2024 Jeep Wrangler First Drive: Overdue Upgrades Help The New Wrangler Pull Its Own Weight

Squaring up to the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon puts you eye-to-eye with one monumental improvement: the 8,000-pound-capacity Warn winch mounted in the bumper. Heretofore, the steel bumper on the Wrangler Rubicon was merely "winch-capable" off the lot, meaning it was ready to accept a host of aftermarket winches at the owner's discretion. Now a winch is one less accessory Wrangler owners need to fuss over after purchasing their Jeep.

More subtle is the new grille that debuted on the 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 20th Anniversary Edition. There are still seven vertical slots but the spaces between them are now a plastic lattice designed to flow more air across the radiator. Looking at the Wrangler from its passenger side reveals, for the first time, a second Trail Rated badge. Why? The Jeep's antenna is now integrated with the windshield frame, freeing the space beneath the cowl for another badge while at the same time eliminating concerns of snagging the antenna on overhead branches.

Jeep updated a tool used every single time the driver operates the Wrangler—the seats. Gone are the days of fidgeting with manual seat adjustments. Now, both front seat occupants can manipulate 12-way power adjustable seats, lumbar support included. The new seats are said to withstand wading through 34 inches of water and hosing off after a day on the trails thanks to carefully sealed electronic connections.

Looking forward, the standard Uconnect 5 touchscreen infotainment system is a welcome improvement to the cabin. Its 12.3-inch landscape layout is visually pleasing and features, among other items, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The screen sits above two new air vents that themselves live above a panel of familiar tactile knobs and buttons. Looking closely at the dash reveals accessory-ready bolt locations to fasten, say, holders for mobile devices. Standard first- and second-row side-curtain airbags protect occupants and those riding in the back seats now have individual overhead LED convenience lights.

Buyers who might have scoffed at the Wrangler's on-road behavior, take note. We hopped into the Rubicon model and spent a couple hours winding through scenic byways and covering highway miles with our ears at attention for road noise. The Wrangler is still nowhere near silent but great care was taken to improve NVH. Sound-deadening carpets carried over from the EcoDiesel Wrangler and additional acoustic treatments for the headliners and glass are said to decrease interior road noise by about 5 decibels.

We put the new infotainment system and the NVH to the test by making a hands-free call at highway speeds with the Sky One-Touch powertop retracted and the windows down, a near impossibility in previous Wranglers. First, with sunlight pouring in from overhead, the display on the Uconnect 5 touchscreen was remarkably readable with adequate brightness, inky dark hues, and minimal glare. Second, the caller on the receiving end of our line had no idea that our hair was whipping in the breeze with the top rolled back at freeway speeds. We can confidently say that the new 7-microphone array placed throughout the cabin flat out works and filters out the noise of the road, engine, climate control system, and wind.

Our trail machine was the Wrangler Rubicon 392 shod with 35-inch BFGoodrich T/A KO2 all-terrains and beadlock-capable wheels, steel bumpers, rocker armor, the standard Warn winch, and full skidplating. The gnarly trails of Sand Hollow State Park put nearly every facet of the Wrangler to work, and right away. We wasted no time shifting the transfer case into low range, disconnecting the front anti-sway bar, and opting for the surly exhaust note via the 392's center stack. We then pointed the Wrangler's nose at the dirt.

Adding an 8,000-pound-capacity winch to the front of the Wrangler puts about 100 extra pounds over the front bumper. Before the tires hit the rocks, we romped across sandy whoops and cycled the Jeep's suspension, feeling confident in the updated front springs' ability to support the additional weight. Obstacles in Sand Hollow can frequently be near-vertical walls of rock that point a vehicle's front end toward the sky. All the standard tools were hard at work: locking front and rear differentials, low-range gearing, large tires, and armor. The front-facing camera's feed is notably clearer on the Uconnect 5 screen, and again was absent of glare in the direct sunlight. Anyone who has relied on this camera to see what's ahead while navigating a trail will appreciate the increased clarity.

