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Jeep offers more space with four-door Wrangler Unlimited
The Jeep Unlimited, a 4-door evolution of Jeep heritage with 5-passenger room and more cargo space but with all the traditional toughness and Jeep offroad ability.
Wheels
Feb 06, 2008 09:03 AM
2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.
By: Rob Beintema
“It’s a Jeep thing. You wouldn’t understand.” I laughed when I first saw that windshield decal a few years ago. It captured Jeep’s brand chauvinism perfectly, the kind of reverse snobbery that’s born in the backroads and steeped in mud, blood and tradition.
And, sure enough, a lot of people wouldn’t understand.
Wouldn’t understand the appeal of bruising offroad trails, bouncing on a rock-hard suspension, trying to snap down flapping, drafty canvas, and the off-the-scale NVH of engine roar and tire whine along with the unyielding and seemingly antiquated styling tradition of a time long gone by.
And who can blame them for not understanding?
Even at its most civilized, the Jeep Wrangler has remained awkwardly uncomfortable with minimal seating room and a beer-case-sized “trunk” or cargo area that was space-challenged by anything bulkier than an overnight bag.
Over the years, I’ve barked my shins, banged my head and suffered more long haul leg cramps in Wranglers than in any other vehicle. And, sometimes, the romance of tradition only stretches so far.
To do any other kind of stretching, you used to have to go to specialists like the guys I know at Whatajeep, a conversion shop in Amarillo, Texas, where they’ve transformed regular Jeeps into 4-door, heck, even 6-door creations.
So when Jeep finally introduced a factory-built 4-door last year, the Wrangler Unlimited, it seemed like a long-overdue, forehead-slapping, hallelujah solution.
“Wrangler Unlimited sticks to its core values – freedom, adventure, mastery and authenticity but expands the Jeep experience to a broader range of customers who always wanted a Wrangler, but also wanted more space and versatility,” said Judy Wheeler, Vice President of Marketing, Chrysler Canada at the unveiling.
That broader range of customers has become self-evident because most of the new Wranglers on the road these days seem to be 4-door Unlimited versions.
The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited stretches the traditional platform by 52 cm to a 294-cm wheelbase. Die-hard offroaders might moan a little about the increase in girth and length in the latest generation Jeep but even the 4-door Unlimited offers a best-in-class approach angle of 44.4 degrees, breakover angle of 20.8 degrees, and also a best-in-class 40.5 degree departure angle for tough trails and bush-bashing.
The additional length on this 5-seater SUV allows for a larger rear seat that features three seating positions and, yes, actual knee room as well as more hip, leg and shoulder room.
Jeep is boasting that the Wrangler Unlimited offers nearly triple the cargo space of the old Wrangler, 1315 litres that expands to 2324 litres when the 60/40 rear seat is folded flat. There’s also a lockable underfloor storage area that secures valuables out of sight.
Under the hood, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited harnesses a 3.8-litre OHV V6 making 205 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque. Not exactly huge power numbers but it pulls lustily enough with an accompanying roar of effort. There is an available diesel engine for J8 military models and for markets outside North America and, based on current trends, we can only hope that a diesel version will someday be offered for consumers here as well.
A six-speed manual transmission comes standard and a four-speed automatic transmission is optional. Fuel economy is rated at around 14.9L/11.6L/100km (city/hwy) for the manual version. The automatic does slightly better. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has a towing capacity of 1588 kg and an optional towing package that includes a 4.10 axle ratio, class III trailer hitch and two front tow hooks.
The Jeep Unlimited comes only in part-time four-wheel drive enhanced by standard Electronic Stability Program (ESP), electronic roll mitigation and Occupant Classification System (OCS); optional seat-mounted side air bags and a selection of off-road equipment choices dependant on model trim level and driver desire. I can’t do justice to all those choices here but they can be researched at Jeep.ca.
I must confess, my tester was a late season 2007 model but, in only its second year of production, the 2008 Jeep Unlimited carries on with little in the way of changes save for a new Detonator Yellow colour, minor cosmetic upgrades to some of the trim packages, a new tire pressure monitoring lamp, optional remote starting and an added midrange 3.73:1 axle ratio.
I may have poked a little fun earlier at the limitations of Jeep’s tradition-bound design but I can’t ignore the evolution of a MyGIG Multimedia Infotainment system, an excellent audio system with MP3/WMA input jack and other marks of almost-sedan civility.
Yet, there are still all the heritage cues – the round headlights, the seven-slot grille, the bolt-on style of trapezoidal wheel flares and taillights, the removable full-framed or half doors, the exposed hinges, the fold-down windshield and the choice of removable or convertible tops.
Climb in and the high hip point and extra room gives the Unlimited a “trucky” feel and lofty vantage point, especially accented by a six-speed shifter that shakes with side-to-side, knee-thumping potential, vibrating like a junkie in rehab.
Some of the instrumentation looks and feels brand specific but the rest of the off-the-shelf Chrysler issue equipment will please company bean-counters more than the interior designers. A totally dedicated style in Jeep character (a la MINI) would be preferable. But, even so, the Jeep Unlimited has enough funky offroad and utilitarian personality to compete with the HUMMER and Toyota FJ Cruiser bad boys.
And in offroad Rubicon trim, as tested, with the big BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain tires howling and the engine straining as I worked the shifter through the gears, well, it was hard to keep the grin off my face.
You know, sometimes at the end of my drive, just for fun, I would shift into 4LO, bump ahead and leave the Unlimited with the front wheels perched on top of the curbstone instead of just parked behind it.
What can I tell you?
It’s a Jeep thing.
And, yes, I understand.
At a Glance – Jeep Unlimited
- BODY STYLE: 4-door sport utility
- DRIVE METHOD: front-engine, part-time 4WD
- ENGINE: 3.8-litre OHV V-6 (205 hp / 240 lb-ft of torque)
- FUEL ECONOMY: 14.9L/11.6L/100km (city/hwy) (manual) / 14.6L/11.2L/100km (city/hwy) (automatic)
- PRICE: Starts at $25,245
- WEBSITE: jeep.ca