Brand loyalty among Jeep owners — not to mention brand image across the nation — remains at the top of the auto industry. And for good reason: in its 80-year-plus history, the headlining Jeep, the Wrangler, remains shockingly close to its Willys origins. And when change comes, Jeep delivers it carefully.
Take styling. For 2024, Jeep raised and opened up the seven-slot grille, integrated the radio antenna into the windshield and offers new wheel designs. That’s it. The new 2024 Jeep Wrangler includes zero changes to the frame and only minimal adjustments to the body to improve crash safety.
The Wrangler carries on with a simple shape: straight lines, exposed hinges for also straight doors, and perfectly vertical cliffs where the body ends at the front and rear. To quote Jim Morrison, head of Jeep in North America, “It’s a brick. And the original ’41 (1941 Willy’s jeep) was a brick. That’s one thing our customers keep demanding we don’t change, so we don’t change.”
Yet, upon closer look, there’s a lot of new in the 2024 Jeep Wrangler. Some things are predictable, such as more off-road capability, new and larger digital screens inside, and more safety. Some things are less so, like submersible-powered front seats and what Jeep calls a power box for 4xe owners to turn their battery pack into a rolling electronic power source.
Jeep sent me to southwest Utah to test all that and more with the new 2024 Wrangler. I drove it on a winding, hilly drive on paved roads and ascended, avoided and snuck between a bevy of obstacles off-road. The Wrangler is still a brick, alright, but it's a darn capable one.
The 2024 Jeep Wrangler: What We Think
Despite new competition from the Ford Bronco, Jeep largely stuck to the script with the 2024 Wrangler. Yes, you get added capability and a more convenient package. Yet Jeep barely budged in terms of hardware or styling to react to Ford. Simply put, if you liked Jeep Wranglers, you'll continue to like the new 2024 Wrangler — a lot.
But know that driving a Wrangler still means you get a meandering, noisy, and thirsty vehicle to drive on the road. Wind noise builds to a symphony crescendo on the interstate almost as quickly as reserve power gets sapped by the high drag coefficient. Hopefully, your stints on the highway end at entrances to worthy off-road parks. If they do often enough, a Jeep Wrangler is definitely worth it.
The Wrangler's wide range of powertrains fits many needs and budgets
In the 2024 Wrangler, you choose between a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6, a plug-in hybrid (which uses the turbo four), and an iron-block 6.4-liter big boy V8. The V6 pairs with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission, the other three only bolt up to the automatic. (The turbodiesel engine formerly offered on the Wrangler, sadly, has vanished for the 2024 model year.)
Purists will opt for the V6 and six-speed. But is purity worth it? You get 285 horsepower, 15 more than the 2.0-liter ... but have to make do with just 260 lb.-ft of torque, whereas the 2.0-liter’s turbo helps it spin up 295 lb.-ft. Both of these options, however, fall way short of the 4xe (what Jeep calls the plug-in hybrid) and V8 models.
Not only does the Wrangler 4xe reign supreme in efficiency stats—21 miles of EV driving and 49 MPGe combined fuel economy—it also delivers 375 peak horsepower and, get this, nearly 500 lb.-ft of torque. (470, to be precise.) And the two electric motors and ICE combine to propel you to 60 mph in six seconds flat. Not bad.
Go big, though, and you win acceleration tests. The 6.4-liter V8 in the Wrangler 392 pumps out 470 horsepower and matches that figure — and the 4xe —with peak torque. Jeep says that’s enough to rocket you to 60 mph from rest in 4.5 seconds. And, of course, make killer noises as you do it.
Power comes at a price, sadly. The Rubicon 392, the only Jeep with the V8, starts at $89,390, including the $1,795 destination fee. One more advantage of the V6 is its price: it’s the standard engine in the standard Wrangler, the Sport, which will leave dealership lots for as little as $33,690 including destination. For the budget-minded and fuel-conscious, the least expensive 4xe powertrain comes in the Sport S and starts at $51,790.
The Wrangler's smart interior updates add comfort and convenience
More significant changes occurred inside the Wrangler. And it starts with, drum roll please ... power front seats! (Rim shot.) Sounds silly, I know, but it’s actually pretty cool. Because with these seats — available on the High Altitude and higher trims — you get 12-way adjustable seats that can work underwater.
Properly equipped Wranglers can travel through up to 34 inches of water, which puts the water line above the seat bottoms. That means these seats have fully sealed electronics for the seat motors and switches. It’s kind of like building power-adjustable seats for white-water rafting.
