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Ride Quality Stock Sahara vs Rubicon

JeepJLNC

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Is the suspension and chassis fundamentally the same on these two vehicles? I read that the Sahara has gas shocks, but I am not sure if the Rubi is the same way. This vehicle will spend the majority of its time on pavement.
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Is the suspension and chassis fundamentally the same on these two vehicles? I read that the Sahara has gas shocks, but I am not sure if the Rubi is the same way. This vehicle will spend the majority of its time on pavement.
I'm not well versed in their technical differences, but I test drove them back to back and they felt very different to me. The Rubicon axles are wider, and as a result gave it a more "planted" feel. The Sahara suspension felt almost spongey to me.
 

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I'm not well versed in their technical differences, but I test drove them back to back and they felt very different to me. The Rubicon axles are wider, and as a result gave it a more "planted" feel. The Sahara suspension felt almost spongey to me.
Yes I felt same way for the minimal diferance go with Rubicon not same Wrangler
 
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JeepJLNC

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Okay the dealership finally got a Rubicon in and I test drove one. Rubicon was noticeably more truck like (louder, higher seating position, more tire noise), and Sahara more SUV like (less bumpy, quieter, lower seating position). Other than the riding height, the Sport was somewhere between the two.
 

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Okay the dealership finally got a Rubicon in and I test drove one. Rubicon was noticeably more truck like (louder, higher seating position, more tire noise), and Sahara more SUV like (less bumpy, quieter, lower seating position). Other than the riding height, the Sport was somewhere between the two.
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JeepJLNC

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I like both, I could go either way, but my spouse prefers the Sahara due to it's more SUV like road manners. To her, she said the Rubicon was nice but "Drove and Sounded just like her Truck".
 

viper88

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Okay the dealership finally got a Rubicon in and I test drove one. Rubicon was noticeably more truck like (louder, higher seating position, more tire noise), and Sahara more SUV like (less bumpy, quieter, lower seating position). Other than the riding height, the Sport was somewhere between the two.
I drove both side by side also. Drove them both on the same route minutes apart. My friend, the salesman, and I thought the Rubicon was quieter than the Sahara. We were all surprised because we all assumed the Sahara would have been quieter since it is supposed to be more SUV like. The Sahara I drove had definitely more wind noise from the top I did not think about it until recently. I wonder if the difference was due to the possibility of the Rubicon having Active Noise Cancellation and Acoustic windshield? I did not think to check if either one had this feature on the day of the test drives.
 
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JeepJLNC

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Were they both hard tops? The Rubicon had definitely more engine noise. My guess is because of the hood vents cancels out less noise. My other vehicle is a plug in hybrid, so I am pretty attuned to noise levels. My perception was that they all ride good, it's just Sport was body-on-frame SUV like, Sahara was premium SUV like (gas shocks standard), and Rubicon much more Truck like, but not necessarily in a bad way.
 

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About a month ago I also test drove both vehicles back to back. I found minimal, yet noticeable differences, in interior noise, drive style, and acceleration. I say 'style' because the Rubicon has larger tires, and so of course will be a bit rougher on the road, but you are choosing this Jeep because of its other features. If I had to put a quantifiable number on all 3 of these, it would be about 5% difference. Not much at all. After the drives, I ordered a Rubicon.
 

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JeepJLNC

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I would say 5-10% difference from Sport to Sahara, but about 20% difference from Sahara to Rubicon. This is most likely due to the heavy duty axles/shocks and larger AT Off-Road tires.
 

viper88

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Were they both hard tops? The Rubicon had definitely more engine noise. My guess is because of the hood vents cancels out less noise. My other vehicle is a plug in hybrid, so I am pretty attuned to noise levels. My perception was that they all ride good, it's just Sport was body-on-frame SUV like, Sahara was premium SUV like (gas shocks standard), and Rubicon much more Truck like, but not necessarily in a bad way.
Yeah, both were hard tops. Maybe it was the alignment of the hard top panels? The Sahara was definitely perceived to have more noise. I was very surprised how quiet the KO2s were. All of the test drive was done on paved city streets and highway. About 3 miles on the street and 3 miles on the highway at 60-70 mph.
 
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JeepJLNC

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Sounds like the Sahara hard top panels were not fully latched on then. The only difference in cabin noise between Sahara and Rubicon to me was the road noise (tires), and slightly more engine noise (vented hood).
 

viper88

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Sounds like the Sahara hard top panels were not fully latched on then. The only difference in cabin noise between Sahara and Rubicon to me was the road noise (tires), and slightly more engine noise (vented hood).
It's possible someone before my test drive removed and re-installed the roof panels improperly. The noise was not super loud but noticeable compared to the Rubicon. I still feel over all the Rubicon was quieter overall? My friend who was with me and the sales person said the same. We were all surprised the Rubicon seemed quieter. I wish I would have taken a closer look at the time of the test drive to see if the Sahara had the Active Noise Cancellation. The KO2s were very quiet, I think no more noise then whatever the Sahara had.
 

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I like both, I could go either way, but my spouse prefers the Sahara due to it's more SUV like road manners. To her, she said the Rubicon was nice but "Drove and Sounded just like her Truck".
When your wife said "Drove and Sounded just like her Truck", how was this different than the Sahara? It is the steering, suspension or something else. I haven't driven the Sahara only my Rubicon. Just curious.
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