Rubicon or willys ????

[Garemlin]

I love how Jeep gives you the upgraded grille and the color-matched fenders on Gladiator Willys. Wish it did the same on Wrangler.

That truck looks bitchin’!

Thanks!! That's not the stock Willys grille. I swapped it out for the Mopar satin grille. Was not a fan of the gloss black. And like the looks of the painted surround.

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[MidwestJeeper]

I have a Willys with almost all the options on order , supposed to arrive in April ish.... It's not too late for me to change order . My wife has been driving a 04 unlimited since we bought it new . Definitely looking forward to 18 years of engineering advancement . I like the looks of the Willys package , black and red , can't get much better than that . I am concerned about the tires that will come with the Willys . From now forward it's ice and snow season here . I would rather have a AT tire that has traction for the ice and snow . Don't think a mud tire is what I need . Hopefully I can work something out with the dealer when time comes . I don't want to spend anymore than I have to , but I will , if justified . Sounds like from most of the responses , thanks much for them , the Willys with different tires made for snow and ice would be the best all around fit . I do appreciate hearing from all on the forum helping me make an informed decision . This will more than likely be my last new vehicle and I need to make the right choice . Thinking I'm sticking with my order as is , except the tires . Looking forward to hearing from the fine folks here about my options .

I can vouch for your decision and reasons for it.

I have a Sahara now and I WAS planning on basic mods for it - Rubicon tires and wheels, shocks and suspension and the steel bumper. Replace the Sahara side steps with factory rock rails.
This was before me considering trading in my Sahara and replacing it with a Willy's with most of the required options (I live in snow country too).

My offroad requirements are moderate trails and will not require rock crawling. I don't need the Rubicon and a base Rubicon, plus package upgrades are out of my budget.

The Sahara drives great on road but the A/Ts are found wanting when faced with off pavement obstacles. The 18" wheels are not really off-road conducive to get tires with meaty sidewalls on them. I'd rather have a 17" wheel set up and get 285 sized BFG KO2s on it.

Since Sahara takeoffs aren't super popular in the after market, I assume I'd have a hard time selling the side steps and wheels.

I test drove a hard top Willys with the M/Ts for 30-ish miles and it felt a little more floaty and slightly noisier compared to the Sahara. No big deal, but just the comparison between the two.

If you are able to work something out on the fresh tires with your dealer, I say you have a win-win situation.

I'd love to provide you with more comparative info, if you'd like!

Congrats on the order though. What color did you opt for?

 

[Slaw32]

I can vouch for your decision and reasons for it.

I have a Sahara now and I WAS planning on basic mods for it - Rubicon tires and wheels, shocks and suspension and the steel bumper. Replace the Sahara side steps with factory rock rails.
This was before me considering trading in my Sahara and replacing it with a Willy's with most of the required options (I live in snow country too).

My offroad requirements are moderate trails and will not require rock crawling. I don't need the Rubicon and a base Rubicon, plus package upgrades are out of my budget.

The Sahara drives great on road but the A/Ts are found wanting when faced with off pavement obstacles. The 18" wheels are not really off-road conducive to get tires with meaty sidewalls on them. I'd rather have a 17" wheel set up and get 285 sized BFG KO2s on it.

Since Sahara takeoffs aren't super popular in the after market, I assume I'd have a hard time selling the side steps and wheels.

I test drove a hard top Willys with the M/Ts for 30-ish miles and it felt a little more floaty and slightly noisier compared to the Sahara. No big deal, but just the comparison between the two.

If you are able to work something out on the fresh tires with your dealer, I say you have a win-win situation.

I'd love to provide you with more comparative info, if you'd like!

Congrats on the order though. What color did you opt for?

Firecracker red . With the black front end and wheels . It is going to be sharp .

 

[MidwestJeeper]

Firecracker red . With the black front end and wheels . It is going to be sharp .

That's going to look sharp! Stand out in the snow and on sunny summer days.

 

[jmccorm]

Lockers, sway bar disco, fenders, axles (stronger and wider), tcase ratio, 4.10s. All day for me.

Disco at the Sway Bar? I'm in! I just need to find a sway bar in a swanky enough pose so that I can just Photoshop that right in place...

 

[OSCAR II]

and (for at least most colors) a wretchedly ugly red dashboard that doesn't match *anything*.

No-Go deal breaker for me; personally, i wasn't willing to look at that for even 1 day.

Wouldnt mind the rear locker but like you, that red dash just says run away.

 

[OSCAR II]

Yeah, apparently it does.

Been building 2drs on jeeps site for a while and only saw the HD brakes offered on the Willys, Rubicon and Sahara.
Was on the site last night looking at the comparisons (not realizing it was on 4drs) and saw that almost all had the HD brakes (br6). But on the Rubi there is an optional performance brake package (br4).
So you're right, the option is there. But standard they are the same.
If the brakes matter to the op.

 

[zdr]

Been building 2drs on jeeps site for a while and only saw the HD brakes offered on the Willys, Rubicon and Sahara.
Was on the site last night looking at the comparisons (not realizing it was on 4drs) and saw that almost all had the HD brakes (br6). But on the Rubi there is an optional performance brake package (br4).
So you're right, the option is there. But standard they are the same.
If the brakes matter to the op.

Would this be for the XR package?

