“Is it modified?” “Hummer hai kya?” These are the kinds of questions that were put to me wherever I went. And then I had quite some explaining to do. Not many a lay man is aware of the original American Jeep brand but people who do, go bonkers when they see it. The Fiat owned Chrysler group launched the Jeep brand in India last year with the Grand Cherokee and the Wrangler. I got my hands on the 5 door Wrangler Unlimited Sahara and I must admit that reviewing this legend felt rather special.
The Wrangler was first made in 1986 and the styling hasn’t changed much since then. The Wrangler has the classic Jeep looks which we are all familiar with today. The earlier Wrangler came with square headlights which have now changed to round ones on the current generation. The front has the familiar grille with 7 slats with a prominent Jeep logo in the centre. The Wrangler has typical clamps to hold the bonnet in place. There is no lever inside the cabin to unlock the hood. Just undo the clamps and open up. The hood is really heavy and gas shocks would have been a good addition to hold it in the open position. But that’s not how a jeep is now is it? Then you have the massive wheel arches and rugged bumpers. An antenna sits just above the right side front fender and personally I think it looks super cool. The doors have exposed hinges and the plastic door handles are of XL size. Also note that the rear doors are a size smaller than the front ones. The spare wheel is mounted on the tailgate that sports a ‘Jeep’ wheel cover which looks neat. The tail gate of the Wrangler opens in a split fashion. Even though it’s a hardtop, the entire roof assembly can be taken off including the doors and the front windshield can be dropped onto the bonnet as well to give you the complete Jeep experience. The Wrangler comes with a body on ladder frame chassis with live axles at both, front and rear since this is a hardcore off roader and is equipped with coil spring suspension. The 17 inch alloys look meaty and subtle at the same time. The Wrangler does not have the curves and looks of today’s modern SUVs, but it has that distinct character which is special in its own way. Only the true automobile aficionado will appreciate it for the design icon that it is. Street presence? Loads of it. The Wrangler turned heads wherever it went, the sheer size of the thing had onlookers in awe and it was easily more than what I had expected.
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