4×4 Magazine UK – August 2019

W

hen .eep first
brought the
Rubicon model
to Britain, it was
at the start of the ./’s glorious
reign back in 200. =ou could only
get it with a petrol engine and
automatic gearbox, howeZer, which
didn’t do its sales any good because
eZeryone kept saying it would be
the perfect off-roader if only they’d
do a diesel Zersion.
.eep did introduce a diesel later
in the ./’s life, but they didn’t bring

it to Britain. By this time, we were

starting to feel like we were being

picked on, but then last year they

brought out the new .0 model

and finally, there was a full range

aZailable with the right spec and the

excellent new 2.2 Multi.et II engine.

,oweZer there’s also a Rubicon

aZailable with another engine. If

someone had told you two years

ago that .eep was going to bring

in a petrol model, you would most

likely haZe pictured a hefty V6 with

loads of lazy torUue, but in fact

what we haZe here is a 1cc

turbo whose peak output figures

of 22bhp and 2lbf.ft come at a

distinctly breathless sounding 20

and 000rpm respectiZely.

Now, that’s plenty of power and

a good bit of shoZe. But there’s

no shortage of reZs there, either.

7ounds like this is an engine that

needs to be worked hard ̄not

least because eZen though the .0

is usefully lighter than the ./ that

came before it, in the fiZe-door

form tested here the engine still

has more than two tonnes of metal

to shift.

7omething else it has weighing

upon it is a †,0 price tag.

=ou can argue all day long about

whether the original ./s were

under-priced a Rubicon, albeit with

only three doors, cost less than half

as much back then

 or this new one

is Nust plain greedy, but either way

we’re not many options away from

the †0k mark here.

Talking of options, our test

Zehicle looked a million dollars

ON TEST Wrangler 2.0 GME 5-door Rubicon

34 | AU+U7T 201 4x4

DRIVEN

JEEP WRANGLER RUBICON

Long-wheelbase version of Jeep’s new halo vehicle has an unfamiliar engine but delivers the

ultimate in off-road intent