Having believed that I knew most of the drivable nooks and crannies in The Lake District, Jeep proved to me, again, that it knows better! In a total of six hours, a small convoy of ardent Jeepsters rock-crawled, water-splashed and head-on tackled around 20 miles of some of the most outlandish terrain around Lake Windermere …territory better known to sheepherders, hillwalkers and the mountain rescue fraternity.
It might not seem like a high mileage but this was concentration heavy, constantly demanding and, at times, positively scary. Yet, this is a main course attraction to the all-American Jeep Wrangler. Three challenging and normally off-limits, private tracks linked by convenient road sections almost as tricky to lace a wide 4x4 along, as the moss-walled, granite rock-strewn and (at times) vertiginous inclines consumed at sometimes slower than walking pace.
Laden to the gunwales with gear, the options list is limited to even more earnest off-roading equipment, like winches and stuff, in a new line-up of short-wheelbase three and long-wheelbase five-door models. Bear in mind that most owners will want for little more than the standard specifications in Sahara, Overland and most purposeful Rubicon guises. For this story, I was in the priciest Rubicon 5-door (at a pre-discount £48,365). It is not cheap but it is immensely capable. You can read all about the three-door, more road-biased Overland version (same price as Rubicon at £46,865; Sahara is £1,500 less) in a future test.
There is no price variance between the all-new turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel variants. The 2.0-litre petrol is a 272bhp unit, armed with 295lbs ft of torque (important in an off-road environment), although the 2.2-litre diesel of the test car develops 200bhp and 332lbs ft, which is more than man enough for the most hostile off-road routes. Mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission, the transfer gearbox is a technological tour de force, allowing either active, or part-time 4High, 4Low, or 2High drive options. However, both front and rear differentials can be locked electronically and the front anti-roll bar can be disconnected for even greater axle articulation and smoother off-road progress.
A full suite of electronic driver aids is standard in an eye-watering specification that includes LED headlamps, completely removable (lightweight) body panels, sat-nav and connectivity options. The windscreen can be folded onto the protective rubber pads on the bonnet and the doors can be removed completely. A colourful array of 10 paint finishes allows owners to blend with the scenery, or clarion their presence (which might be useful!). Even the super-chunky off-road tyres of the Rubicon model provide modest on-road grip in a significantly more refined package overall. Yes, the new Wrangler is also the most expensive Wrangler ever but it is also the best Jeep too.
