Jeep Wrangler Review 2024

Jeep Wrangler At A Glance

2/5
Honest John Overall Rating
If you’re the sort of person who spends your weekends belting along green lanes and winching yourself up mountains, rather than nipping down to Starbucks and getting your nails done, then the Jeep Wrangler could well be for you.

+Looks like it means business, easier to live with than before, excellent off road.

-Poor fuel economy, unsophisticated on the road, terrible one star Euro NCAP rating.

Insurance Groups are between 34–41
On average it achieves 90% of the official MPG figure

Few cars of any price can do what the Wrangler can off-road thanks to all manner of mud-plugging hardware. However, if you’re after an everyday SUV rather than a hardcore 4x4, pretty much anything else at the money  - like an Audi Q5 or Volkswagen Tiguan - will serve you better, with more practicality, more quality, more civility, more comfort, more precision and more luxury. Seriously, those after a left-field family car need not apply. Niche, but full of charm and character. Read on for our full review of the Jeep Wrangler. 

The Wrangler story started way back in the 1940s with the arrival of the original Willys Jeep. This was a rugged utility vehicle that took the US military over inhospitable lands in all four corners of the globe, made all the more inhospitable by the fact that they were probably having some sort of skirmish with the natives of the area at the time.

Things have changed since then, but the character and the ethos of Jeep remain. The iconic upright shape remains, and rather than following the crowd of newer SUVs and watering down the ruggedness in pursuit of luxury and sophistication, the Wrangler is still a non-nonsense, rufty-tufty, off-roader. This thing will go places that owners of regular SUVs would fear to even think about, let alone tread.

It also has a few party-pieces up its sleeve that are inherited from its ancestor. Each version has a roof that’s removable in some way (a variety of different options are available on that score, from a folding fabric soft-top to a removable hard-top), and if you really want to open yourself up to the elements, you can also remove the windscreen and the doors.

Try doing that on a Land Rover Defender. You’ve also got a spare wheel bolted onto the side-hinged tailgate. No crummy pot of sealant here.

Two body styles are available. The two-door looks good but is woefully impractical, so we’d advise going for the much bigger four-door, which is much better on practicality, not much more expensive and still has loads of charm.

There's just a single 2.0 litre turbo petrol engine available now in all Wranglers, which offers decent low-down shove, and it comes attached to an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard.

It should be said that the Wrangler's focus on ruggedness means it’s not a civilised car, especially compared to regular SUVs at the same (rather expensive) price point.

The ride is jittery, the handling’s untidy, the cabin is noisy and the interior is more functional than flashy. So, if you’re an average SUV buyer who’s merely looking for a stylish family car, pretty much anything else on the market will suit you better: those looking for a leftfield SUV choice will be biting off way more than they can chew with the Jeep.

That which the Wrangler does, though, it does very well indeed, and it’s no accident that this car has legions of dedicated fans the world over.

Looking for a second opinion? Check out heycar's review of the Jeep Wrangler.

What does a Jeep Wrangler cost?