them, but I didn't see my wife needing locking 44s, electronic swaybar disconnect for her mall crawls...

I know what you mean on that. The only Jeep we ever had that got higher mileage was my wife's 02 Jeep Liberty. It was 17/19. When I first got my JK and going by the dash calculator I was getting 22MPG. But when I did my first calculation of number of miles travelled divided by number of gallons pumped, I realized at best I was getting 18. Add large tires and that number starts to drop.

I should be clear I would still drive a JK today, but there two reasons I got rid of mine. My commute more than doubled and the sucky mileage didn't help. Couple that with I had a car payment on the JK and I didn't want a car payment anymore. That was it. Even with the weaker motor, I would have kept it. I tell my wife I'll have another Jeep someday. But I long for a CJ8 the Scrambler, or another old CJ5 like my first one.

Since we are on the topic, another thing, that cracks me up about Jeep is that they won't put a V8 in the Wrangler. Hardcore offroaders would be beating each other out of the way if Jeep would do a V8 Rubicon. Because they don't a Hemi swap is the most common power upgrade to the JK.

Cotton- are the 4.10 rear gears an option from Jeep on the 12+? If so it is a very worth while option, I think it was $50 on mine. I'm guessing that most of the 12+ on the lot are 3.73 gears or even 3.21. If you can swing the 4.10 gears the Jeep will be much better.

Edit= Oops just realized you said 5spd auto, I've not driven one of those yet so my gearing comment might only apply to the earlier manuals.