Can't decide ... Sahara or Rubicon??

[SouthLeb]

40k? That’s a great price. With Dual top?

No, just black hardtop and standard headlights.

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[JeepJL18]

Yeah nothing at all to do with his question.... maybe reading comprehension isn’t your best quality but he asked what he should be thinking about between a Sahara and a Rubicon and I gave him my real life experience living one state away from him. I had a Rubicon and could have purchased a second one but people in this thread already proved my point. “Rubicon’s look badass” and “I off-roader with lockers a sway bar disconnected on some flat river rock.”

Not to mention I preceeded my whole post saying in my opinion which is precisely what he asked. If you want a badasssssss looking Jeep to drive 95% on road and have cash to spare and don’t care about a safer transmission in the inclement weather we see here by all means get a Rubicon. It will look totally badass. If your looking for a nice Jeep with nice interior and features and don’t want to have to immediately modify it get a Sahara. Who says the Sahara immediately needs wheels and tires? I loved my first Jeep 2.5” Teraflex prerunner balls out suspension on 35’s. It looked awesome but was definitely me binging a bazooka to a knife fight.

Yep. You're right. In other words "buy a rubicon because I have one". Got it. I'm sure you're a real joy to be around. Clearly from your post, you bought yours for the name and not for what it can do, especially since now you are trying to defend yourself on it.

One more thing, I'd highly advise you not try and take a swipe at someone's intelligence level. You'd lose pretty quickly.

 

[JeepJL18]

So here is my take, wait and order the new Moab special edition that has been confirmed to be coming out. It will hit all your needs. Looks more like a rubicon with steel bumpers and the Rubi hood and rock rails, will likely have the upgraded Rubi back axle, will have Sahara interior and be available with Select trac for NE winters. It should tick all your boxes, be priced higher then a non equipped Sahara but lower then a Rubi if previous history holds. I had the same dilemma, pulled the trigger for a Mojito Rubi because I wanted the exterior, slight lift, bigger tires, and axles for towing our camper and I fell in love with the Mojito color which is not supposed to be available 2019 but now I’m second guessing it. Like you, in the NE, mostly beach wheeling, tow a 2800 lb camper and some off roaming but nothing my upgraded Sahara couldn’t handle.

Nicely said!

 

[Woodynj]

Thanks for all the comments. Super helpful. So if I go Sahara what are thoughts on Selec-Trac and/or the limited slip diff option?

 

[mwilk012]

Thanks for all the comments. Super helpful. So if I go Sahara what are thoughts on Selec-Trac and/or the limited slip diff option?

Both.

 

[SouthLeb]

Thanks for all the comments. Super helpful. So if I go Sahara what are thoughts on Selec-Trac and/or the limited slip diff option?

FYI: Sahara with select-trac has CV boots instead of standard joints.

 

[Bubba33]

I had to get the LSD with mine. No select track.

 

[StuntmanMike]

FYI: Sahara with select-trac has CV boots instead of standard joints.

That's no big deal. My 97 ZJ had CV's up front and I didn't have any problems with them.

Doesn't sound like the OP is going to be hitting the Rubicon trail anytime soon, so strength won't be an issue. If anything, they're an advantage, as they're easier to replace. Just swap the whole shaft out rather than dealing with pressing out the u-joints.

 

[StuntmanMike]

Which on do you WANT? You have to be leaning a certain way. In my opinion a Wrangler is an emotional purchase. Hardly anyone NEEDS a Wrangler, people buy them because they WANT one.

That being said, think about this. When you get to work and park your Wrangler, as you're walking away, you're going to look back it. You work hard for it and really wanted it, so of course you're going to have the compulsion to look back at it, that's one of the reasons you want a "fun" vehicle like this in the first place.

So, as you envision yourself turning to look back to get one more glimpse of your dream JL before heading into the daily drudgery of work, what is it that you see? A sleek, shiny Sahara, or a burly, tough looking Rubicon? What really gets you going?

Be honest with yourself.


As a practical matter, the Sahara, or even a Sport, will suit you just fine. IMO the only advantage of the Sahara is the optional Selec-Trac t-case.

Personally, my dream JL is a Rubi, even though I live in New England and there are very few, if any, places where I can really take advantage of the Rubi's capability. I don't care though, I want what I want. If I were just looking to buy what I "need", or what is practical, I'd get another Volvo wagon or an Outback.

 

[StuntmanMike]

Thanks for all the responses so far. Couple comments/more detail on my choices.

• I would consider the sport, but I want Leather and the 8in screen and upgraded audio so this means Sahara or Rubicon.
• Prices are about 2K different based on how I equipped them, but I would HAVE to add new tires to the Sahara so the gap closes pretty fast, but i could hold off on new tires for a bit on the rubicon.
• Unfortunately i won't have the opportunity to drive the Rubicon before I order.

I know I will be happy with either, but would love to hear other reason why you bought one over the other. Maybe you had a reason i have not thought of yet.

The fact that you would want to change tires is a point towards the Rubicon. If what is true with JK's holds with JL's, the Rubicon tires/wheels will be in big demand used, while you'll barely be able to give the Sahara wheels and tires away.

