The revered Rubicon Trail in the mountainous Sierra Nevada region of the United States, is known as one of, if not the most rugged passes in the world of four wheeling. It’s a place where diff locks and ground clearance are of utmost importance, and if the axle-twisting Beetle-sized boulders don’t get you the black bears and rattlesnakes will.
Jeep used the 19km long vehicular torture test to introduce a new, more powerful and now all-aluminium V6 engine in its Wrangler offroader two weeks ago and we were there to give it a try.
Peculiarly, Chrysler South Africa won’t confirm if we’ll ever get the update but common sense and six expensive plane tickets (for the South African journalists hosted on the trip) say we will. Probably late this year or early next.
When introduced to South Africa in 2007, there was a choice of 2.8-litre turbodiesel (unchanged to today) and 3.8-litre petrol V6 engines. Both offered the guts necessary to take on the toughest of the bundu, but Jeep’s now replaced the old 3.8 with a smaller but more powerful and fuel-efficient 3.6-litre “Pentastar” motor we know from the recently-launched new Grand Cherokee sports utility vehicle.
Power is up from 146kW and 315Nm to 209 and 347 respectively, but new technology means claimed average fuel consumption is down by 10 percent. Exact figures range from 10.4 to 11.4l/100km depending on which of three optional diff ratios are fitted.
Special attention’s also gone into areas such as the plastic engine cover that’s designed to absorb unwanted engine noise and enhance more desirable tones, alternator placement that’s now much higher to improve water fording depth, and equal length exhaust manifolds that keep both cylinder banks exhaling in harmony.
The new engine also means the old 3.8’s four-speed automatic gearbox has been ditched for a more modern five-speed unit, and as the luxurious Grand Cherokee only comes in auto, it’s the first time a manual (six-speed) is paired to the Pentastar engine.
The result on tar is enormous. I had a chance to drive the old 3.8 back-to-back with the new 3.6 in urban-focussed Sahara trim, and most noticeable is the lack of transmission busyness. Where the old four-speed would hunt around for the right gear, the new torque spread allows the five-speed more room to work, comfortably holding gears for longer. It’s also much more refined and quiet, and although the new motor’s only 15kg lighter the new Wrangler somehow feels lighter on its big ol’ feet.
But that’s on the road. Out on the Rubicon, in the trail’s namesake vehicle – a beefier, more offroad oriented version of the Wrangler with bigger tyres, high-tech electronic swaybar disconnects, hill-descent control and pushbutton axle lockers – it’s difficult to detect the improvements. Only because it’s slow going over this treacherous terrain and though there are more gears to work with, my Wrangler Rubicon didn’t once upshift from low range first over two days of rock crawling. And while the engine noise is indeed much smoother and sweeter than before, it’s hard to notice when revs are only at idle speed for hours on end.
The additional power does come in handy though; especially the increased torque figure that even without any throttle input is enough to pull the Jeep up steep outcrops. If by chance one of the meaty knobblies wedged itself against a rock, a tiny flick of the gas was enough to lurch up and over, and off we’d head towards the next daunting obstacle.
The new Pentastar Wrangler features mechanical changes only, with the vehicle having undergone a mild interior/exterior facelift earlier this year. It was rumoured that in Jeep’s early olive drab army-issue days a beer bottle could be opened in any of 100 places around its hard-edged body, and the new one’s design is clearly inspired by old but now twist-off compatible only. There are new, softer surfaces around the cabin, full-colour touchscreen displays and when fitted with a hard roof there’s surprisingly little wind and road noise for such a hard-core offroader. -Star Motoring