I agree about unnecessary complication, but the problem is that without eTorque, you still have ESS, and it's pretty unanimous throughout the JL world that the eTorque V6 is hands down better than the just-ESS V6. More power and far better reliability.
As long as the clutch doesn't blow up I agree. My '04 Rubi is a manual and love that one.
Those are both 2.0 Wranglers. You asked about the 3.6 Etorque. That system has been in the Ram for quite a while, and I have sold several with no complaints. I've had a few customers bitch about it when they first bought it, and then loved it after having it for a while. It's also used in the Hemi Rams. We order as many of those as we can get. It's funny cause I'll tell customers the truck just shut off at the stop light, and most don't even notice it. The stop and starting are almost seamless on the Etorque engines. The 2.0 engine is junk in my opinion. Noisy, high idle, check engine lights. I see 2.0's coming for service way more than the V6 with or without Etorque.
That is an exceedingly rare occurrence, since corrected, and easily addressed with aftermarket parts if you are really concerned, I never consider the clutch blowing up as an issue.
There something to be said about keeping things simple - naturally aspirated V6 in this platform!
