It's that time of the year again and everyone either is, or should be getting ready for when the white stuff flies, and with this comes
slippery and snow-filled roads.
So, what more and more people have done over the last 10 years or so is get SUVs or cars equipped with four-by-four or all wheel drive to get around.
This is all well and good, and I know I wouldn't go back to two-wheel-drive with our winters ever again after having a vehicle with all wheel drive, but what are these vehicles like when the snow is gone and you want to go off road.
Generally they are not great unless it is just down the dirt road to the lake.
Their suspensions are not made for this type of work and the tires are not knobby enough to get proper grip. The other thing they are usually missing is a four-low gearing so you can go slow and easy over just about any terrain.
But one manufacturer has been doing the four low thing for a long time, 1941 in fact.
Jeeps are made for off-roading. The suspensions are designed to take hard knocks. They sits higher than other vehicles so they can go over much more demanding terrain, and the doors, roof and front window all either fold away or come off so you can really be at one with the outdoors.
The tires are bigger and knobbier for better grip, there are grab handles, big, thick, rough and tough ones to hold on to when the going gets rough. The new Wrangler Rubicon continues this tradition - one which Jeep calls being Trail Rated - and with all the doors off you would probably still want some tunes to listen to, so Jeep has installed some quality speakers in the centre roll bar. It just doesn't make sense to have the speakers in the doors like most vehicles and head off road, because you know when you go to turn on the satellite radio, you will then remember you took the doors off and left them in the garage back at the house.
The Rubicon I drove was equipped with Jeep's new 3.6-litre Pentastar V6, hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission, which
provides better gas mileage than the outgoing Rubicon, and at rest the engine is extremely quiet. Only when you hit the gas does it come alive with a growl.
It used to be there were two types of Jeep. The Cherokee SUV and the Wrangler. One was a vehicle with all the amenities and options Jeep had available in its closet, the other was the Wrangler. It was fairly bare bones, and it was supposed to be that way as it was seen as a rugged off-road vehicle, and rugged off-road vehicles didn't have or need any sissy comfort options.
But seeing as our latest generation are sissing up with time outs and extreme political correctness this Rubicon has been equipped with a bunch of these options.
Both the front passengers get heated seats, climate control, Bluetooth hands-free phone with controls on the steering wheel, satellite radio, heated and power mirrors, USB and AUX jacks and more. But even with the options, the Rubicon is no sissy. It is the same brute-tough Wrangler Jeep has always produced, but you can be a little more comfy in it now.
For the winter months that are fast approaching and for the off-roading you may do, even if it is just to show off to those SUV owners in the neighbourhood, Jeep has included a bunch of safety features like anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, tire pressure monitoring system, roll mitigation control and hill hold assist to make sure you don't roll backwards when taking off from a hill start. Jeep has also been kind enough to place the fuel tank at the centre of the vehicle between the frame rails and then covered the tank with a 2.5-mm thick skid plate for added off-road protection.
There is nothing worse than doing some serious off-roading in front of a bunch of people and having your gas tank rupture on a rock sending you and your passengers up in a fire-ball of flames. It could ruin the whole day.
You can thank Jeep when you make it home unscathed.
Although we have no snow yet, I can attest to the power of the Wrangler's four-wheel-drive system as I drove one around my neighbourhood last winter and with several inches of ice on my street, as soon as I hit the gas the Jeep took off, no wheel spin, not drama straight up the hill.
The new Rubicon is definitely a vehicle for all seasons, and all terrain, just try not to be too loud when you tell the neighbours that you are going offroad.
SPECS:
Vehicle type:
5-door
Transmission:
6-speed manual
Engine:
3.6-litre V6
Horsepower:
285 @ 6,400
Torque:
260 @ 4,400
Mileage:
13.4 l/100 km
21 mpg City
9.6 l/100 km
29 mpg Hwy
Price as tested:
$47,240
