Sahara The Luxury Model?....Almost

[Sean L]

Oh, I agree. I’m not arguing that a Sahara is exclusively a mall crawler. Quite the opposite!

I am just saying the Sahara is no longer “below” the Rubicon. It’s now different, but equal. Just depends on your use.

Rubi will do fine on the road. Sahara will do fine off-road. Jeep now offers an optimized Wrangler depending on your needs - which I love. And strengthens the case for continued divergence and offering a more and more luxurious experience in the Sahara (eventually, perhaps even at the expense of some off-road capabilities).

I'm of the train of thought that you shouldn't sacrifice any of the off road capability for luxury. My case in point would be to look at the Toyota Land Cruiser/Lexus LX570. Super nice ride and will still be able to tackle most trails and overland driving (albiet rare they actually do this )

I also liked that Jeep J-wagon concept too.

Sponsored

 

[CashMonkey]

Driving my JL Sahara home today, which is fantastic by the way, I was wondering why Jeep didn’t finish it. The Sahara is positioned as the luxury model of the Wrangler lineup. Well It’s as close to what you get or should expect from a Wrnagler in terms of luxury.

But I’m wondering why didn’t Jeep finish it. The JL now has proximity entry. Parking sensors and camera, blind spot monitoring, a great infotainment centre, nav, CarPlay, acoustic front glass, heated seats and steering wheel, dual climate control, a power sliding top for those who don’t want to pull the top off, full led lighting, leather seats and dash, Uconnect remote start from an iPhone. All great and luxuriousish stuff.

So why miss a few extras that are less technical or basic adds for most other cars that have been available for years.

Why no power seats with memory. Hold on I’m talking about the Sahara not the Rubi or Sport. The Sahara has a leather dash and if you get the power top you can’t remove it. So almost all Sahara’s are mall crawlers and most of them will not have the interior hosed down after being in the mud. Power memory seats are available in the most basic cars so why.

Why only parking sensors for the rear. They put sensors in the rear bumper why not the front bumper. So does the statement that the bumpers get changed hold water. Well no both bumpers get changed on Wranglers. There are sensors in the rear bumper so why not sensors for the front too.

Why no auto wiper sensors. Proximity entry and blind spot monitoring but not auto wipers? They are so everyday now. I have had them in my vehicles since the early 2000's.

These are basic and not expensive so the price would not be drastically effected. Plus they could be options so therefore purchased only if wanted.

I do not understand why they went 97% and stopped short. In my opinion it wouldn’t change what the Wrangler is supposed to be. Not more than proximity, blind spot monitoring and remote star has anyway.

Am I missing something?

TBH Honest I'm glad its simple but advanced at the same time, when I was configuring my build the salesman asked why don't I want the safetytech group. I told him its because I know how to shoulder check, and I hate cars that beep to tell me I'm getting close to something. Specially when I have a vehicle that comes standard with a back up camera, and the auto braking that comes with it annoys me. I am the driver not the car, I don't need a light to tell me there's a car beside me. I don't need cross path to tell me someone might be walking in my way if I'm reversing.

It seems like the more "safety" tech they add to cars the worse drivers get, because they become so reliant on their cars features that when they step into a car without them, they become useless behind the wheel.

Auto sensing wipers, my accord has them and I'm indifferent with them. The power seats are the only things that caught me off guard but I can live without it. The only thing I could honestly say I wish they added was rear side curtain air bags. The front has them so why not have them for the rear? My JL isn't a mall crawler, but it is going to be my daily driver with my kids in the back. I hope to never be in a situation where I wish Jeep really put the airbags in. But it would be nice to know its there.

Otherwise I'm happy with how limited it is with electronics, only because I've come from vehicles with everything powered to vehicles with the most basic functions. This JL is perfectly in the middle, which is why I chose it over the new Tacoma.

My Sahara will be coming with LED, 8.4 Nav. Alpine, cold weather group, leather. Thats all I need that's all I want, if I wanted "luxury" an E Class would be on the way to me instead of a Wrangler.

