I have had my 2016 Golf Highline Sportwagen (TSI) for around 4 years now, so I am starting to consider a replacement. The most that I have ever spent on a vehicle is $20k (I paid $19k for the Golf 4 years ago on 80k) but it seems that a $20k budget these days will only buy you a "worse" car. Stretching the budget to $30k doesn't really yield anything very interesting either (maybe a 4/5 year old "base" Golf GTI)? Up to $40k, there are a couple of new cars (Civic Si/Toyota GR86) that kind of interest me but what am I really gaining for that extra investment? A bit more power and a bit/lot less practicality? So I stretched the budget to $50k and you get the picture...
I've always loved the look of the Jeep Wrangler and am a sucker for a "character" car, I can't think of anything worse than spending $40k+ on a boring RAV4/CRV/Tucson etc, even though something like that would probably best meet my needs, so I took the liberty of taking a test drive in a new JL Wrangler Sahara Unlimited. The one that I drove had the Pentastar V6, 8-speed auto, cold weather pack and body-coloured Freedom hard top, pretty much my perfect spec and an MSRP over $60k!
I was expecting it to be rubbish (the closest thing that I have driven is an old Land Rover Defender, which was pretty rubbish but quite endearing) but annoyingly I rather loved it. I'm sure that it's possibly one of the least refined new vehicles that you can buy but it was closer to my old WJ Grand Cherokee than an old Defender but felt a bit more precise and less wallowy. We have a Pentastar V6 in our 2015 Grand Caravan and I neither like or hate it but it sounded more tuneful in the Jeep and the 8-speed was significantly better than the 6-speed in our van, so overall the motor/transmission felt like a good match for the car. Other than the price, my 2 major reservations were the fuel economy (averaged 15 mpg on my test drive, I'm hoping that was US but still not great) and I was shocked that the inside of the roof wasn't insulated, so I wonder how that would be to live with through the cold Manitoba winters and from a wind noise point of view. I know that my kids would love it though, it would be a fun car to own and could cope with any road conditions.
Just a few questions re JL Wranglers.
1) Is the rear LSD a worthwhile option?
2) Best powertrain option? As I said, the V6 auto was fine but being on the endangered list, the manual option also has some appeal. Does the 4 cylinder option still suit the vehicle though and offer better fuel economy, which would be a definite benefit or is the well-proven V6 the better long-term bet (I would plan to keep it 7+ years) and the only issue with the Pentastar V6 in our van is that it has developed a bit of a tick at idle after 9 years and 150k (camshaft bearings worn)? I also see that eAssist is an option on the V6 and there is also the option of a V6 Ecodiesel. It's an expensive option new but there are a few pre-owned, low kms ones around in the mid-$50k price range. I haven't owned a diesel for several years, so does the AdBlue thing make it a bit of a PITA?
3) I noticed that you have to shift manually into 4H and in 4H, it was noticeably less keen to turn (presumably because it's locked in 50:50 rather than juggling power between both axles like many modern SUVs do)? Will you damage the transmission driving it at higher speeds in 4H on the highway and presumably fuel economy is going to be significantly worse in 4H vs. 2H?
4) The one I test drove had the towing package, which I have no real need for but I do quite fancy the LED light package, as I heard the standard headlamps weren't great on the Wrangler? I really appreciate the LED headlamps on my Golf setting out early in the morning vs. the halogens on our Grand Caravan.
So, Wranglers are expensive but they seem to hold their money well too, so if it's a long-term proposition, I might as well benefit from the warranty and get the exact spec that I want. To be honest, I'm not going to be doing serious off-roading in a $60k vehicle, so don't need a Rubicon but would like it to be able to cope with some gravel roads and deeper snow drifts. I have decent winter tires on my VW, so seldom find traction an issue but have "beached" it in deep snow a few times or hit deeper snow on the highway, which has destabilized it. My biggest concern is the fuel economy of the Wrangler vs. the VW. Obviously, a 2 ton 4x4 with the aerodynamics of a barn door is going to be worse but I consistently get 7-8L/100km out of the VW and with a 100km round trip commute each day, I get a week worth of commuting out of a 50 litre tank. I imagine that the Jeep would be at least 50% worse, which starts to get pretty expensive?
Or would I be better off with a new Ford Bronco? I haven't had the chance to drive one of these yet but reviews that I have seen suggest that it's a better vehicle to drive on the highway than the Jeep, has a better safety rating and with the 4-cylinder Ecoboost, possibly a bit better on gas? I would probably go with a 2 door Big Bend with the 4 cylinder and the pack (which gives you heated seats/dual-zone climate etc) and comes with the hard top as standard? So possibly something like this, which would be a bit cheaper than my ideal spec Wrangler. I think these also look cool but possibly a bit more contrived than the Wrangler and the interiors look a bit bland.
https://www.autotrader.ca/a/ford/bronco/guelph/ontario/5_56376723_on20070730101826524/?showcpo=ShowCpo&ncse=no&ursrc=hl&orup=2_15_15&pc=R0K+1X0&sprx=-1