Mounted higher than 34 inches is the new and standard equipment 12.3-inch Uconnect 5 touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also offers access to Trails Offroad trail maps. That includes 62 Jeep Badge of Honor trails (places like Rubicon, Hell’s Revenge and Jericho) with detailed guides right on your screen. Furthermore, you can purchase a premium subscription for $40 per year, which gives you a catalog of over 3,000 trails and over-the-air updates as new trails are added.
For good measure, Jeep also added first and second-row curtain airbags, which work whether or not your Jeep has its doors on. And Sport S and higher models get driving aids like forward collision warning and adaptive cruise control. But for old-school folks like me, you can still choose standard cruise control and manage distance yourself; it’s not adaptive cruise control only, as some vehicles saddle you with.
The Wrangler offers new tech on the outside, too
Jeep now installs a full-float Dana rear axle on the Rubicon, which is a stronger type of axle that makes it easier to upsize your tires and allows certain Wranglers to tow up to 5,000 pounds (you also have to choose the eight-speed automatic and either the V6 or turbocharged 2.0-liter engine.) All other Wranglers tow up to 3,500 pounds.
Want to handle even more weight? You can now option the Rubicon with steel bumpers and an 8,000-pound Warn winch built in. That, along with two easy to use two hooks up front, gives the Rubicon lots of options for unsticking itself .. or others.
And if going Rubicon isn’t enough for you, Jeep created a new trim called Rubicon X. Starting at $56,690 for a two-door, you get a nicer stereo and heated seats and steering wheel, but you also get the Xtreme 35 package as standard. That includes 35-inch all-terrain tires, a 4.56:1 final drive ratio and a 1.5-inch factory lift, among other things. That package is also an option on the non-X Rubicon.
Or, you can go a different direction and get a 4xe-equipped Wrangler and a power box. This external black box plugs into the 17.3-kWh battery pack’s charge port. The other end includes four AC plugs with a total of 30 amps of output to power all kinds of things, where ever in the world you want, more or less.
The Wrangler's mega off-road chops remain
Considering all these differences, it’s worth remembering that the vast majority of the Wrangler carries on just as before. It's still body-on-frame, with solid front and rear axles. You can still get a soft top with removable doors, which, despite many updates, is quite noisy inside. You still get a slew of skid plates protecting vital bits. And, of course, the Wrangler is still extremely capable off-road. You can option the Wrangler with a 100:1 crawl ratio, front and rear differential lockers, push-of-a-button front anti-roll bar disconnect, 35-inch tires, 12.9 inches of ground clearance, not to mention 47.4º approach angle clearance, 26.7º breakover angle, and 40.4º of departure.
All those figures combined with an off-roading bent tuned into every single chassis and powertrain part. The Wrangler will handle whatever nonsense you feel like throwing at it. The lack of precision on-road transforms into a feeling of stability and surefootedness off-road.
In Utah, I climbed 40-degree rock faces, tracked through loose sand, and let individual wheels dangle as the other three maneuvered around descending boulder edges. When the windshield only offered views of cloud-streaked blue sky, front and rear view cameras gave you the sightlines you needed. And not once did I so much as scratch a skid plate. Clearly, the Wrangler had capability to spare.
What are some Jeep Wrangler alternatives?
Strictly speaking, only one true competitor to the Jeep Wrangler exists: the Ford Bronco. Ultimately, the Wrangler wins on maximum off-roading specs, but the Bronco gets very close — and benefits from not feeling restrained by legacy, which made it easier to make the Bronco adapt to our modern world.
Broaden your scope a bit, however, and trucks like the GMC Canyon AT4X, Ford Ranger Raptor and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro enter the fray. It’s a different approach, certainly, but vehicles built to leave pavement continue to expand and proliferate along with folks’ appetite for it.
2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xe
- Powertrain: Turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four hybrid; 8-speed automatic; 4WD
- Horsepower: 375
- Torque: 470 lb-ft
- EV Range: 21 miles
- Starting Price: $49,995
2024 Jeep Wrangler I4
- Powertrain: Turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four; 8-speed automatic; 4WD
- Horsepower: 270
- Torque: 295 lb-ft
- EPA Gas Mileage: 20 mpg city, 20 mpg highway
- Starting Price: $31,895
2024 Jeep Wrangler V6
- Powertrain: 3.6-liter V6; 8-speed automatic (6-speed manual); 4WD
- Horsepower: 285
- Torque: 260 lb-ft
- Starting Price: $31,895
2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392
- Powertrain: 6.4-liter V8; 8-speed automatic; 4WD
- Horsepower: 470
- Torque: 470 lb-ft
- EPA Gas Mileage: 13 mpg city, 16 mpg highway
- Starting Price: $87,595
