Jeep: Tough one lacks manners

Ever since Jeep upgraded Wrangler's gearing to allow 100km/h without shaking itself to bits, I've rather liked it. After all, what better way is there to get in touch with your inner 10-year-old?

It's rough and tough. It likes getting dirty. You can whip the top off, or not. All the hinges are as visible as those of your Meccano cars, and Wrangler bounces about like that radio-controlled beach buggy you've envied since Santa gave one to the boy next door.

What's new?
Other than the fact the company has a future - thanks to Fiat - not much. The diesel auto Renegade's axle ratio is now 3.73:1, not 4.1. The fuel tank is now 85 litres, not 79 litres. There are new colours, the hard top "freedom panel" now has a storage bag, the infotainment system's had a change of name, there's a new storage net, um, erm ...

The company line
Wrangler owners "enjoy the image of freedom", particularly in four-door Renegade form rather than the hard-core Rubicon, and that image rubs off on the everyday cars.

What we say
It's a shame the more extreme Wrangler Rubicon doesn't get the 2.8-litre diesel with its 460Nm torque - that's only available as a Renegade in four-door auto format returning an 8.4litres/100km thirst.

Otherwise it's the 146kW/315Nm 3.8-litre petrol V6 auto in two or four-door form with a thirst of 11 litres/100km or more.

Whichever Wrangler you get you're buying a tough truck with a ladder-frame chassis, a Dana 44 heavy duty rear axle and the ability to go a long, long way off road in either Renegade or Rubicon format.

The Rubicon takes you further, replacing the Renegade's Command-Trac four-paw system with Rock-Trac and its lower-range transfer case, the locking front and rear diffs, the Dana heavy-duty front axle and the ability to disconnect the sway-bars for extended wheel articulation.

On the road
It takes a lot to stop a Wrangler off road. but most SUV buyers actually seek a practical family wagon that will take them any-roading. They don't really want to climb the Andes or cross the Sahara.

Wrangler is definitely practical - given the removable floor bung you can even hose it out, something parents of small boys might appreciate. What they won't like is this thing's on-road handling.

The two-door's ride is choppy, and all variants drive like the hard-core offroad trucks they are, which soon becomes tiring.

Want a family-friendly any-roading Jeep? The far softer Patriot might not go mud-plugging but will deliver what most families need and undercuts the most affordable Wrangler by seven grand.

Why you'll buy one
You want to drive where no one has driven before and have your friends believe you.

Why you won't
Four-wheel grip and practicality doesn't need to have poor on-road manners.