2018 Jeep Wrangler (JL) Mule Confirms Six-Speed Manual!

[The Great Grape Ape]

I wasn't a fan of the the JK 2012+ manual trans at first. I started with a 2012 JK 6spd and moved on to a 2014 JKU 6spd. In 2012, I was like WTF am I doing, this is so clunky. 2014, Its so smooth, I feel at home. I've personally become attached to the truck like feel of the JK/JKU and I hope they keep that ruggedness.

It's you changing, not the transmission. It's the same NSG370 throughout the life of the JK, they just added a taller 6th (.80 vs .84) gear when they added the Pentastar which happened for the 2012 not afterwards.

I could understand your feeling if you move from the 3.8 to Pentastar like I did in the cottage jeep going from 2010 to 2015, but even then it was the same rickety transmission but the added power , torque and more importantly the added RPM range better fits the ratios allowing you to use more of first gear before shifting. The taller 6th was barely noticed because you already had more than enough power on tap for highway driving unless you changed axle ratios significantly beyond stock which would give you back some RPM on the highway, but not a lot.

However there were no changes in the manual transmission after 2012 , only the automatic changed from 2012 (Euro built & programmed W5A580) to 2013+ (US built NAG1 based on W5A580 with different programming characteristic and shift points for improved efficiency).

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