2025 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Review – the ultimate off-road machine?

The all iconic Jeep Wrangler has finally ditched its long-serving 3.6-litre V6 aspirated petrol engine for a new downsized turbocharged engine. The new heart transplant coincides with new updates to a host of technologies, safety features and refinement.

But the updates and added features are accompanied with a price hike across the three-tier Wrangler line-up, with the base Sport S, which replaces the Night Eagle model, getting a $1,000 increase to $75,950. The mid-spec Overland now costs $83,950, an increase of $3,500, and the top-spec Rubicon is a more significant $5,500 increase bringing the sticker to $89,450. All prices exclude on-road costs.

On test is the range-topping Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in adventure-ready 2-door guise. It’s priced at $82,950 plus on-road costs, also an increase of $5,000 from before. Gradual hike in Wrangler prices over years has seen the four-wheel drive almost doubled in price compared to prices ten years ago, making it well and truly a luxury purchase.

Nevertheless, the Wrangler still has a unique and niche section of the market pretty much cornered, with the closest but not quite direct rivals being the GWM Tank 300 and Suzuki Jimny, both cost much less than the Jeep.

If you must buy a Wrangler, and there’re plenty of reasons to, you’ll be stoked to know that this thing can literally go to places where no man has ever been. More on that later. Let’s first look at the enhancements for the 2025 Wrangler.

The Wrangler’s iconic design that harks back to the original General Purpose military vehicle (GP vehicle as it’s most commonly known) is still very much visible today. The upright, two-box body with a seven-slot grille, flat windscreen and flared boxed fenders continue to define the Wrangler’s unique styling.

Evolved for 2025 is the updated grille, which now sports slimmer, black textured slot, metallic bezels and a body-colour surround for a more contemporary look. Elsewhere, a new ‘stealth’ antenna now integrates into the front windscreen, decluttering the look and eliminating brush or tree limb snags on the off-road trail. Wrapping up the exterior update are fresh wheel designs across all variants.

The interior is where most of the new stuff can be found. The redesigned dashboad now incorporates a new 12.3-inch centre touchscreen running the latest Connect 5 operating system. Compared to the previous 8.4-inch touchscreen, this new larger, higher clarity display brings much needed improvement to its usability and connectivity. The menu structure is more intuitive and there’s a customisable home screen for easier access to frequently used features. It now supports wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto connectivity.

Next to the centre screen there’s a new gauge cluster combining analogue dials with a multi-info digital display, although there’s yet to be a fully digital one. Lacking is also a head-up display. At this price point it’d be would reasonable to expect those features to be standard fitment.

The new larger centre screen takes up more space in the dash which means the previous round air vents in the middle had to go and replaced with more slimline horizontal vents right beneath the screen. The two round outer vents remain, so are the switchgear in the centre console. Overall the dash retains its retro vibe with a modern twist that sees a step up in refinement and quality.

Equipment level has been raised across the range, with every variant featuring as standard heated front seats, heated steering wheel and ambient lighting. The Overland and Rubicon models boast a 12-way power adjustable seating for the driver and front passenger. Rubicon models further featuring Nappa leather seats and a forward facing TrailCam.

The 9-speaker 552-watt Alpine premium sound system continues to entertain with great surround sound coming from the overhead sound bar and punchy bass served up by the boot-mounted subwoofer.

In a bid to appeal to a wider demographic of buyers, the Wrangler has gained NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) improvements. The Rubicon model even has acoustic laminated front door glass which is supposedly better insulated. It’s most evident when you hit the freeway or open roads. Where the previous model was raw and unforgiving, the new model has a bit more road manners. That’s very much welcomed because more and more owners daily drive the Wrangler and that extra bit of peace and comfort certainly helps.

The 2-door Rubicon as tested here is widely regarded as the most iconic Wrangler of the line-up, being quite rare and more special than its 4-door counter part. But that does mean it’s less practical. The 2+2 seating arrangement accommodates four people, one fewer than the 4-door 5-seater version. While the back seats afford decent space for their occupants, access is by a narrow passage liberated by tilting and sliding the front seat forward.

Those front seats aren’t without their share of problems either. We’re talking about the driver’s comfort where the driver has to deal with a bulge from the transmission housing in the foot well, at least in our right-hand drive version. Without a foot rest, finding a place to properly rest the left foot can be a challenge.

With a wheelbase of about 500mm shorter than the 4-door version, the 2-door Wrangler compromises on cargo space as well, with just 365 litres of capacity compared to 533 litres afforded by the longer Wrangler. For more space, the rear seats can be folded to expand the space to 898 litres.

The biggest improvement in this update is perhaps the new 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It produces 200kW @ 5250rpm and 400Nm between 3000rpm and 4500rpm, slightly down on power but much higher and wider spread of torque compared to the old V6’s 209kW and 347Nm. Like before it’s paired with a smooth shifting 8-speed automatic transmission.

On the road the added low down torque really makes things a lot more effortless, requiring less revs than the old V6 to get things going. The response is just as good but it’s quieter and more refined. Best of all, fuel economy is better at 9.9L/100km rated against the V6’s 10.3L/100km, though now it requires RON95 premium unleaded fuel. Consumption is still on the high side and that has much to do with those rough all-terrain off-road tyres. At the end of our weeklong test we averaged 12.0L/100km after about 400km of mix driving including an off-road excursion.

Speaking of which, the Wrangler Rubicon, specifically the 2-door version, is quite possibly the most capable four-wheel drive vehicle straight out of a factory at the moment. Its compact dimensions and short overhangs are well suited to tackling rough terrains. Its breakover angle of 27.8 degree is much better than the 4-door version’s 22.6 degrees, taking the stress out of traversing rocky terrain.

There’s also a myriad of mechanical aids to help with hardcore dirt-kicking duties, including locking front and rear Dana 44 heavy-duty axles, electronic sway bar disconnect for maximum wheel articulation, Rock-Trac 4:1 low range transfer case with crawl ratio of up to 77:1 and steel off-road rock rails. These features are on top of off-road essentials like high-range 4WD, hill-descent mode, winch-capable steel bumpers and underbody steel skid plates.

It was soaking wet on the day we took the Wrangler Rubicon off-road, with very slippery gravel tracks and rocky trails being the order of the day. Despite the conditions, it was literally a walk in the park for the Jeep. It just wouldn’t give in and kept crawling through the bush.

The new turbo engine continues to impress off-road, demonstrating its versatility and tractability in such demanding conditions as cresting a hill and ploughing through mud.

One other thing before we wrap up, all doors, roof and rear section of the Wrangler are removable. Maybe not on a wet day, but on a nice sunny day driving through a scenic track, the completely open-air cabin allows you to truly connect with nature. Don’t worry, there’s a built-in roll cage, so if you rolled you should be able to climb out relatively unscathed.

On the topic of safety, the new update has brought the total number of airbags from 4 to 6. The updated Wrangler still hasn’t been ANCAP tested but it will surely better the previous 3-star rating. Complementing the passive safety features the Wrangler has stability control, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, roll mitigation and reverse view camera.

Verdict

2025 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon pricing and specification