Jeep has also partnered with Trails Offroad (a prominent online trail guide provider) to offer owners a database of more than 3,000 trail guides for a subscription fee. Trail guides can be browsed on the Uconnect screen and followed while waypoints and various points of interest are indicated tour-guide-style. For those interested in Jeep Badge of Honor Trails—a network of trails where, upon proof of completion, drivers are awarded a Badge of Honor to affix to their vehicle—there will be 62 of them loaded into each Jeep. Though our loop within Sand Hollow was not part of the Badge of Honor network, we expect the new-age screen to make navigating trails like these far easier.

We turned our focus to the winch halfway through the trail ride when a fellow trail user "needed help up an obstacle"—really just a planned winch demonstration. The Warn unit proved to be far more than a piece of Jeep jewelry as we watched recovery professionals use it and the included rigging gear to pull a disabled multi-thousand pound buggy up a 45 degree slope.

As part of the 2024 refresh, the Wrangler now boasts a best-in-class 5,000-pound towing capacity. This figure is achieved in part by one hard-to-spot feature on the new Rubicon. The Dana 44 rear axle has been upgraded to a full-float design, which transfers the load of the rear end from the axle shafts themselves to the axle housing through the hubs. Not only does this help improve the towing capacity, it helps Jeepers fit larger, heavier tires onto their axles and can prevent dangerous situations should a rear shaft snap while off-road. Only two configurations offer the 5,000-pound capacity: the Wrangler Rubicon with the 3.6-liter V-6 and 850RE 8-speed automatic, and the Rubicon with the 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 paired with the 850RE 8-speed automatic. Both configurations require opting for 4.10 axle gears.

We settled into a Rubicon with the turbocharged I-4 under the hood and an Airstream camper hitched to the back that flirted with the 5,000-pound towing max. Our Jeep didn't miss a beat moving the trailer from a standstill both in the dirt and on pavement. Maintaining freeway speeds was no sweat but we did see the fuel economy figures dip into the single digits on prolonged climbs. Despite windy conditions, we never felt like the trailer was steering the Jeep and the ride was confident and composed. We're not convinced that the new Wrangler will be anyone's dedicated tow rig, but if there's an SUV to pull the loaded-down family camper deep into the backcountry—and back out again—this is it.

Those opting for the plug-in hybrid Wrangler 4xe can use the Jeep as a trail-capable mobile generator. Plugging the Jeep Power Box into the charging port affords Jeepers four 120-volt outlets with 30 amps of output—enough juice to power TVs, blenders, lanterns, and other electronics. We stopped to make a trailside smoothie just to see how useful the setup truly was.

Whether you want the best-selling PHEV in America or the no-nonsense V-8 power of the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, there's a Wrangler option for everyone. While the numbers haven't changed, the lineup remains impressive. The Wrangler 4xe offers 49 mpg-e with its 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four paired with an electric motor. The 4xe can travel up to 21 miles on pure electricity, as well. Available on its own, the 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 is good for 270 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, while the familiar 3.6-liter V-6 still cranks out 285 hp and 260 lb-ft. The 392's 6.4 liters of V-8 power churns up a mighty 470 horses and 470 lb-ft. Wrangler Rubicon 392 models are only offered with the TorqueFlite 8HP75 eight-speed automatic transmission. Six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmissions are offered with the V-6, while the 2.0-liter I-4 only gets the eight-speed auto.

The 2024 Wrangler looks to be the most capable version to roll off the assembly line yet. The Warn winch and full-float rear end alone could make the new Jeep worth it to some, even before considering the adjustable seats, new touchscreen, and uprated towing abilities. On the trails, the Wrangler's prowess remains untouched, and with the wealth of powertrain options, there is truly a Jeep for everyone. Legendary off-road acumen still comes at the expense of some on-road manners, of course, but the Jeep spirit is more alive than ever even as the Wrangler marches into the modern age.