 

[aug0211]

I'm of the train of thought that you shouldn't sacrifice any of the off road capability for luxury. My case in point would be to look at the Toyota Land Cruiser/Lexus LX570. Super nice ride and will still be able to tackle most trails and overland driving (albiet rare they actually do this )

I also liked that Jeep J-wagon concept too.

Same. It’s achievable most of the time. Gets tough with things like...

-Tires: size vs comfort and handling
-Auto wipers: folding windshield
-Suspension: Accessible/handling/aerodynamics vs ground clearance

At some point, choices have to be made. Most of the time, we get the best of both worlds. My hope is that Jeep continues down this path of divergence to allow more and more choice in the few “prioritize off-road or on-road” scenarios.

I’m a 3 year lease on a JLU Sahara to be able to get the Selec-Trac. Hoping that in 3 years we have ventilated seats, adaptive cruise, auto wipers, and even more features to pick from. Even if that means giving up the off-road capability of a Rubicon. For me, the priority is on-road capability.

Great discussion! Excited to see what is ahead! This is the core of advancement - variety and ideas.

One last note... when I say mall crawler, I’m talking about myself. Trading in my loaded GC Summit with heated seats/wheel, ventilated seats, adaptive cruise, adjustable suspension, blah, blah, blah - a very comfortable ride (and yes, very capable off road with the adjustable suspension and Selec-Trac suspension). I hope to get out on some basic trails with my son, nothing crazy that I couldn’t do in my GC... but at the end of the day, I like how the Wrangler looks and while the pano sunroof in the GC is great, it’s still not topless

I think we’re on the same page:

I don’t like the dismissive movement saying “if you want comfort in a Wrangler, go buy a Benz!” My wife drives an X5 50i, and while the X5 is great, it’s a completely different vehicle - adding ventilated seats to a Wrangler will not make it Merc :lol Fun fact - when I bought my first Wrangler, it was between a C350 and the Wrangler One was an SUV with a removable top and the other was a more luxurious, sportier ride. No reason they can’t both be comfortable, though.

It’s ok for us to want the best of both worlds. If we (consumers) don’t ask for it, what will drive advancement?

 

[Jeepmarkjl]

Auto down windows that don't Auto UP is stupid. Other manufacturers have figured this out.

 

[Simulacra]

Auto down windows that don't Auto UP is stupid. Other manufacturers have figured this out.

ROFL. Yes 100% agree. I think it's possible to install an aftermarket module but it's ridiculous that the vehicle doesn't come out of factory with auto up and down.

 

[ThirtyOne]

I appreciate that they kept the folding windshield I guess. But to be honest it would not bother me at all if they got rid of it. But then again I loved my YJ even if it had square headlights so I guess I am not a Jeep purist. Of all the things that have come and gone on a Jeep, it seems strange that there is so much love for the folding windshield especially if it creates engineering challenges. It was practically impossible to take down on the JK and noone really seemed to mind.

 

[Sean L]

I appreciate that they kept the folding windshield I guess. But to be honest it would not bother me at all if they got rid of it. But then again I loved my YJ even if it had square headlights so I guess I am not a Jeep purist. Of all the things that have come and gone on a Jeep, it seems strange that there is so much love for the folding windshield especially if it creates engineering challenges. It was practically impossible to take down on the JK and noone really seemed to mind.

I'm not sure if I'd ever really drop the windshield on mine, even on a trail ride.

 

[aug0211]

I'm not sure if I'd ever really drop the windshield on mine, even on a trail ride.

It’s a cool option and the novelty and history are cool. That said, I don’t think I’ll ever take mine down if/when I get it lined up correctly (assuming the factory doesn’t do a good job of it). I don’t wheel hard enough to justify the pain to get it lined back up correctly to avoid the air leak and associated wind noise. I understand why others want it and use it though, no question there.

I’d take it down for my kids if they thought it was cool - but they’re too young to be in the front, anyway... so...

