Drive down the road in a bright orange Wrangler and you're bound to be noticed. We've driven plenty of cars, but with a few notable exceptions (like the Tesla Model S and Chevy Corvette), very few have turned more heads than the Wrangler. Most of the attention we received was from other Wrangler owners, and the comradery among this group quickly became obvious.
Since it's such a niche product, qualities that would normally be unforgivable on a regular car are somehow charming on this model. But overall, the Wrangler requires significant compromise that, frankly, a good majority of buyers would not want to live with on a day-to-day basis.
What We Drove
We drove the special-edition 2014 Wrangler Willys Wheeler, which features enhanced off-road capability. While a standard Wrangler would normally go for $23,390, our model totaled $30,980 thanks to the $5,700 Willys Wheeler package as well as Uconnect and a power accessories package.
Our Wrangler Willys Wheeler came with off-road tires, a performance suspension, and a Dana 44 rear axle with Trac-Lok limited-slip rear differential and 3.73 gears. Cosmetic upgrades include 17-inch high gloss black wheels, a black Willys Wheeler grille, a Willys Hood decal, and other unique badging. On the inside, look for a leather-wrapped steering wheel, Mopar slush mats, and charming backpack style handles to assist passengers upon entering the vehicle.
Standard safety features on the Wrangler include multistage front airbags, electronic stability control, traction control, electronic roll mitigation, hill start assist, and four-wheel disc brakes. Unfortunately, the government has only released partial crash test information for the 2014 Wrangler. The vehicle earned a mediocre three stars in rollover tests.
The Commute
When Monday morning comes, the only thing you really want is a comfortable and quiet ride to work. Although we didn't expect this from the Wrangler, we didn't know exactly what we were in for.
Entering the vehicle is the first challenge. It can be tough for petite drivers and passengers to hop in the high-riding Wrangler, and the position of the handle bars on top of the roof don't do much to help. Once you're in, the drive starts out smoothly. Hit the road, and you'll notice shifting with the standard six-speed manual transmission is a breeze once you get used to the long throws. Just be careful when switching to sixth gear, as it can easily be confused for Reverse thanks to the positioning of the gears. The overall drive inspires confidence, except for the occasional creaks and croaks of the car when making a turn. We found this gives the SUV a bit of its charm.
But there was one unescapable part of the vehicle's performance that many drivers will get likely never get used to. When traveling above 40 mph, excess road noise permeates the cabin, and when you hit highway speeds, you have to yell to carry on a conversation with the person sitting next to you. Much of this noise comes from the tires, and the retractable soft top doesn't do much to stop wind noise. You can hear a Prius whiz by.
At slower speeds, or while parked, the Wrangler is perfectly comfortable. The cloths seats are surprisingly cushy, and even after long drives, we were supported and ache-free. The Wrangler's Uconnect infotainment system features straight-forward, user-friendly controls. But it was about a 50/50 shot if the Bluetooth would sync up my phone's music without displaying an "Error Occurred" message.
The Grocery Run
Behind the Wrangler's rear seats is 12.8 cubic feet of storage, which doesn't afford much room for groceries. For extra room, you could look in the rear passenger compartment, but we couldn't fit a single paper grocery bag between the front and rear seats. If you're looking for space to fit groceries for a whole family, take the Camry.
Fortunately, the Wrangler fits into almost any parking space thanks to its short body. Its tight turning radius made it easy to navigate in tight parking lots. Its athletic prowess is one the Wrangler's biggest attributes, something we were just beginning to learn during our time with the vehicle.
The Weekend Fun
The Wrangler is best known for its off-roading performance, so we took it to Stoddard Park in Barstow for an adventure. Our special-edition Wrangler came with a performance suspension, which is also standard on the Rubicon model, and made our time off-roading quite comfortable and enjoyable.
The Wrangler provides a surprisingly comfortable ride off the beaten path. It feels stable over large rocks with little vibration coming into the cabin. Here the ride wasn't too loud. The SUV's smaller size makes it maneuverable and stable on the road compared to off-road trucks with heavy back ends, but its shorter wheelbase also causes shaky steering on uneven roads. This is trade-off is easily overcome by paying a little more attention to the steering wheel.
Our long weekend drives on and off the highway drained the vehicle's fuel tank quickly. Despite its relatively large gas tank, at 17/21 mpg city/hwy, drivers can expect to be stopping at the gas station pretty frequently. We sure did.
