2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392: A thirst for adventure
2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
392: Glug.
Price: $95,945 as tested. Onetouch power top, $3,795; red paint, $595; winch, $1,995; floor mats, $170.
Conventional wisdom: Motor Trend likes the “amazing, powerful engine, soft suspension,” and that it “comes fully equipped.” They’re not so impressed with the “loud cabin, vague steering, awful fuel economy.”
Marketer’s pitch: “Built for those who dream of unbound adventure.”
Reality: Adventure unbound from worries about money or environment, apparently.
What’s new: It’s not what’s new but what’s old. The company announces a Final Edition of the Rubicon 392, so this is your last chance to make your money and a small Middle Eastern country’s oil reserves disappear. Consider it their salute to Earth Day.
Competition: Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender.
Fuel consumption: You can’t say “fuel economy” for this thing. Everyone knows the boxy, heavy Wrangler with the fat tires slurps the fuel; this one has a bigger engine — a Hemi 6.4-liter V-8 — and even bigger tires, and it gulps.
The Wrangler Rubicon 392 started its visit at 10 mpg; a couple trips to see Sturgis Kid 1.0 and Sonin-Law 1.0 boosted that to 13 mpg, still among the lowest performers ever to darken the Seat Family Driveway.
I had time to think while filling the tank — and you’ll have plenty of time to do the same if you drive this thing — and realized it took eight gallons of fuel for 100 miles of driving. Maybe it’s better if you don’t think, after all.
Up to speed: On the bright side, the Hemi 6.4-liter V-8 creates a whopping 475 horses, perfect for tearing through the hills at top speed, or passing someone on the highway with great force.
The vehicle gets to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds,according to MotorTrend, an astounding time for this vehicle.
That’s faster than a basic V-6powered Wrangler at 6.1 seconds (for a six-speed manual) and a plug -in Wrangler 4xe 5.2 seconds.
Shifty: The Wrangler automatic transmission gear selector is still operated by a stick that sits to the right ofthe four-wheel-drive controls.
The 8-speed transmission does the job beautifully on its own, or the gears can be paddled or shifted through. (A stick is available with the base V-6, and seems most fitting for a Wrangler.)
On the road: The Wrangler Rubicon 392 handles like other Wranglers, with the same one-of-akind vagueness you’ve come to expect. Still, it feels sporty in its own way, and slides into narrow spaces nicely, mainly because the Wrangler is not actually all that big.
The large BF Goodrich tires likely help smooth out washboard surfaces, although the suspension will keep occupants bouncing along.
Driver’s Seat: The seats in the Wrangler have kept up with the times, and are not at all uncomfortable. For close to 100 grand, they better be.
Friends and stuff: Rear-seat passengers in the four-door model will enjoy plenty of legroom and foot room, and even headroom is not too bad.
Sadly, though, the seat bottom is so short that it’s for youngsters, or for seriously short trips. Like, say, to the convenience store, for more fuel.
Cargo space is 27.7 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 67.7 with that seat folded. Towing capacity is 3,500 pounds.
The one-touch top is a good $4,000 spent. It provides a nice way to enjoy the sunshine without leaving a critical component behind if the clouds roll in.
Play some tunes: The 9speaker UConnect stereo provides decent sound, with a fairly wide range of choices. But somewhere inside the uninsulated soft top and the road noise, the sound disappears into the ether. The treble notes could rattle and squeak, although the lower end was fairly solid, leaving sound in the B range.
Operation of the system is standard for the Jeep line, with a large knob for volume and another for tuning. The 12.3-inch touchscreen controls the rest.
Sound and fury: The Wrangler Rubicon 392 also features an exhaust note that you can switch on and off via a dashboard button. That’s good for relations with the neighbors during those 5:30 a.m. departures to your job (which you go to to pay for the bank note and fuel, mostly).
But whether the button is on or off, the sound blasts when you floor the Wrangler to pass an annoying vehicle when the left lane finally opensup. I’d say that’s another plus.
Keeping warm and cool: Controls for this rests inside and below the infotainment controls, with a dial for fan speed, up-down arrows for temperature, and a toggle for the source.
Where it’s built: Toledo, Ohio. How it’s built: Consumer Reports gives the Wrangler a 1 out of 5 for reliability, which is about where it’s consistently landed over my lifetime.
In the end: For pity’s sake, buy the 4xe, willya? It got 30 mpg in Mr. Driver’s Seat’s hands and not at all slow. Or even the V-6 with a manual transmission. And both are far less expensive.