2024 Jeep Wrangler

There's hardly a car in the USA as instantly recognizable as a Jeep Wrangler, and the 2024 version of the SUV looks so much like one from 20 years ago that they all meld together as an endearingly familiar sight on our roads. Like the original VW Beetle, the Wrangler has stayed true to its original recipe - an iconic profile, class-defining off-road ability, and solid axles. And unlike rivals such as the Land Rover Defender, it hasn't gone all luxurious, sophisticated, and expensive. The crude basics make it a pain to live with on a daily basis and result in high noise levels, poor refinement, and sloppy handling, but there's nothing to touch it in this class for its singleminded off-road focus, except perhaps the Ford Bronco. The Ford is nicer to drive, thanks to better refinement and independent front suspension, and in every crash test and safety review, the Jeep Wrangler is beaten by the Bronco. So is the 2024 Wrangler outclassed by its newer homegrown rival? Not quite - and the improvements keep coming, such as a great new infotainment system this year and curtain airbags, which is a Wrangler first. The Wrangler lives to fight another day.

With the Sport derivative's $31,895 base MSRP, the 2024 Jeep Wrangler's price increases by only $700, which is more than compensated for by the curtain airbags and new infotainment system, never mind the other improvements. Next up is the Sport S at $35,395, followed by the new Willys at $39,395, the Rubicon at $45,395, and the Rubicon X at $54,895. These prices are for the trims in their basic configurations, which is to say, with the two-door body, 285-hp naturally aspirated Pentastar V6 engine, and six-speed manual transmission. All these trims are available in four-door guise, which will cost you an additional $4,000 in each case. The Sahara trim is a four-door-only variant, and its price is $47,825.

The only other powertrain option is a 270-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which is exclusively mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission; this combination will cost you an additional $2,500 on any trim.

The hybrid 4xe trims are all four-doors only and range in price from a minimum of $49,995 for the Sport S to a maximum of $69,085 for the Rubicon X. None of these prices include Jeep's $1,795 destination fee.

The Wrangler is not an alternative to a normal car-based crossover for everyday use, so put that idea out of your mind. It's bouncy and ponderous to drive, with slow steering and all the shudders and shimmies that go with body-on-frame construction and the high unsprung mass of two solid axles. It leans heavily around corners and has low grip limits. And once on the highway, the barn-like aerodynamics mean it's heavy on gas, while wind noise threatens to drown out all your attempts to converse with passengers - or the person on the other side of the phone. It can do the job, but it's no fun at all and meant for one thing and one thing only - to get you to that off-road trail. Here, the Wrangler is nearly unstoppable, and with the serious hardware, huge tires, and off-road goodies of the higher trims, it can still go where nothing but a Bronco can follow. Suddenly, the high-articulation suspension and well-damped steering that conspire against on-road confidence and feel come into their own to deliver a superbly capable off-roader.

To understand what you're getting yourself into, you must realize that Jeep has not tried to make the Wrangler all things to all men. Given that it had to retain its giant-killing off-road reputation, the car has been designed to be the best off-roader in the country bar none, and this means that, like any specialist tool, it has to be bad at other tasks. A compromise to make it friendlier in everyday use would have hurt its abilities, and those are not negotiable. So the Wrangler is quite terrible on the road, with sloppy handling, overdamped off-road-tuned steering, little outright grip, and high noise levels, especially the wind rush on the highway. It's more liveable this year thanks to improved sound-deadening and a smart new infotainment system, but the Bronco is still a more refined everyday car if you need serious off-road ability. It's newer, safer, and less compromised while still offering incredible off-road ability. Ford has thrown down the gauntlet by showing it can match the Wrangler off-road and beat it on safety, refinement, and handling. The Wrangler has met its match.

We think the newly revamped Willys trim is the best one this year. It's no longer a poser with an appearance package but a properly off-road-ready Wrangler with its lockable rear diff, 33-inch tires, tow hitch, and rock rails. We don't quite see the point of a base Wrangler without additional off-road hardware because the Wrangler is made to go off-road, and if you're just going to use it in town, a Bronco is better. Get a Wrangler that not only talks the talk but walks the walk - the Willys has better off-road ability than the base cars and nice features such as LED headlights, yet it's still substantially cheaper than the Rubicons, so you can add an extra or two without breaking the bank. We'd add the Safety Group's basic driver assists and call it even.