How We’d Spec It: The $37,000 Almost Base Jeep Wrangler JL Because

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Jeep’s all-new 2018 Wrangler JL is nearly here, and so, too, is a nascent online configurator that lets you build your own. So far, Jeep is only allowing window shoppers to assemble Wranglers equipped with the standard 3.6-liter V-6 gasoline engine; the hybridized turbocharged four-cylinder and diesel V-6 powertrains aren’t represented yet. Even so, Jeep is launching the configurator so close to Christmas that many eager Wrangler fans are sure to be disappointed in their not-Wrangler gifts. Still, we couldn’t resist optioning up our ideal Wrangler JL.

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–MODEL:
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Jeep Wrangler Sport S two-door (base price: $ 31,390)

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The 2018 Wrangler JL’s trim levels should be familiar to longtime followers of the breed and include Sport, Sport S, Sahara, and Rubicon. More limited editions and special trim levels such as the Willys Wheeler, Chief, and others offered on the outgoing Wrangler JK are sure to join the lineup over time. In fact, Jeep will keep building the old Wrangler alongside the new one for at least a year, offering that model at a discount. Keep that in mind, because the new version has become shockingly pricey. The base Wrangler Sport, for example, starts at $ 28,190—a full $ 3100 more than the old JK—and lacks air conditioning, power windows or door locks, and, well, a lot of stuff. The four-door adds $ 3500, except for the Sahara, which is four-door-only.

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For our hypothetical 2018 Wrangler JL build, we chose to strike a happy balance between an everyday usable Jeep and one that doesn’t cost $ 50,000. That landed us in a two-door Sport S, which adds air conditioning, keyless entry, 17-inch aluminum wheels, and power windows, door locks, and mirrors to the Sport’s roster of equipment at a cost of $ 3200 over the base car. Purists that we are, we stuck with the standard six-speed manual transmission instead of opting for the new-for-2018 eight-speed automatic. Four-wheel drive is again standard equipment, and the carryover 285-hp V-6 engine benefits from a fuel-saving stop/start system that can shut the engine down when the vehicle is stopped.

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OPTIONS:

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Mojito! paint ($ 0)

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Limited-slip rear differential and Dana 44 rear axle ($ 595)

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Technology group ($ 995)

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Convenience group ($ 195)

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Cold Weather group ($ 595)

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Jeep Active Safety group ($ 895)

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Black Freedom Top 3-piece hardtop ($ 1095)

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Hardtop headliner kit ($ 495)

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17-inch Polished Granite aluminum wheels ($ 895)

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BFGoodrich all-terrain tires ($ 0)

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Right off the bat, we should make it clear that Jeeps always look right with bright colors. So we gravitated toward the new (and no-cost!) Mojito! green paint option. The exclamation point is Jeep’s. Beyond that, we upgraded from the Sport S’s fairly tragic-looking standard aluminum wheels to more attractive Granite-style rims. Frankly, the Wrangler looks best on the base Sport’s black-painted steel wheels, but they’re not available on the S. No-cost 17-inch all-terrain tires, which replace the standard all-season rubber, suitably amp up the Wrangler’s look, too.

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Curiously, Jeep doesn’t list a dual-top option that allows customers to get both a softtop and a hardtop at the time of purchase, as it did with the previous Wrangler. As cool as the JL’s new, easier-to-use softtop is—it offers a neat “bikini” configuration that removes the side panels and back window and leaves only the top portion in place—we’d grab the $ 1095 three-piece hardtop for year-round use here in Michigan. To alleviate the hardtop’s tendency to reflect road and wind noise around the cabin, we also specified the $ 495 hardtop headliner kit that affixes some padding on the inside of the fiberglass top.

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Wrangler Sports and Saharas ride on Dana 30 front and 35 rear axles, while the hard-core Rubicon model uses beefier Dana 44s front and rear. Opting for the Sport S’s available limited-slip rear differential also nets a Dana 44 rear axle for a reasonable $ 595 and should increase traction on slippery surfaces. Other no-brainer add-ons include the surprisingly affordable $ 595 Cold Weather group, which includes heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, and the $ 995 Technology group, which ups the standard 5.0-inch touchscreen to a 7.0-inch unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and swaps the manual climate control for automatic A/C. (The Technology group requires the $ 195 Convenience Group package—essentially a universal garage door opener.) Finally, the $ 895 Active Safety Group is too inexpensive to pass up for its useful blind-spot monitoring and rear parking sensors; the LED taillights it comes with are a bonus.

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2018 Jeep Wrangler JL First Drive: They Didn’t Screw It Up!

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2018 Jeep Wrangler JL V-6 Official Pricing Revealed

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2018 Jeep Wrangler: An All-New Version of an Icon!

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Tally it all up, and our two-door, stick-shift Wrangler Sport S’s price comes to $ 37,150, or just shy of the Rubicon’s $ 38,190 base price. Why not just get the Rubicon and its electronic front anti-roll-bar disconnect feature that enhances suspension articulation off-road, its BFGoodrich K02 all-terrain tires, and electronic locking front and rear differentials? Because to outfit one similar to our S would bump its out-the-door price to more than $ 41,000. And remember, these price comparisons are between V-6 gas models; when the hybrid arrives later, it will probably cost thousands more, as will the diesel V-6 due for the 2019 model year. Some among our staff would be thrilled with the base, crank-window, A/C-delete Wrangler S with the no-cost all-terrain tires and a softtop, not least because it’s more classically Jeep and cheap. For everyone else, a nicely equipped Sport S strikes a happier balance of comfort, price, and capability.

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