Jeep Wrangler Rubicon V6 2024 Review - carsales.com.au (2024)

The 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 2-Door retails in nosebleed territory at $83,950 plus on-road costs. Essentially, the price has doubled over the past 10 years.

For all that money you get a pretty rudimentary set of comfort and convenience features including leather seats, dual-zone climate control and Jeep’s effective Uconnect infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connection.

Safety assistance is a bit limited with no lane keeping and no rear airbags – at least the latter issue will be addressed with the forthcoming update.

And the ANCAP rating based on 2019 protocols is just three stars. That’s an improvement on the one star it received when first tested.

What you are paying for here is the most comprehensive off-road package Jeep can offer. That’s signalled by the Rubicon badge, which alludes to an ultra-tough off-road trail in California this vehicle has conquered.

On top of the gutsy 209kW/347Nm 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine there’s an eight-speed auto, Jeep’s Rock-Trac on-demand 4x4 system with low-range gearing, Dana heavy-duty axles, locking front and rear diffs and even a disconnecting front sway bar.

The test vehicle also came with $1175 premium paint and a $3835 Trail-Ready pack that includes a steel bumper, black alloy wheels and a forward-facing camera.

It’s pretty simple to sum up what’s good about the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 2-Door. It’s great off-road.

All that ground clearance, all those mechanical assistants, the all-terrain rubber and the shorty’s compact size make this a great vehicle for an excursion into the scrub.

In this final iteration, the V6 proves itself gutsy and responsive. The eight-speed is well tuned to it and the Rubicon is not especially heavy, so performance is zippy.

The Wrangler Rubicon also looks pretty cool and being able to remove the roof and doors and fold down the windshield is a Wrangler signature.

The interior styling is also chunky in a solid, off-roader way.

Get the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on-road and the driving is far less impressive. It rocks and rolls, it meanders on its balloon rubber and it’s noisy.

The best thing that can be said is its long-travel coil suspension smooths out – f not smothers – the bumps and crags altogether.

The downside of the engine’s gutsy performance is its thirst, coming out at an average 12.5L/100km on test.

The interior of the Wrangler Rubicon is pretty compromised. The seat doesn’t go back far enough for tall drivers and the pedal box is too cramped to accommodate your left foot comfortably.

The bench seat in the back only accommodates two people and it’s a pretty cramped experience.

It also only folds down in one piece if you want to increase the absolutely minimal boot space.

Incidental storage is not generous either.

The only reason to buy the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 2-Door is if you really want a go anywhere off-road. It’s brilliant at it.

It’s also a great-looking vehicle and some people just love it for that.

But logically, beyond the off-roading skills, there’s little to recommend the Wrangler Rubicon shorty.

You’re paying a lot for a cramped vehicle missing plenty of gear that doesn’t drive especially well on-road, even taking into account the fact the V6 is going out in decent form.

If you really want a Wrangler, then the five-door Ultimate makes more sense. If you don’t need an off-roader then there are heaps of better choices.

2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 2-Door at a glance:
Price: $83,950 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.6-litre V6 petrol
Output: 209kW/347Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 235g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Three-star (ANCAP 2019)

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