'07 Jeep Wrangler – tame and tough

By Frank S. Washington
Contributing Columnist
Union County Post

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Rugged refinement is standing on a plateau in the Sierra Mountains looking out over the towering Evergreen and Pine trees that line the fabled Rubicon Trail while listening to the Jazz Café being piped through a Jeep Wrangler’s satellite radio. The scene was fodder for a great commercial.
In a word, the Jeep Wrangler is the icon of off road enthusiasts. And when Jeep engineers and designers asked owners how to improve the Wrangler for 2007, they were told to make it better but don’t change it.
Jeep took that somewhat contradictory edict and ran with it. On one hand, you can still take a Jeep Wrangler’s doors off, lay it’s windshield across the hood, take the top off, the carpet out, hose it out and go places where mere mortal motoring vehicles dare not put their tread.
But, in addition to satellite radio, the 2007 Jeep Wrangler can be equipped with a navigation system, an in-dash six disc CD player with MP3 capability, Bluetooth that turns compatible cell phones into hands free car phones, voice controls and power windows.
Though tamed, the Wrangler is still plenty tough. It’s difficult to explain the unexplainable. In this case, that would be trekking off road. But if you can, envision a narrow trail rift with rocks, deep ruts, small boulders, gravel, dirt and dust galore, flowing water in places, hair pin turns, sheer cliffs, steep drop offs and more. Now put that trail through the Sierra Mountains which themselves are at 6,000 ft and you have a sense of the Rubicon Trail.
We were on the Trail for a half day. We had to be flown in by helicopter and camped out for the night before we started our drive. This was real off road. If we had driven to the camp site, as most people do, it would have taken eight hours to drive eight miles. Get the idea?
Jeep enhanced the off road capability of the Wrangler by increasing its ground clearance, giving it larger wheels and tires, strengthening its axles, giving them new electric lockers, and installing an electronic-disconnecting sway bar. If all this sounds like Greek, that’s okay. The bottom line is that you can still take the 2007 Jeep Wrangler to places where only Hummers and Land Rovers dare tread.
Meanwhile, the 2007 Jeep Wrangler’s on-road manners have been improved. The frame is stiffer, it has a longer wheel base, wider track and the cabin, a real noise box in the past, has been made quieter. Once off the Rubicon Trail we found the drive to the Wild Goose Restaurant along the shores of Lake Tahoe very relaxing.
The suspension, without any adjusting, provided a pretty smooth ride. We were particularly impressed with the handling and stable ride of the 2007 Jeep Wrangler. There was very little dip in the curves or while cornering. And the satellite radio worked well on level ground, too.
Our test vehicle was equipped with a 3.8-liter V6 that made 202 horsepower and 237 pounds-feet of torque. It is the only engine and it can be mated to either six-speed manual gear box or a four speed automatic. We tested both and found them more than adequate.
But the real news is that the Wrangler can also be ordered with four doors. Jeep hopes the longer Wrangler Unlimited will broaden the customer base and keep some owners in the fold who leave because they need more space when they have children.
There’s a bunch of stuff that can be said about the Wrangler: gas mileage is reasonably good, it can tow 2,000 to 3,500 lbs depending on the model and prices have been slashed by an average of $1,200. Base prices start at $18,765 and range to $28,895. For what it will do, the Wrangler is a bargain.
But more important is that the 2007 Jeep Wrangler still has a range that few vehicles do. You can take it through the back woods or you can take it to a black tie event. It’s fine in either setting.
And our feeling remains the same for the 2007 edition. If we had a multiple car garage, one of the parking slots would be reserved for our Jeep Wrangler.

Frank S. Washington can be reached at frank@aboutthatcar.com. Or, snail mail him at PO Box 23167, Detroit, MI, 48223.