Which Trim to Purchase

[variableknife]

Hey guys,

I’m looking to order a Wrangler.

I am leaning towards 4-door because I used to have a 96 4.0L Cherokee Sport and I feel like a 4-door Wrangler is it’s spiritual successor. I already have a 2-door car and will be keeping it.

I will be doing very minor off-road driving. Dirt roads and very basic trails. No rocks. I will be driving the Wrangler anytime there is snow. This will be a daily driver in the winter and when transporting 3-4 people in the summer.

I want manual. I want premium audio/technology groups. I want LED headlights. I want hard top. I do not want leather. I think I want a LSD. I think I want trailer-tow group because those things seem like a pain to add later.

• Is the Sport Altitude essentially a Sahara with the option for a manual and no leather or LED turn signals/markers?
• If I get the LSD on the Sport Altitude, will I get the same rear axle as the Willys and Rubicon?
  • Follow-up, does this mean the remaining mechanical difference between Sport Altitude w/LSD and Willys is just the Rubicon shocks?
• On the Willys, how bad will the OEM mud tires be in the snow/rain? I’m not bothered by road noise.
• I think a Rubicon is overkill, but if I bought a second set of tires/wheels for the Willys, I’d be most of the way to a Rubicon already. How dumb would it be to pick up a Rubicon for my usage?
  • Is the added weight of the Rubicon noticeable compared to the others in daily driving?

Thanks in advance

I have a JLU 2022 Sport S unlimited. If you have a family, kids, more than 2 passengers, or a dog you'll be transporting, go with the 4 door. If not, go with the 2 door. I like the Sport S because it's the one trim package with the greatest amount of options available. You can go cheaper and bare bones, or max it out like I did mine. I got the LED headlights, also didn't get the leather. I love the heated seats and steering wheel in mine. I went with the Alpine audio upgrade and love it. Best sound system I've ever had, though in my case that's not saying a lot. If doing winter driving, the stock Michelins it came with are very good, but I also have been considering going with either Falken Wildpeaks or Blizzaks for heavy snow and winter driving. I also have the trailer tow package for the same reason you listed. You can get the 3.6 L manual in this trim package, though I myself went with the ecodiesel because I do 90% highway miles, about 100 per day, and the ecodiesel was my best option. My second choice would have been the v6 manual. I hope this helps! Good luck!

Sponsored

 

[mnforester]

I read about this in another thread! There's 3 tiers of brakes now: base, heavy duty, and performance. Heavy Duty = Rubicon, Willys, Sahara. Performance = Xtreme Recon.

Sport Altitude also comes with heavy duty brakes (same as Rubicon and Willys).

 

[CharlieVictor]

Hey guys,

I’m looking to order a Wrangler.

I am leaning towards 4-door because I used to have a 96 4.0L Cherokee Sport and I feel like a 4-door Wrangler is it’s spiritual successor. I already have a 2-door car and will be keeping it.

I will be doing very minor off-road driving. Dirt roads and very basic trails. No rocks. I will be driving the Wrangler anytime there is snow. This will be a daily driver in the winter and when transporting 3-4 people in the summer.

I want manual. I want premium audio/technology groups. I want LED headlights. I want hard top. I do not want leather. I think I want a LSD. I think I want trailer-tow group because those things seem like a pain to add later.

• Is the Sport Altitude essentially a Sahara with the option for a manual and no leather or LED turn signals/markers?
• If I get the LSD on the Sport Altitude, will I get the same rear axle as the Willys and Rubicon?
  • Follow-up, does this mean the remaining mechanical difference between Sport Altitude w/LSD and Willys is just the Rubicon shocks?
• On the Willys, how bad will the OEM mud tires be in the snow/rain? I’m not bothered by road noise.
• I think a Rubicon is overkill, but if I bought a second set of tires/wheels for the Willys, I’d be most of the way to a Rubicon already. How dumb would it be to pick up a Rubicon for my usage?
  • Is the added weight of the Rubicon noticeable compared to the others in daily driving?

Thanks in advance

It sounds like what you want can be accomplished with almost any of the trims. You can spec a Sport S, a Willys, or a Sport Altitude with the same equipment and they will all come in within a few hundred dollars of each other - and about $10K less than a Rubicon with similar options selected.

Sadly, the Sahara can't be ordered with the MT this year; don't know why (FWIW, the equivalent trim on the Gladiator also doesn't offer a manual any more either). You can get the LSD on any of the trims except the Rubicon, which comes with lockers instead. But you can't get the 4.10 axles except on the Rubicon. Also, some folks have mentioned the 4.88 axles - these are also only available on the Rubicon. IMHO, this hodge-podge of what's available on which trim level is silly, but some marketing genius at Jeep (or the Stellantis mothership) came up with it. That said, your dealer might be able to order something that the online build tool cannot. I'm not saying that they can or will, only that they might possibly have the access to do that.

