36 | AUGUST 2019 4x4
foot, which in an automatic feels
like an oversight. Headroom is huge,
as you’d expect, and visibility is
excellent all round, even with what
is quite a shallow windscreen.
The bonnet’s shape means you
can’t see the edges of the vehicle,
something that’s exacerbated by the
ridiculous length of the standard-fi t
front bumper. The A-posts are thick
but quite well
shaped not
to get in the
way of your
view around
corners, and
even without
relying on
parking
sensors and
reversing
cameras the squared-off nature
of the Wrangler’s back body
means you can see enough in the
mirrors to be able to cope when
parking. =ou’ll defi nitely fall back
on whatever electronic aids you’ve
got, though, as the space between
the C and D posts as you look over
your shoulder is cluttered mainly by
the roll cage.Talking of electronics, the upper
part of the dash is dominated by
a big, almost square multimedia
screen with a tough, rubberised
surround. This is great, and
operating the system is no problem,
but we did fi nd it Zery easy to
reset the radio by accident as the
tuning dial (an actual, physical thing)
is perfectly positioned to catch a
passing fi nger when you’re steering
and indicating at the same time.
We variously found our choice of
listening suddenly turning into a
Bollywood station, some sort of
radio evangelism and so on.
Further equipment includes
cruise control, dual-zone climate
and heated seats and steering
wheel. Said seats are leather clad,
which may or may not take yourfancy in an off-roader but doesn’t
detract from the way they hold
you in place. The leather itself feels
suitable, too – not like an offcut
from a vinyl showroom, but also
not so soft that you’ll damage it
fi rst time you climb aboard.
In the back, a stadium seating
arrangement means one six-footer
should be able to fi t in behind
another without anyone losing their
sense of humour. The front seat-
backs are hard but well sculpted,
and with just a little movement
from the driver a tall adult will be
able to fi t in Zery comfortably, in
particular because headroom is as
good as it is in the front.
For carrying things rather than
people, the seats fold as good as
¾ at to create what is an enormousThe Wrangler’s rear body is basically a big box, and this is put to good use in a cargo space that makes the most of all
the width, length and height available. It’s good and big with the back seat in place; this then folds down to leave just a
Qoderate slope and no lip to get your cargo across 8he rear fl oor also folds up to reZeal a Zery generously si^ed hidden
compartment – there’s more than enough room in here to keep your laptop or power tools out of sight