I’d love to see folding WS standard and an option for auto wipers that adds $300 and delete folding windshield.

 

[Sean L]

Same. It’s achievable most of the time. Gets tough with things like...

-Tires: size vs comfort and handling
-Auto wipers: folding windshield
-Suspension: Accessible/handling/aerodynamics vs ground clearance

At some point, choices have to be made. Most of the time, we get the best of both worlds. My hope is that Jeep continues down this path of divergence to allow more and more choice in the few “prioritize off-road or on-road” scenarios.

I’m a 3 year lease on a JLU Sahara to be able to get the Selec-Trac. Hoping that in 3 years we have ventilated seats, adaptive cruise, auto wipers, and even more features to pick from. Even if that means giving up the off-road capability of a Rubicon. For me, the priority is on-road capability.

Great discussion! Excited to see what is ahead! This is the core of advancement - variety and ideas.

One last note... when I say mall crawler, I’m talking about myself. Trading in my loaded GC Summit with heated seats/wheel, ventilated seats, adaptive cruise, adjustable suspension, blah, blah, blah - a very comfortable ride (and yes, very capable off road with the adjustable suspension and Selec-Trac suspension). I hope to get out on some basic trails with my son, nothing crazy that I couldn’t do in my GC... but at the end of the day, I like how the Wrangler looks and while the pano sunroof in the GC is great, it’s still not topless

I think we’re on the same page:

I don’t like the dismissive movement saying “if you want comfort in a Wrangler, go buy a Benz!” My wife drives an X5 50i, and while the X5 is great, it’s a completely different vehicle - adding ventilated seats to a Wrangler will not make it Merc :lol Fun fact - when I bought my first Wrangler, it was between a C350 and the Wrangler One was an SUV with a removable top and the other was a more luxurious, sportier ride. No reason they can’t both be comfortable, though.

It’s ok for us to want the best of both worlds. If we (consumers) don’t ask for it, what will drive advancement?

Good we found some common ground lol. My sahara doesn't have the full time transfer case, and I've yet to actually see one at the dealer I bought from too, for the record.

 

[aug0211]

Good we found some common ground lol. My sahara doesn't have the full time transfer case, and I've yet to actually see one at the dealer I bought from too, for the record.

Yeah, I had to order mine from the factory.

Had to order my last one, too, to get a Sahara with a manual.

Also... I think we actually have a lot of common ground

 

[Sean L]

Yeah, I had to order mine from the factory.

Had to order my last one, too, to get a Sahara with a manual.

Also... I think we actually have a lot of common ground

Heh, I wanted to order a Sport S turbo with the Tan soft top... I'd be waiting a loooooong time. Bought mine off the lot, with the options I was going to have any way (and then some more)

 

[aug0211]

Heh, I wanted to order a Sport S turbo with the Tan soft top... I'd be waiting a loooooong time. Bought mine off the lot, with the options I was going to have any way (and then some more)

Nice!

I’m stuck in the waiting boat that you avoided

Turbo Sahara, loaded. So... dual top + LEDs + turbo. Basically, every delay possible

 

[Sean L]

Nice!

I’m stuck in the waiting boat that you avoided

Turbo Sahara, loaded. So... dual top + LEDs + turbo. Basically, every delay possible

Did you order a late availability color too? just to add to the delay? lol

 

[Tfom]

Could the lack of powered seats be due to the fact that you can still how out the bottom. Maybe it was tough to put an electric motor down where it would get the much moisture (just a thought). Also, I'm firmly in the Sahara group. The full time FWD is important to me because of the infrequent rains and rapid elevation changes we can get here. You don't know when ice is going to start to form on the road. I want to go off-road, I'm not interested in rock crawling. I want to be able to put the top down because the weather is nice here. If I primarily wanted an off-road toy, I'd go a different direction. Overall, I think their the options are good. If they only offered one type of Jeep, someday they may not be offering them at all.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

The Sahara is two wheel drive with the select a trac option.

Sponsored