I've only seen one set of JL Rubicon take-offs for sale near me, and they were listed for $2,100. So you could sell them right away, and get most of the money towards your new setup, or just run it the way it is. I'm normally not a fan of stock, but I think the JL Rubicon has a terrific stance right from the factory with the stock tires. Compared to the tiny tires that come on the sport and Sahara, the Rubi looks downright massive.

Another point is the gearing. Rubicon comes standard with 4.10's, and that's WAY better to be running 35's with than the stock Sahara gearing.

Just my .02.

Oh, and I may be mistaken, but I think the red dash only comes with certain exterior colors. Personally I kinda like it myself, but I'm sure it would not be a big deal to change. Compared to adding lockers, gearing, and a stronger front axle to a Sahara, it's a small thing to compromise on. I'm sure before you know it someone is going to come out with different colored dash overlays for these.

 

[Bubba33]

Which on do you WANT? You have to be leaning a certain way. In my opinion a Wrangler is an emotional purchase. Hardly anyone NEEDS a Wrangler, people buy them because they WANT one.

That being said, think about this. When you get to work and park your Wrangler, as you're walking away, you're going to look back it. You work hard for it and really wanted it, so of course you're going to have the compulsion to look back at it, that's one of the reasons you want a "fun" vehicle like this in the first place.

So, as you envision yourself turning to look back to get one more glimpse of your dream JL before heading into the daily drudgery of work, what is it that you see? A sleek, shiny Sahara, or a burly, tough looking Rubicon? What really gets you going?

Be honest with yourself.


As a practical matter, the Sahara, or even a Sport, will suit you just fine. IMO the only advantage of the Sahara is the optional Selec-Trac t-case.

Personally, my dream JL is a Rubi, even though I live in New England and there are very few, if any, places where I can really take advantage of the Rubi's capability. I don't care though, I want what I want. If I were just looking to buy what I "need", or what is practical, I'd get another Volvo wagon or an Outback.

I guess when I look back I see a little of both worlds.

 

[Woodynj]

So looks like it’s going to be a Sahara. The price difference is more than expected as it did not include the dual top option first time around. That pushes it to a +4K difference.

For tires/wheels no issues running 33’s right? Or I guess 285/70/17. Gear ratio is ok?

SOOO many thing to think about on these jeeps. Wish it was not see easy to customize

 

[vavaroutsos]

If it's the red dash that bothers you about the Rubicon, I think there are some misconceptions. The red dash does not come on all Rubicons. It depends on the body color and seat color. All tan seats get the grey dash. Body colors like Mojito, Ocean Blue, and a few others also get the grey dash regardless of seat color. That being said, the red dash looks good on all the grey scale body colors as well as Firecracker Red.

 

[Thrive]

Yep. You're right. In other words "buy a rubicon because I have one". Got it. I'm sure you're a real joy to be around. Clearly from your post, you bought yours for the name and not for what it can do, especially since now you are trying to defend yourself on it.

One more thing, I'd highly advise you not try and take a swipe at someone's intelligence level. You'd lose pretty quickly.

You Sir are special. I’m in fact NOT defending the purchase of a Rubicon for the OPs used. Again I know it’s hard to follow but I USED TO own a Rubicon and realized I bought it for poser reasons and to be careful of making that kind of decision if you don’t plan on doing heavy wheeling.

Dude. I answered the OP and said DONT get a Rubicon after reading his desires/uses. I capitalized key words so you can get it clearly now that I’m not defending my purchase in the past at all but in FACT saying I soent more money on something I thought looked badass but didn’t really fit my use case.


To the OP I’d go for anti slip definitely as an open differential without lockers won’t b great in sand etc that you may come in contact with being near enough to the shore.

 

[Thrive]

So here is my take, wait and order the new Moab special edition that has been confirmed to be coming out. It will hit all your needs. Looks more like a rubicon with steel bumpers and the Rubi hood and rock rails, will likely have the upgraded Rubi back axle, will have Sahara interior and be available with Select trac for NE winters. It should tick all your boxes, be priced higher then a non equipped Sahara but lower then a Rubi if previous history holds. I had the same dilemma, pulled the trigger for a Mojito Rubi because I wanted the exterior, slight lift, bigger tires, and axles for towing our camper and I fell in love with the Mojito color which is not supposed to be available 2019 but now I’m second guessing it. Like you, in the NE, mostly beach wheeling, tow a 2800 lb camper and some off roaming but nothing my upgraded Sahara couldn’t handle.

At 12k$ for the Moab package you are spending a sticker of roughly 53k, Well into Rubicon money for a Sahara that looks like a Rubicon. Awesome if money isn’t an issue.
One issue I see with Moab package is the special leather seats. Anyone who’s got a leather wrangler and spends a good amount of summer topless (I learned by experience) will tell you it’s like sitting on the surface of the sun after sitting in a parking lot. My leather was red on my jkur and have a friend with black cloth. All day in sun topless and you could jump into her Jeep and not burn the crap out of your legs. Food for thought if you plan on having the top and doors off during summer.

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