Also IMHO, for day-to-day usage, the LSD will be more useful than the lockers. It doesn't require any active input from the driver, and it's available all the time. It's a shame that the LSD and the 4.10 can't be paired together from the factory, as this is clearly the route that some of us would take if we had the choice. If you peruse the forums, you'll see that the lockers have issues with sensors, so there's that. The swaybar disconnects are probably not going to ever come into play for the usage you describe, and they have their own complexities. So, again IMHO, a Rubicon may not be your best choice from that standpoint.

If, however, you want color-matched hardtop AND fenders, a Rubicon is the only path to that combo with a MT. Go figure.

In my own case, I went for a Willys with the MT. No complaints about the tires beyond the on-road noise, but it is a Jeep after all. I'm in the south though, so I can't speak to their snow handling capabilities. As others have said, the MT would definitely be happier with something other than the stock 3.45 axles. I still stall it about half the time I go to reverse, and have used 6th gear only a handful of times. I understand why Jeep made the 3.45 standard (EPA and CAFE standards), but I wish they offered other ratios as options that didn't also require different engines/transmissions. A regear will cost around $2K, so not a casual expense if you opt to go that route. But it would let you keep the LSD, which you would lose if you just swapped for Rubicon axles - which would probably cost at least as much.

Regardless of which route you choose, you will inevitably have some second thoughts about something or other - it's human nature. Fortunately, you'll be in a Wrangler, which offers probably the most aftermarket upgrade possibilities of any vehicle ever built, along with a great community of folks who have been there and can offer loads of useful (and enabling) input.

 

[Willys_Wonka]

It sounds like what you want can be accomplished with almost any of the trims. You can spec a Sport S, a Willys, or a Sport Altitude with the same equipment and they will all come in within a few hundred dollars of each other - and about $10K less than a Rubicon with similar options selected.

Sadly, the Sahara can't be ordered with the MT this year; don't know why (FWIW, the equivalent trim on the Gladiator also doesn't offer a manual any more either). You can get the LSD on any of the trims except the Rubicon, which comes with lockers instead. But you can't get the 4.10 axles except on the Rubicon. Also, some folks have mentioned the 4.88 axles - these are also only available on the Rubicon. IMHO, this hodge-podge of what's available on which trim level is silly, but some marketing genius at Jeep (or the Stellantis mothership) came up with it. That said, your dealer might be able to order something that the online build tool cannot. I'm not saying that they can or will, only that they might possibly have the access to do that.

Also IMHO, for day-to-day usage, the LSD will be more useful than the lockers. It doesn't require any active input from the driver, and it's available all the time. It's a shame that the LSD and the 4.10 can't be paired together from the factory, as this is clearly the route that some of us would take if we had the choice. If you peruse the forums, you'll see that the lockers have issues with sensors, so there's that. The swaybar disconnects are probably not going to ever come into play for the usage you describe, and they have their own complexities. So, again IMHO, a Rubicon may not be your best choice from that standpoint.

If, however, you want color-matched hardtop AND fenders, a Rubicon is the only path to that combo with a MT. Go figure.

In my own case, I went for a Willys with the MT. No complaints about the tires beyond the on-road noise, but it is a Jeep after all. I'm in the south though, so I can't speak to their snow handling capabilities. As others have said, the MT would definitely be happier with something other than the stock 3.45 axles. I still stall it about half the time I go to reverse, and have used 6th gear only a handful of times. I understand why Jeep made the 3.45 standard (EPA and CAFE standards), but I wish they offered other ratios as options that didn't also require different engines/transmissions. A regear will cost around $2K, so not a casual expense if you opt to go that route. But it would let you keep the LSD, which you would lose if you just swapped for Rubicon axles - which would probably cost at least as much.

Regardless of which route you choose, you will inevitably have some second thoughts about something or other - it's human nature. Fortunately, you'll be in a Wrangler, which offers probably the most aftermarket upgrade possibilities of any vehicle ever built, along with a great community of folks who have been there and can offer loads of useful (and enabling) input.

Did you upgrade the springs to Rubicon ones for an added lift? I gained about 1.25” simply by doing this budget friendly swap. I plan to run 285/75/17, so the extra hight is essential. I’ll probably eventually upgrade the LCA’s to Mopar and add .75” coil spacers.

 

[Patsloft]

Hey guys,

I’m looking to order a Wrangler.

I am leaning towards 4-door because I used to have a 96 4.0L Cherokee Sport and I feel like a 4-door Wrangler is it’s spiritual successor. I already have a 2-door car and will be keeping it.

I will be doing very minor off-road driving. Dirt roads and very basic trails. No rocks. I will be driving the Wrangler anytime there is snow. This will be a daily driver in the winter and when transporting 3-4 people in the summer.

I want manual. I want premium audio/technology groups. I want LED headlights. I want hard top. I do not want leather. I think I want a LSD. I think I want trailer-tow group because those things seem like a pain to add later.

