Anyone else go for the Rubicon over Sport S....just because?

[BillG]

Although we may not see it quickly, Rubicons are the factory beast of the off road world.
R/Ts bring more than standard old mopars, a 442 will bring more than a Cutlass, a Trans Am will bring more than a firebird,I know this is apples to oranges, but performance packages are always more desirable. Rubicon is a performance package, just a different type of performance.

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[AmesosaurusRex]

My apologies to the original poster if I'm high-jacking your post. I'm in the same dilemma, and instead of creating another new thread, I figured I'd post it here.

I finally overcame the hurdles of 2 vs 4 door, manual vs auto, painted vs unpainted fender. The last hurdle . . . I can't flippin' decide whether to go with a Sport S JLU or a Rubi JLU! The price difference is about $5805 based on the following options below. I'm leaning more toward the Rubi "just because," correct me if I'm wrong:

• Better resale value
• More off road capabilities (I don't plan on rock crawling, but it's there if needed)
• I get the painted fender and LED options
• It's better looking than the Sport S JLU!

Is $5805 worth it based on the reasons above?

Thank you!

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$41,945 SPORT S JLU with Options:

• $2000 8-Speed Automatic
• $595 Anti-Spin Differential Rear Axle
• $995 Technology Group
• $795 Trailer Tow HD and Electrical Group
• $695 Tubular sidesteps
• $1095 Black Freedom 3-piece Hardtop
• $130 All Weather Floor Mats

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$47,750 Rubicon JLU with Options:

• $2000 8-Speed automatic
• $895 LED lighting group
• $795 Trailer Tow HD and Electrical Group
• $1095 Black Freedom 3-piece Hardtop
• $395 Painted fenders
• $130 All weather floor mats

I was dealing with the same question, except my sport included alpine + tech group ($2300) and rubicon added infotainment ($1500) so that made the prices a bit closer. I decided to go with the Rubicon and justified it this way to myself:

• Color matched fender flares - I love this option and to get it done aftermarket with the hi-line flares would be about $1000. And I like the mopar flairs better than any 3rd party ones I have seen
• Tires - $1250, even if I upgrade to larger tires I will be able to offload the KO2s relatively easily
• Gears - $2000, if I ever upgrade 4.10 is reported to be comfortable for 35", and a lot of people are happy with it at 37".
• Fuel door - $150, was going to order it with sport, comes with rubicon
• Premium cloth - The premium cloth in the Rubicon is much nicer than the base cloth
• Lockers - While I think the brake-lock would be plenty for what I need, it is nice to have.
• Sway bar disconnect - I was planning on adding anti-rocks front and rear, so this saves me $1000
• The Hood - is awesome
• LED - Can't even get them on the sport. Aftermarket packages are taking forever to come out and I don't like any of them yet. Also, when you replace all the LEDs with aftermarket it works out to a lot more than $900
  
• Daytime running lights - Can't get even get them on the sport even if you add the mopar LEDs down the road.
  
• Front D44 - While the ASD gets you the rear D44, having the extra assurance of the front D44, which is the more expensive axle to replace, is worth quite a bit. Especially with larger tires. And since these are both a lot beefier than the JKUR's D44s, I feel a lot more comfortable sizing up without going to a D60.
• Improved suspension and lift - I won't have to lift for better tires, and the stock suspension is better too, putting off yet another upgrade at least until I get the itch.
• Infotainment - $800 difference in upgraded prices (even more if you are okay with 7" on rubicon) and you get the 8.4 inch screen which is very nice.
• Rock rails - $80 - I hate the pinch seem and rock rails are enough protection for what I will be doing for now.
• Garage door opener - $195 - It's nice to have, but I wouldn't have ordered it on sport if it wasn't required for Cold Weather Group.
• Grill inserts - I like the contrast look of the grill inserts
• Having a Rubicon - My coworker who I am going to be wheeling with has a Rubicon and he peer pressured me into getting one too. Also, I can one-up him by having a JL Rubicon compared to his JK Rubicon.

Note: Resale value. Rubicon's resale value is lower in proportion to it's total price, BUT, it isn't a huge difference.

 

[Slindsey228]

great

I agree I was thinking of the sport s and ended up seeing and test driving the jl rubicon and fell in love with the black with red trim out side and the red dash but the hood was what sold it and the extra options for me

 

[Geronimo]

Agreed. Many of the most badass older Jeeps I see are the cheapest trim available at the time - with $30K worth of upgrades! Lol. I’ve asked owners and many of them are so hardcore that they would have ripped out and replaced the upgradedparts of the Rubicon anyway, so it makes sense to go Sport and not pay extra for them since they’re being upgraded anyway.

I agree with everything you said and understand it. However never underestimate what can be done using the basic Rubicon drive train, the right tires and the right armor. Not many trails are too much for it with the right driver at the wheel. And it still retains the ability to be driven to work daily. Pro rock 80s, an Atlas and 40s are really not the best choice for pulling a trailer a 1000 miles, park the camper, run Hells revenge, Poison Spyder or Poukeepsie and the best of the San Juan's, then drag your camper back 1,000 miles and show up at the med center Monday morning for work in that same vehicle. A heavily modded rig is undoubtedly big fun and a killer on the trails, but most I see like that are trailered to a destination to wheel. What I'm saying is there is a happy medium between DD and very formidable off road capability. I have a sport JKU and a JLUR and love them both. We DD both and wheel both off road. Personally I would take any jeep from a 1940s Willy's quad all the way up to a JLUR and be very happy with it.

Older Cherokee's, CJs, TJ,s, YJs, JKs, and now these are all worthy and loved. Now "aint" we just all warm and fuzzy!

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