 

[OSCAR II]

Would this be for the XR package?

The one shown isn't but it might be. Have to go back on the site and check. There was also another performance brake package on some models the FNC disc brakes (br2).

So between the 2dr and 4dr there are 4 different brake packages.

 

[OffroadCalling77]

If she likes Willys’s red + black look, you should check out Sahara Altitude. It is a very nice package: comes with standard leather, painted hardtop, and tastefully blacked out trim accents.

When you order the Cold Weather Group and the Selec-Trac, you also get M+S rated Bridgestone Dueler AT tires. It is a comfortable, smooth-riding tire that does surprisingly well in snow.

This guy does a walk around his 2021 Sahara Altitude

Second this. These tires have been surprisingly well both off road and in the snow on my wife’s Sahara. If I didn’t get an itch for off roading like I did, I would still recommend these for most of the wrangler drivers out there.

Some of the Goodyear tires that come on the sport trims are near useless but I feel these tires are a decent hybrid and are the right compromise for the general public who will do little to no Off-roading.

 

[JL Fan]

Get the Willys and put some mild AT tires on it. The tires it comes with are noisy. You may even be able to make a deal with the dealer to have it done as part of the deal. The tires on the Willys will be their most valuable the day you buy it.

I did when I bought my Sport. Dealer offered me nothing for the street tires that came on it (which was probably fair...they were terrible). But I wanted something better. The dealer offered nothing on the trade. I took it to Discount Tire. They gave me something like $60 or $70 per tire (I think?) and price matched a Tire Rack offer that saved about $5 per tire. Not much, I know...but 5x. I felt better dealing with Discount Tire instead of the dealer.

I'm sure there may be differing opinions on Discount Tire. But the guys in the shop by me are great.

 

[TNT_Theron]

We bought the 2020 Willy's and absolutely love it. 2 weeks after we bought it, we regretted not getting the Rubicon. I would definitely get the Rubicon if we could go do it over again. I didn't think I would be doing a ton of rock crawling or wheeling all that much, but now we want to, and regret our choice. The Willy's will handle what we want to do, but the added features of the Rubicon would be peace of mind on the trail. We still love our Jeep though!

 

[KOKOKO]

She likes the look of the Willys , red with black trims . I put all options on it except the forward looking cruise control option . With options it should have a lot of comforts for her . Main concern now is tires . Traction for ice and snow much more important than mud . Hopefully dealer can help . It looks like I have a lot of time to hear from the folks here how the stock Willys tires preform on ice and snow . When it snows here they do a good job of removing most of it , but ice sometimes sticks around a lot longer .

FWIW. That's about the same Willy's package I own (everything except the adaptive cruise and lane assist). I love the blue/black look. I like the stock Willy's wheels. Has better shocks and brakes. Limited slip (they call it something else) is on 24/7. Occasionally I think about the decision to not go Rubi. Only lasts a moment. Change the tires to a good A/T and buy an air compressor. Put the saved money into extra height or suspension in the future of you want a little more aggressive off-road experience. Only on-road driving issue will be when the wind blows but that's for EVERY jeep. I've logged 600+ mile daily trips with no complaints but you will feel a little more tired than usual. You must pay attention at all times at freeway speeds. I'm occasionally surprised looking at speedo that says 95 mph. I'm on 34" BFG KO2 (stay with stock size if you're not adjusting suspension). Rides/Drives really nice but it's still a Jeep. Good luck.

 

[lexvet]

I can only buy one . Looks like with same options about 6,000.00 difference . Not going to be doing much rock crawling .​

Is a Willys a better fit for normal every day driving ? With higher gear ratios I would think the Willys would be able to get better gas mileage . Will be daily driver for the wife .​

I'm leaning towards the Willys .​

Asking for input to help me make a decision between the two models .​

Thanks in advance .​

I was in your same boat. I went with the Willys 2dr, 6spd) and after 2 weeks with it I have to say I've never liked a car this much! It's fantastic and I feel like a saved on those unnecessary (to me) Rubicon features so I can put that money to upgraded bumpers and a winch which are the only mods I intend to make.

 

[Slaw32]

FWIW. That's about the same Willy's package I own (everything except the adaptive cruise and lane assist). I love the blue/black look. I like the stock Willy's wheels. Has better shocks and brakes. Limited slip (they call it something else) is on 24/7. Occasionally I think about the decision to not go Rubi. Only lasts a moment. Change the tires to a good A/T and buy an air compressor. Put the saved money into extra height or suspension in the future of you want a little more aggressive off-road experience. Only on-road driving issue will be when the wind blows but that's for EVERY jeep. I've logged 600+ mile daily trips with no complaints but you will feel a little more tired than usual. You must pay attention at all times at freeway speeds. I'm occasionally surprised looking at speedo that says 95 mph. I'm on 34" BFG KO2 (stay with stock size if you're not adjusting suspension). Rides/Drives really nice but it's still a Jeep. Good luck.

I plan on keeping it stock . It is going to be a daily driver for the wife . The only thing I will probably change is the tires . Something better suited for winter and all around driving . I drive about 60,000 miles per year in my company supplied pacifica . The thing that amazes me most is some people's lack of consideration about the proper tires and inflation . They are the FIRST thing between you and the road . After making sure the vehicles start all the time , the next most important thing ,to me , is the tires .

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