• Is the Sport Altitude essentially a Sahara with the option for a manual and no leather or LED turn signals/markers?
• If I get the LSD on the Sport Altitude, will I get the same rear axle as the Willys and Rubicon?
  • Follow-up, does this mean the remaining mechanical difference between Sport Altitude w/LSD and Willys is just the Rubicon shocks?
• On the Willys, how bad will the OEM mud tires be in the snow/rain? I’m not bothered by road noise.
• I think a Rubicon is overkill, but if I bought a second set of tires/wheels for the Willys, I’d be most of the way to a Rubicon already. How dumb would it be to pick up a Rubicon for my usage?
  • Is the added weight of the Rubicon noticeable compared to the others in daily driving?

Thanks in advance

Rubicon, Lockers are never overkill

 

[Deleted User 38384]

Hey guys,

I’m looking to order a Wrangler.

I am leaning towards 4-door because I used to have a 96 4.0L Cherokee Sport and I feel like a 4-door Wrangler is it’s spiritual successor. I already have a 2-door car and will be keeping it.

I will be doing very minor off-road driving. Dirt roads and very basic trails. No rocks. I will be driving the Wrangler anytime there is snow. This will be a daily driver in the winter and when transporting 3-4 people in the summer.

I want manual. I want premium audio/technology groups. I want LED headlights. I want hard top. I do not want leather. I think I want a LSD. I think I want trailer-tow group because those things seem like a pain to add later.

• Is the Sport Altitude essentially a Sahara with the option for a manual and no leather or LED turn signals/markers?
• If I get the LSD on the Sport Altitude, will I get the same rear axle as the Willys and Rubicon?
  • Follow-up, does this mean the remaining mechanical difference between Sport Altitude w/LSD and Willys is just the Rubicon shocks?
• On the Willys, how bad will the OEM mud tires be in the snow/rain? I’m not bothered by road noise.
• I think a Rubicon is overkill, but if I bought a second set of tires/wheels for the Willys, I’d be most of the way to a Rubicon already. How dumb would it be to pick up a Rubicon for my usage?
  • Is the added weight of the Rubicon noticeable compared to the others in daily driving?

Thanks in advance

I'll try and give you a personal opinion sum up of the major trims.

Note: The only real difference between the trims is the engine options / lockers on rubicons/how many safety features you want/ ground clearance. If you're going to heavily mod out your Wrangler I would definitely say stick with the sport trim, it will save you the most money on your sticker price.

Sport: best option for heavily modified rigs. No lockers, but does offer limited slip option. Three engine options, no 4xe, leather seats available, tow as well.

Willys Sport: same as the sport, but for an extra $3,000 you just get an extra inch of ground clearance in a fancy black grill which you could have painted yourself for $25.

Sport S: It's the lowest trim level with all the options available short of lockers. Same ground clearance as the sport.

Willys: pay an extra $3,000 over the Willys Sport, and they give you LED headlights which you could have installed yourself for less than $100. But by all means, throw away money!

Sahara: It's supposed to be the fancy package, but somehow has all of the same options as a Sport S. For an extra $8,000 over the Sport S you get fancy stitching that that tells people you spent too much money on a vehicle that still has a manual front passenger seat. 4xe available

Rubicon: Lockers and 2 in of ground clearance over the Sport. Comes standard with 33s, and has the lowest MPG only made worse if you get 392 option. Really the only reason to buy a Rubicon is if you want lockers, Even though you can install e-lockers on any other Wrangler trim for about $6,000 and save yourself $12,000 off the sticker price.

All other trims: are gimmicky looks packages where they can sell you all of the same major options you would get on the above trims, just with different base prices.

You should play around with the Jeep build page, you'll see pretty quick that if you select the lowest trim that has all the options you want you save a fair amount of money over the higher trims that also have the same options. You're going to pay for the options regardless of which trim you choose. Leather seats in a Sahara still cost you money, so why not buy the sport S and pay The same price for leather seats. Maybe I'm just a bit of a negative Nancy, but a lot of these trims are just stitching and stickers. In my honest opinion the only two trims which matter are Sport and Rubicon/ no lockers and lockers.

Wrangler build page

Play with the build page, it's fun and very informative. I'd recommend starting with the Sport, and moving up to the Sport S if it doesn't have everything you want.

EDIT: just to prove my point.
This is what you would pay for a Sport with a manual transmission, tow package, and a LSD. Note that you would have to add the LED lights yourself aftermarket.

Below is what you would pay for a Sport S with the exact same options, manual transmission, LSD, and the tow and LED headlight package.

And this is a Sport Altitude with the exact same options as the Sport S

And finally here's a Rubicon with all the same features as the Sport S but obviously with lockers as well and a 4:10 gearing

From personal experience, I put LED headlights fog lights and tail lights on my Wrangler for less than $100. I bought mine on AliExpress, where you can buy LED H13 headlights for $15 with free shipping. If you're really hard on for the OEM LED headlights, and you don't mind spending an extra $5,000 for them, I guess you could get a Sport S.

 

[Bayrat]

I have always had Rubicons, that is since they became available. Not only are they equipped for any type of use, but they also are, or at least were, a great deal considering the standard components. Additionally, on every one, I have been allowed just about what I paid for them on a trade. And that was below invoice except for the 392, which was a bit above invoice.

Sponsored