Sahara The Luxury Model?....Almost

[Bluerhino]

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?

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[XJ-99]

I think jeep is going to introduce the Grand Cherokee Wagoneer (or something like that) as it's next luxury model.

 

[Bluerhino]

I think jeep is going to introduce the Grand Cherokee Wagoneer (or something like that) as it's next luxury model.

Yes I believe so too but the Wagoneer is not a Wrangler.

My wondering was why haven’t they added a few more basic everyday options rather or in addition to some of the less standard and more technical options that were added to the new JL.

 

[drogers]

I kinda wanted to scoff at your post, but can’t because you’re kinda right. I mean, I can think of a hundred reasons I wouldn’t want certain options on *my* jeep, but it doesn’t affect my Jeep if somebody else’s brodozer has them.

 

[jlroman2]

I don't care about anything you just mentioned but I would have love to have cooling ventilated seats. If they can keep your ass warm in zero degree weather, then why not keep it cold in 100 degree weather. Other than that, the Sahara is beyond luxurious for a Wrangler.

 

[BillG]

Short answer is that is not the market that the Wrangler is made for.
Jeep offers other vehicles for that market.
Yes, they could do it... but apparently they don’t feel enough people would order it to justify the design and manufacturing time.

 

[PavementWarrior]

build quality and reliability way too low, despite high prices.

 

[Merlin28]

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?

Not missing much , just the entire conceptualization of the vehicle and linage there of... why not just get a C class Mercedes ?

 

[Bluerhino]

Not missing much , just the entire conceptualization of the vehicle and linage there of... why not just get a C class Mercedes ?

So power seats and auto wipers tarnish the lineage but all this stuff does not?

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, full led lighting, leather seats and dash, Uconnect remote start from an iPhone.

Jeep already put all this C class stuff on the JL.

That was my point. They go way above the basics but leave out the basics.

 

[aug0211]

So power seats and auto wipers tarnish the lineage but all this stuff does not?

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, full led lighting, leather seats and dash, Uconnect remote start from an iPhone.

Jeep already put all this C class stuff on the JL.

That was my point. They go way above the basics but leave out the basics.

Hard to disagree with this.

People can bash others for wanting more capabilities in Wranglers, all they want. At the end of the day, it’s now a $50k+ vehicle - and the Sahara trim is exactly what you said it is. It’s not a rock crawler - it’s not a Rubi or a Sport. It’ll be on pavement for the majority of its life.

Frankly, I’m over all the noses in the air and elitist attitudes toward people who want a vehicle to comfortably drive on roads for the majority of the time with the ability to take the top off and occasionally take on light trails.

Please explain to me how a safety features such as automatic wipers tarnish a Wrangler, but the cushy remote start from your iPhone doesn’t.

8” entertainment screen? 1” of clearance.
Sub woofer? 0.5” of clearance.
Proximity entry? 3” of clearance.
Acoustic glass? 2” of clearance.

You get the point. Sometimes, it’s just nice to have nice things. If people want to pay for the nice things, what is wrong with having them as available options?

I’m just really over the “it’s cool to be too hardcore for comfort” and condescending attitudes that some Jeepers seem to carry on this topic these days. At the end of the day, we should all be happy there are more people getting in Jeeps and more options for everyone to select.

 

[Simulacra]

It's hard to disagree with all of this. I think there is a market for a proper mall crawler and Jeep would do well to pander to that particular kind of customer. They clearly want to attract that group, why else does the Sahara exist in the first place? The only reason they don't bother is because there's not enough incentive for them in terms of profit.

They have a complete and total monopoly on the segment with a vehicle like this. People who just want to be seen at the strip mall in a Wrangler will buy a Sahara and forgive it for the lack of basic luxuries like electrically adjustable seats. As long as customers can get by on this attitude, Jeep will continue to reel in the profit without adding any more than is necessary to the product. If sales were to suffer, they'd change their tune.

Competition is good for the consumer. The Wrangler has no competition. This is why they can still make huge profits in spite of leaky roof panels, uncomfortable passenger seats, terrible reliability record, etc.

 

[RussJeep1]

....

Am I missing something?

Yes and no. Let's do "no" first.

You're not missing anything because you're right: if you're going to add some high end items to the JL, power/memory seats falls smack in the middle of the more high end features *in the overall vehicle features segment of the market.*

Now "yes." What you may be missing, or not truly have your arms around yet--I say void of criticism--is the nature of how vehicles are designed. Think of it as a dance between marketers, engineers, accountants and actuaries.

At initial design meetings all feature ideas are memorialized. The marketers figure out what the market wants, or so they think, the actuaries prove it out with math, the accountants cost it out, and the engineers say the accountants estimates are way below budget to do the feature right, or that adding such features will push back the timeframe for production.

Accordingly, features are prioritized by what FCA stands to make in net present value by offering them. Some features don't make the cut, and are left to future model upgrades and/or the aftermarket.

Perhaps FCA actuaries proved the power seats to be less of a priority simply because, say, the Wrangler is less likely to have multiple drivers..just sayin'.

Why didn't they finish the Wrangler: because a rig is always a work in progress.​

 

[ekimgnuj]

I don't care about anything you just mentioned but I would have love to have cooling ventilated seats. If they can keep your ass warm in zero degree weather, then why not keep it cold in 100 degree weather. Other than that, the Sahara is beyond luxurious for a Wrangler.

Well said! I'd pay a kings ransom for cooling ventilated seats. Well, I'd be able to pay extra that's for sure!

 

[aug0211]

The two comments above me here - from @Simulacra and @RussJeep1 are spot on. These two nailed it.

1. Market research - not just “what do consumers want” but also, “what is our sales lift from adding this feature?” and “how does that relate to the cost?”

2. Nature of vehicle (and all product) development and lifecycle - there are very few industries where consumers receive products that are *truly* on the cutting edge. Companies are always a few steps ahead of what we actually receive - not just because of testing, but because companies want to release the minimum required to intice us to buy - and to remain toward the front of the pack in offerings for that specific product. As mentioned, there’s no competition here - so all that’s driving new features here is government safety regulations and a minimal amount of “consumers will like this bell and that whistle AND they’re cheap to add”.

 

[Gulfambrian]

I picked up my Sahara last night. First time Jeep owner. Coming from a Tesla and previously a Lexus. Thinking the Sahara was the luxury model, i was surprised to get home and realize mine didn’t have navigation, or power seats. It’s not a big deal, but surprising for all the other bells and whistles it has. I realize navigation was an option, I just got so caught up in wheels and tires I didn’t bother to check if mine had it. (And realize apple play works so not too upset).

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