2018 JLUS 3.6 vs 2020 JLUR 2.0T - My Review

[IdahoJOAT]

We bought Kailani in early May 2020. Off the lot so we didn't get to choose anything. But it is the standard loaded Rubicon with cold weather, hard top, BFG ATs, etc.

The big difference is the 2.0T. We originally test drove our Kailani because I wanted to feel the 4 cylinder myself. I had tried the 3.6 on a 2011 JK, I'd driven a JLU with the revamped 3.6. But if I'm going to shell out $50K+ I want to at least FEEL it right?

And we fell in love. Not only me with the powerplant, but my wife with the heated seats and wheel. Me with the D44 up front. Her with the color (bikini pearl). Me with the lockers. And so on.

We planned our trip from Idaho to Michigan earlier this year and planned on using Kailani to pull the Lil Aloha Cabana, our travel trailer. When the household commander price checked airfare, hotel and rental car though, we figured 5-6 days of NOT driving with a 14 and 2 year old would be pretty nice and worth the relatively small amount of money.

My wife used the mystery car option (needed to hold 4 people and unlimited miles) with Budget as we've used this for hotels fairly regularly and it's worked out GREAT. We got in to Grand Rapids a little after 11, went to AVIS/Budget and the very nice woman told us she had small pickups and big pickups. A Ranger/Tacoma or Tundra/F150/Ram. The man in me was like "RAM!" but then I thought of mileage. Wife thought of parking. Okay okay, small pickup, one of them Tacomas because I've always been perversely curious about em.

"Kinda sad you don't have a Jeep, we love ours at home."

Her response, "I had a Gladiator earlier today." (a want one soo badly) "And hang on, oh, I do. I have two Wranglers."

After a confirmation there was no change in price we were in Riley the Red Jeep for the next 10 days.

After hours of time and over 1500 miles, here's my review and comparison.

Engine/Transmission:
I'm just going to cut to the chase here and start with the powerplant as that's the biggest question right?

• The mileage was better in Riley. Perhaps it's the difference in driving we did though, as in Idaho we're barely going 30 minutes at a time, 5-20 minutes on the freeway with a lot of city driving. In MI we went long stretches of highway. Both Jeeps get their best mileage on cruise control, period.
• Power was a win for the 2.0T. It just feels better. It takes off better. It passes better.
• Exhause sound was hands down a win for the 3.6. I always describe the 2.0T as a sewing machine, and the direct comparison was stark. Hop on the 6 cylinder and it sounds beefier.
• Transmission is a no-contest win for the 4 banger. The 3.6 seemed to need to downshift ALL THE TIME. No matter what you were doing or what speed you were at, the 3.6 seemed to need to downshift.

Trim Difference:

• The stereo was the huge difference here. The rental had the standard 5" screen, Kailani has the 8.4". EVERYTHING is better about the 8.4" There was not one single upside to having the simpler, smaller screen.
• The Auto feature of the HVAC I sorely missed. There was no such option on the rental, and it was felt. We were always just a bit hot or cold, no matter where we put the dials.
• The cloth seats weren't a huge difference than our leather, but I feel sorry for the detailer with all the snack crumbs my 2 year old left on her seat and floor.
• The HUD of the Rubicon was sorely missed by me. I set up the smaller screen as best I could, but the higher trims more advanced and detailed dash I enjoy more.

Other notes:

• We didn't do any offroading, so the Rubicon mode was never missed.
• We did however go up an inclined gravel driveway, and the highway tires were immediately felt. The ATs were missed at that moment, and there was no added road noise.
• The soft top was missed. While we bought Kailani with the hard top, we bought a twill mopar soft top several months ago and it's been amazing. Having freedom panels only again was kind of a let down.

All in all, we loved having a Jeep on our trip. We knew how to pack it, knew how to park it, knew how it would handle on the road.

Best of all, we didn't have to stifle our waves to our kin.

If anyone has any questions I haven't covered, just ask away.

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[Medicaptain]

Nice write up, thanks for the comparisons.....