Brutality and the Beast
Until we see a factory Wrangler ute in 2018, the AEV Brute is Jeep’s entry into the double-cab world. By Paul Owen.
They do things differently in Montana. Facebook posts out there can feature bloody selfies after a semisuccessful fight-for-survival with a grizzly bear or show photos of a Dodge Viper convertible that had its soft-top blown off when the driver fully sampled the speed of the vehicle on the loneliest state highways in America.
Montanans are also partial to taking a perfectly-good SUV and raising it up so that the off-road performance potential is multiplied by precisely the same percentage as the on-road performance is degraded. For this reason, the lofty-riding Jeep Brute Double Cab Sport is instantly recognisable as a made-inMontana vehicle.
Actually, make that a designedin-Montana vehicle, for the outfit responsible, American Expedition Vehicles (AEV), has experienced such a high demand for its line of raised-up Jeep Wranglers that it now has established a new manufacturing facility based in Detroit, Michigan. So, while the Brute still proudly bears the name of the state where AEV first began some 20 years ago, it’s geographically a product of Motown.
It takes some time to turn a Wrangler into a Brute, and the process is the automotive equivalent of adding a wing and flood-proof foundations to a house.
First, the wheelbase of the ladder chassis is extended by 590mm; then a further 410mm is added to the rear overhang to accommodate a composite resin load tray about the size of a Hilux’s. The whole plot is then raised up 63mm, and fitted with new suspension, brakes, and 17-inch wheels clad with huge BF Goodrich tyres.
Finishing touches include a beefier front bumper complete with a warn winch and twin spotlights that can dazzle any possums that the Jeep encounters into instant apoplexy. Out back, another bridge girder-sized bumper adds further protection and includes a tow bar. Tragically, maximum towing capacity is less than the donor Wrangler’s, and the Brute is rated to tow no more than 1590kg – roughly half that of our usual double-cab ute choices, and also half that of the defunct vehicle AEV chose as inspiration for the Brute – the Land Rover Defender 130 (RIP).
But hey, never mind towing capacity that’ll be challenged by a modestly-sized boat and trailer, the Brute really turns any journey into a challenging, adventurous mission. Just popping down to the shops with it gives you a mild mountain-climbing experience given that the floor of the cabin appears to be located somewhere around navel level. Getting out again gives you the initial free-fall sensation of a bungy jump. That’s after you’ve made a quadruple point turn into the carpark because of the campervan-mimicking length of the Brute and the further restrictions placed on the turning circle by the oversized Goodrichs. You really have to work to drive this Jeep, both physically and socially. The latter because a small bloke-heavy crowd will instantly gather around it and make guttural sounds-of-worship that usually their wives only get to hear in their bedrooms.
The extensions and general sturdiness added by AEV to something that started life as a four-door Wrangler Unlimited blow out the kerb weight of the Brute to 2400kg. This gives the 3.6 V6 engine quite a burden to shift with its 209 kilowatts of power and 347Nm of force, and the automatic gearbox only has five forward ratios to process those maximum outputs with.
As a result, the Brute accelerates rather lazily (0-100kmh: 10.4 seconds) and drinks petrol like an entire mustering team of horses gulps water after a hard day in the high country. Expect to use more than 16 litres of fuel over every 100km you drive in the Brute. Expect that to rise even more alarmingly if you accept other AEV powertrain options like a supercharger kit for the V6 or a 5.7 litre Hemi V8. A further powertrain option is to get your Brute based on the Wrangler Rubicon for an extra $10,000, which has a lower geared transfer case, sturdier front axles, diff-locks fitted front and rear to the live axles, and a decoupling stabiliser bar to improve tyre-to-ground contact when crawling through the wilderness. Given that you already get to spend $114,990 on the base Brute Sport, you may as well go the whole hog.
Then again, maybe you don’t require any further increase in offroad performance given that the base Brute already possesses rather a lot of it. For the beefy BF Goodrichs that thrum noisily on the tar due to their knobbly treads are really in their element when formed roads turn into those earmarked for future development on paper. Grip, it appears, is hardly ever an issue even when a heavy rain shower lubricates a clay hillside into tacky gloop. Nor is ground clearance. When a small pine tree has fallen across the Jeep’s path, there’s no need to stop and get out the chainsaw. You simply keep on driving.
It’s this un-stop-ability that really is the Brute’s reason for being. It might be a crude and a brutal drive most of the time, but it’s a highly effective beast when prowling through its preferred environment as far from civilisation as the aptly-named Bear Grylls prefers. No wonder they love it in Montana.