Another "Deciding Between Willy's and Rubicon" Thread

[exilepa]

I posted this on FB and thought I'd post here as well to see how the opinions/answers align.

Currently going back and forth on which 2024 model to order to replace my 2019 Sport S.

Right now, I'm leaning towards the Willy's over the Rubicon. The ~$7k price delta is hard for me to justify with my current Jeep currently being a pavement princess. Something about the Willy's when I build it on the Jeep website just calls to me, not sure what it is.

However, I see it said a lot that "If you were even thinking Rubicon and don't get it, you'll regret it!" I do have a few questions that I'm hoping this group can help.

Does the 2024 Willy's come with the bigger brake setup that the Rubicon and Sahara get?

What are some of the other things I'd potentially miss if I don't go Rubicon?

A few items I can tell are more off-road inclined suspension, front facing trail cam, auto dimming rear view mirror, front lockers, cool looking Rubicon hood, and non-blacked out grill and wheels. What else am I missing?

It seems that if I really wanted a colored grill, Rubicon hood, or the Rubicon wheels I could just buy them after the fact and still come out ahead in the $$$ department?

I feel like there must be something else I'm missing in that $7k price delta?

Sponsored

 

[autotragic]

All I can say is instead of paying for a 24 Willys would you be willing to get a lightly used Rubicon for the same or less money? See when I ordered my 24 Willys back last year used Rubicons were all a lot more expensive but by the time this year rolled around I was able to get myself a Rubicon with only 12,000 miles on it for about the same money as a brand new Willys and that's with 9% discount off invoice price. And honestly I kind of like having the front locker and the push button sway bar disconnect.

Factor in that there's some things about the 24s that I found out that I didn't like and I don't know how much that affects you or what but personally for me I like the pre-24s better so finding the Rubicon that I bought was really a heck of a deal for me.

Anyway that's just how I dealt with it once used Jeep prices started coming down it made sense to at least look at the option and it ended up working out for me.

 

[MaybeRubi]

You didn't mention push-button front sway bar disconnect in the Rubicon. [Edit: or the different gearing of the transfer case.] I think the choice boils down to your intended use: how much off-road? And of course price. Resale value might be a concern -- the Rubicon name will likely get more, but folks in the know will know of the 2024 Willys upgrades. Of course, there are legit, non-rational factors that typically play in -- aesthetics. Grateful Dead fans might prefer the Willys: their song "Sugar Magnolia" praises a woman who "jumps like a Willys in 4 wheel drive" -- and the Willys even reminds you on the rear end!

Edit: yeah, the lightly used Rubi is a good option -- unless used makes you uncomfortable. My thinking was the reverse: after looking at used Rubicons, I realized I could get a new Willys for roughly same price -- decided i didn't need the few Rubi upgrades, and new made me more comfortable.

 

[jellis4148]

Get the Willys. It sounds like you have no plans on doing any serious off-roading. The Willys comes with a rear locker if you need it. Save the money unless you just have to have a Rubicon for the name.

 

[dbp512]

I think the front axle locker is a big part of the rubicon's identity. If you think you'll need the front locker then it's likely cheaper to get it up front than try to add it later. The rubi also comes with more wiring in the harness, such as for the SOT motors. I know a few companies that say if you're gonna build out a jeep start with a rubi.

Like the poster above, also consider a year older model. When I picked up my '23 rubi the '24s were on the delivery trucks to the dealers. Since they really wanted the old models gone they were more than willing to cut down the price.

 

[exilepa]

Factor in that there's some things about the 24s that I found out that I didn't like and I don't know how much that affects you or what but personally for me I like the pre-24s better so finding the Rubicon that I bought was really a heck of a deal for me.

What were some of the things you didn't like about the 24s? I currently have a 2019 so wondering what I might dislike as well.

 

[Xcoaste]

What were some of the things you didn't like about the 24s? I currently have a 2019 so wondering what I might dislike as well.

I was just at a dealership with my wife the other day picking up her new car, and there was a '24 willys in the showroom. The first thing we both said was the fabric dash wouldn't be a good idea for us. We get a lot of pollen here in the NE and I have to wipe the dash all the time. I could be wrong, but the fabric dash looked difficult to keep clean and it was light gray. Probably not a deal breaker for some, but it wasn't appealing to us.

 

[Ratbert]

Check the spreadsheet in my sig before ordering.

 

[autotragic]

What were some of the things you didn't like about the 24s? I currently have a 2019 so wondering what I might dislike as well.

Believe it or not one of the things that I don't like is the side curtain airbags. I know that's blasphemy to some people but I actually do have my reasons for that. If you've ever seen a Bronco running a trail with its airbags cut out with a pocket knife so it could keep wheeling that day you would understand.

Also after test driving a 24 Sport I realized I don't like the new dash. I don't like the big 12-in tablet that they put in it I don't like the new square AC vents that they had to use because of the new 12-in tablet I don't like the look of it. I just didn't like it at all. And the Willys dash and the sport dash is the same.

I know some people don't like it but I actually really like the pre-24 red Rubicon dash, I think it looks so much cooler than any of the new ones do.

 

[exilepa]

Check the spreadsheet in my sig before ordering.

Absolutely! Have already heard back from Tyson's. Waiting to hear back from Gupton's to see if they are still matching them as I would prefer the shorter drive to TN vs VA from Ohio. None of the dealers around here are willing to budge from invoice.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Only get the Rubicon if you plan to HARD-CORE offroad. If you're a pavement princess, Willy's is a better choice. If you're going to do mild offroading, Willy's is a better choice. You have to offroad HARD to realize the benefits of a Rubicon.

 

[rcadden]

Absolutely! Have already heard back from Tyson's. Waiting to hear back from Gupton's to see if they are still matching them as I would prefer the shorter drive to TN vs VA from Ohio. None of the dealers around here are willing to budge from invoice.

Bought mine from Gupton in '21 and it was a disturbingly smooth transaction. Highly recommended.

As far as your actual query, if you've been happy with a Sport since '19, then a Rubicon is likely going to be overkill, and a waste of money which could be used for upgrading whatever the Willys is missing. The '24 Willys, in particular, got a load of upgrades vs the earlier JLU Willys, so it's a really great value.

As an extremely happy Sahara owner, I don't subscribe to the "Just get a Rubicon" mindset. IMO, if you don't know *why* you "need" a Rubicon, then you probably don't.

 

[S2k Chris]

Do new Willy’s come with Mud Terrains or All Terrains? I think for 2024 you can choose but before it was MTs only for the Willy’s and they weren’t as desirable to me as the ATs on the Rubicon.

 

[Whaler27]

Get the Willys. It sounds like you have no plans on doing any serious off-roading. The Willys comes with a rear locker if you need it. Save the money unless you just have to have a Rubicon for the name.

X2

OP, you can upgrade your brakes for a LOT less than the price difference you noted above. The Teraflex brake kit is a fraction of that amount. I’ve never owned the Teraflex brakes, but my other Teraflex components are great, and their brake system gets consistently great reviews. Even if you go whole-hog and buy the Alcon brakes (~$4000), and they are amazing, you’d still have lots of money left over to buy other mods or travel and play with your jeep. The Rubicon doesn’t make sense for a jeep that won’t ever go offroad.

 

[GreenWilly]

The Willy's is a very capable platform. It really comes to your intentions on your build. Biggest difference is the transfer case ratio, front locker, and electronic sway bar disconnect. Other than that it is just what features are available in which model you want. Resale value is also higher with the expensive rubicon sticker. My wife loves her sarge green willys. And I just ordered a 2dr Rubicon. Here is a picture of her jeep on Holy Cross in Colorado.

Sponsored