Have an EcoDiesel JL Sahara for the week...some observations.

[digitalbliss]

Have a 2020 Wrangler Sahara Unlimited EcoDiesel on loan from FCA this week for the purpose of review (long story but I've been doing vehicle reviews for 15 years now and average about 40 vehicles I drive a year for review for a week at a time). Just a coincidence I happen to have a Wrangler of my own but it's nice to be able to compare the two.

Diesel notes so far - Averaging 26.8 mpg with 25% city and 75% 80mph driving. Gas mileage is incredible on the highway but isn’t much better than my Pentastar (Red one) in the city driving scenarios. Diesels reward consistency. The extra torque is nice on the highway for passing. Steering is much quicker (14.3:1 ratio in the Diesel) than in my Rubicon. Remember your ROI though as diesel is much more expensive than regular gasoline, and the initial cost of the diesel over the gas engines. Don't buy the EcoDiesel for fuel savings alone.

Acceleration is not noticeably quicker than in my Pentastar. There's a weight penalty for the diesel and a gearing advantage for the Rubi at play here. The programming is also tuned for efficiency from a stop, but seems to be much more responsive from a roll. The engine is very clearly a diesel. It's loud, even with the extra sound dampening. This won't bother most but it's worth noting the diesel clatter is very apparent.

The extra weight is noticeable under braking and cornering. Actually really noticeable under hard braking. Ride is noticeably firmer with the increased spring rates (10%). Bumps are much more pronounced. Sky one touch top is really nice to open quickly but the road noise with it closed is almost like driving with the freedom panels off in a hardtop.

Still have a few more days with it to get more notes on paper. Will update on some final thoughts after my week is up with it.

Please report back after a regen. What was the MPG like during and after, duration, frequency, etc...

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[sf5211]

??? Definitely agree with the comments about the upfront cost of the diesel being a serious consideration, but fuel price? My local Costco's prices as of 6 hours ago (via Gasbuddy):
Regular - $2.49
Premium - $2.99
Diesel - $2.49

Same price as fuel for V-6 and fifty cents cheaper than the premium required for the 2.0T. And that's with Cook County/Illinois crazy high fuel taxes thrown in to boot. So "much more expensive"? Not "buying" it.

It must be different in other places Karl, my work truck is diesel and I can assure you that in NYC diesel is more expensive. Sometimes more than premium gas.

 

[wibornz]

diesel fuel is about 97 cents more than regular gas here in MId Michigan. So diesel is almost 30% more expensive tha regular fuel. Then throw in the initial cost and the added maintenance of a diesel + DPF fluid..... It just made it so that it is not worth it.

 

[Oilburner]

For me, if I can keep fuel 30% or less over the price of gasoline, the‘Break-even’ point is about 100K miles. It takes effort & creativity tho.
Totally worth it to me.

PS: just checked fuel prices in my area, you can pay from $2.15 to $3.30. Yes that much variance. You quickly learn the best places to buy fuel.

 

[TXRubicon]

Wont have the vehicle nearly long enough to do a regen test. Only about 350ish miles during the test week. It gets swapped out today.

Please report back after a regen. What was the MPG like during and after, duration, frequency, etc...

 

[AnnDee4444]

 

[golong27]

Question on the Sky Touch - do you find the wind buffeting to be bad given the fixed rear window? Seems like FCA needs to figure out how to make a removable rear window for the Sky Touch to be a viable option.

 

[beaups]

Thanks for the chart confirming California still sucks.

 

[ZombieMojitoJL]

Have a 2020 Wrangler Sahara Unlimited EcoDiesel on loan from FCA this week for the purpose of review (long story but I've been doing vehicle reviews for 15 years now and average about 40 vehicles I drive a year for review for a week at a time). Just a coincidence I happen to have a Wrangler of my own but it's nice to be able to compare the two.

Diesel notes so far - Averaging 26.8 mpg with 25% city and 75% 80mph driving. Gas mileage is incredible on the highway but isn’t much better than my Pentastar (Red one) in the city driving scenarios. Diesels reward consistency. The extra torque is nice on the highway for passing. Steering is much quicker (14.3:1 ratio in the Diesel) than in my Rubicon. Remember your ROI though as diesel is much more expensive than regular gasoline, and the initial cost of the diesel over the gas engines. Don't buy the EcoDiesel for fuel savings alone.

Acceleration is not noticeably quicker than in my Pentastar. There's a weight penalty for the diesel and a gearing advantage for the Rubi at play here. The programming is also tuned for efficiency from a stop, but seems to be much more responsive from a roll. The engine is very clearly a diesel. It's loud, even with the extra sound dampening. This won't bother most but it's worth noting the diesel clatter is very apparent.

The extra weight is noticeable under braking and cornering. Actually really noticeable under hard braking. Ride is noticeably firmer with the increased spring rates (10%). Bumps are much more pronounced. Sky one touch top is really nice to open quickly but the road noise with it closed is almost like driving with the freedom panels off in a hardtop.

Still have a few more days with it to get more notes on paper. Will update on some final thoughts after my week is up with it.

Did you check your mileage manually? The computer is always generous by +2mpg?

 

[Buttercup 3.0]

I’ve got almost 3000 miles now on our ecodiesel Rubicon I can say it’s on 38s not re geared yet but it goes into get it done this week. But MPGs are about 19 but when it was stock and pulling our 1900lb tear drop RV it got 11.5 and that sux but I didn’t buy it for mileage I got it for torque. We wanted something that will be fully built and still be able to pull our little RV and that it does very well. And yes we wheel the hell out of it EJS is in April we can’t wait.

 

[NBB]

Cost of ownership for a modern diesel has nothing to do with gas mileage or motor longevity - today it's all about the cost of maintaining the emission system. Post back in 30k miles, maybe along with a picture of your EGR valve.

 

[sf5211]

Question on the Sky Touch - do you find the wind buffeting to be bad given the fixed rear window? Seems like FCA needs to figure out how to make a removable rear window for the Sky Touch to be a viable option.

I don’t find the buffeting bad but you get some crazy vortex back there if your roofs open and doors are off. Anything light can blow right out on the highway.

 

[Buttercup 3.0]

Cost of ownership for a modern diesel has nothing to do with gas mileage or motor longevity - today it's all about the cost of maintaining the emission system. Post back in 30k miles, maybe along with a picture of your EGR valve.

In 30k miles I won’t have an EGR

 

[brican]

Just to be clear, the 2.0L engine does not required premium fuel. The owner's manual recommends the same octane fuel, 87, as the 3.6L engine. I have over 2,300 miles on my 2.0L engine using regular fuel with not knocks and excellent performance. When summer comes (here in the Phoenix area), I may mix premium with regular if there is any indication performance is at risk.

 

[viper88]

??? Definitely agree with the comments about the upfront cost of the diesel being a serious consideration, but fuel price? My local Costco's prices as of 6 hours ago (via Gasbuddy):
Regular - $2.49
Premium - $2.99
Diesel - $2.49

Same price as fuel for V-6 and fifty cents cheaper than the premium required for the 2.0T. And that's with Cook County/Illinois crazy high fuel taxes thrown in to boot. So "much more expensive"? Not "buying" it.

Which Costco in Chicago has diesel?

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