Jeep Wrangler 2024 Review | First Drive

It’s hard to believe that the Jeep Wrangler has only been with us since 1986. Such is the iconic image of Jeep’s most rugged modern creation, that it feels like it’s been a part of Jeep since day one.

But, it’s true. The UK is not a country that sees particular volume sales of the Wrangler, but since the latest version was introduced in 2017, 3,000 people have taken delivery of the rugged rock crawler. It’s nowhere near time for this, the JL version, to shuffle away, but for 2024 there has been something of an upgrade. Does it retain that certain something that makes Jeep people love it?

It is the sheer Jeep-ness of the Wrangler that appeals to so many people. This is the car that most closely brings back memories of the iconic Willys Jeep. It’s got bigger and added a few more safety features since then, but in its essence the Wrangler looks, well, it looks like a Jeep.

But it doesn’t totally stand still. There are some subtle changes to the 2024 Wrangler if you want to get out your spotters’ guide. First the grille has had a small chop. Each Jeep has seven upright sections to its grille, on the new Wrangler each section has been made ever so slightly shorter. As well as looking a little different, this redesign has apparently aided cooling.

The second change is the removal of the aerial. The Wrangler had stood steadfastly by the old-fashioned metal aerial just next to the front door, but this year that has been ditched. This is replaced by a much more 21^st century antenna built into the windscreen. The main reason for this is to remove the chances of snagging a massive metal antenna on the various passing shrubs when off-roading.

Overall, if you like the Wrangler look, these changes won’t affect your opinion, if you don’t, they also won’t affect how you feel about it.

In the UK the Wrangler comes with only one powertrain, it’s a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol that sends power through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. That means power is 272PS (200kW) and torque stands at 400Nm (295lb ft).

Underneath very little has changed, but if you buy the Wrangler in top Rubicon spec it has a new rear axle, which should deliver better weight distribution. How this affects performance is most likely slight, but will mean better durability, as the axle shaft now only has to deal with transferring torque to the wheel while the tube around it takes the weight of the wheel.

On the road the Rubicon handles exactly how a rear-wheel-drive off roader on rugged off-road tyres would: i.e. it’s pretty awful, but an absolute hoot. The torque delivery is good from that 400Nm (295lb ft) available and the eight-speed auto just about manages to keep things calm on a relaxed drive. But the steering is marginally quicker than that on the QM2 and rear traction is extremely limited, especially on what turned out to be a snowy April day in Yorkshire. At one point climbing a hill on slightly less than perfect tarmac the Wrangler did a very long uncalled for burnout before slinging itself sideways out of a corner. Fortunately everything happens so slowly that it’s never scary, more inducing of giggles.

What has been improved somewhat since the first version of the JL Wrangler is the noise in the cabin. It’s not perfect, and the transmission is very noisy for a car today, but the Wrangler now has extra soundproofing in the windscreen surround and b-pillars, and thicker carpets, which cuts out some of the tyre roar and wind noise.

But, that’s not what anyone is buying a Wrangler for – or at least if you are then you need your head examined. The Wrangler is being bought by people who either want to mod them to go off road, or simple go straight off road. And that is the moment that the big Jeep suddenly feels completely at home.

Far from the complicated electronic trickery of a Land Rover Defender or even, whisper it, the Ineos Grenadier, the Wrangler deals in good old-fashioned simplicity. The gearbox goes from rear-wheel-drive to 4x4 and from low to high ratio with a great big lever. The axles are locked with a button. All the tools a hardcore off-roader needs operate without any fuss.

And more importantly, all the tools an extremely softcore off-roader like me needs are easy to use. Even on quite an extreme rock crawl all that was needed in the Wrangler was a switch to 4x4 low and a gentle right foot. At that point the slower steering makes sense – never going to wrench the wheel from your hand when hitting a big stone. The gearbox doles out torque well and the Wrangler just gets on with whatever is needed. Having driven a few of its competitors off road over the last couple of years, the Wrangler felt the least fussed by it all.

For those who want a bit more data, here’s some facts. The Wrangler works with an approach angle of up to 36 degrees, breakover is 21, departure 31.8 and its ground clearance is 253mm. With its body-on-frame construction still intact the Wrangler remains the essence of just pointing a car at the scenery and driving over it.

But, getting to and from that scenery is crucially now a little bit nicer. The first obvious change to this is that there’s now a big new screen in the middle of the cabin. It’s a 12.3-inch unit that sits nicely flush to the extremely upright dash that the Wrangler still clings to. There’s also a nice splash of slightly softer touch materials around than before, without it really feeling too much like it’s going to just break apart after a day of heavy use.

Rear room is, as has always been, quite cramped, but boot space, accessed through the split rear, is good. What I particularly like, especially jumping back in after being on top of a freezing cold moor in Yorkshire, is the sheer size of all the controls. When you’re out in the wilds and the conditions are attempting to render your fingers redundant, just being able to stab or pull at a chunky control rather than searching on the touchscreen is an absolute lifesaver.

That 12.3-inch touchscreen is a night vs. day difference to the frankly awful unit that it replaces. A Wrangler is perhaps not the place you expect to come and find technology, but you won’t really be disappointed even if you did. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and the touchscreen is customisable with TomTom navigation built-in.

USB sockets are everywhere, with both classic and USB C outlets festooned across the cabin, and of course there’s 12-volt outlets and a 230-volt AC outlet for UK type plugs – useful for a longer day in the wilderness. There’s also connection to a Jeep App, so you can plan out your routes beforehand and ping them to your car before you go, and remotely lock the Wrangler.

Perhaps most useful for Wrangler owners was the suite of displays about the car, which not only detailed all the useful angles of pitch and roll, but temperatures of oil, coolant and transmission – quite useful when you’ve been crawling over some rocks in low range. And yes, in the middle of our off-roading it was fascinating to watch how the car’s heavy breathing affected the temperature gauges.

In Rubicon spec (which we drove solely) the Wrangler comes with keyless entry and go, heated steering wheel and front seats, electric seats, surround cameras including high view for off-roading, lane departure warning, traffic sign information and front and rear parking sensors.

The Jeep Wrangler is excellent at its job. The truth is, if you want to buy a Wrangler, you’re probably going to buy a Wrangler.

Deep down it’s not a very good car when you use it as a car. It’s noisy, sketchy in the wet and not as practical as it really should be. But take a Wrangler, well, Wrangler-ing, and it’s almost peerless. The top of the range model will set you back around £63,000 at which point you’ve undercut any of the rest of the current off roading options – an Ineos Grenadier is £72,000 at its cheapest.

It feels like a big friendly machine when going off-road. With very little knowledge and no need to spend time setting the car up, it’ll take on almost anything in its way. If you’re into off-roading and don’t want the home comforts of a Defender, there really feel like very few reasons to go for anything other than the Wrangler.