Why Not A Rubicon?

[Malachi]

My $0.02, some auxiliary issues that I think most people ignore but are significant to me:

#1 LSD

Rubicon famously has heavy duty locking diffs. This is awesome, but not universally better than an LSD. Specifically, in on-road ice and wet situations, you'd arguably prefer an LSD. This is a contentious topic, since some people say LSD gets squirrely under those conditions but I argue you get more on-road traction and that is a good thing. Off road, LSD never beats locking diffs.

Ask yourself what kind of driving to you plan to do? For me I expect 80% on road, and of the 20% off road less than 1% rock crawling. LSD is my preferred choice.

#2 Paint options

I find it annoying that only Rubicon trim gets color matched top and fender options. Traditionally, Wranglers have the ugly black plastic fenders in anticipation of scratching them up off road. Makes sense to me. Why is it then the most likely candidates for on-road-only driving don't get this option? We know the answer. Bucks and prestige. Exception: Sahara dials that in perfectly

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[Brobee]

This subject is as volatile as oil threads, lol.

Is $10k a value to you for better axles, e-lockers, better tires, 4:1 transfer case, 4.10 gears, electronic sway bar disconnect, cool hood, different interior trim and a couple of kickass hood stickers? If so, then buy it (I did).

If you intend to replace axles and blah blah blah, then get the sport. Although I would question why you would want to buy a brand new Jeep to do that anyway.

I bought the Rubicon because I don't want to spend more time wrenching than wheeling. It's insanely good right out of the box. I will upgrade as stuff breaks or wears out.

I've been looking to buy a new Rubicon Unlimited, and your reasoning is similar to mine. Jeep has some really goofy configuration things that pigeon hole you to a certain gear ratio if you don't go all the way up to a Rubicon, and still want to have the tried and true V6 gasser. I'd be doing a mix of off roading, cruising, ripping shrubs out of the ground, driving thru snow, and towing my aluminum fishing boat.

I've tried every which way to get a Sport S or even Sahara to work with the options that I want...

 

[jeepingib]

It depends on usage scenarios for whether a Diesel is right for you or not. Something that people generally fail to calculate when looking at cost/mile is will the Jeep stay stock? IF you are planning on running 37 or possibly larger, the Diesels cost/mile vs gas starts to make more sense. Even with regearing the gas engines have a harder time spinning up all the mass that large tires have. While a Diesel won't be as efficient as stock, it is much less likely to lose a lot of efficiency. I know some people on this forum are seeing below 15mpg with 37s, while with a Diesel I would expect to see well above 20 maintained. But there isn't a large enough sample size right now to really judge how it does yet. I would also estimate that every day driveability will be improved with the Diesel over gas as it will be able to accelerate more quickly from a stop with it high torque down low.

 

[nostatic]

as they say, "horses for courses." Like many here I find the Rubicon to be a well-spec'd vehicle off-the-lot given a mix of on and off-road (well, beside the red dash ). In my case, I just couldn't justify the price premium over the Sport S given other financial considerations. Mine is a daily driver that will see trails about once a month, and not crazy technical stuff so actually a stock Sport S does quite nicely. Only change I see making is moving to KO2 tires over the OEM.

If one's budget is tight and performance expectations are reasonable, I think the Sport is a viable option. When I was down in LA, I'd say 95% of the Wranglers never saw dirt. Up here in central coast it is a different story. Maybe I'll switch to a Rubicon in a few years but for now the Sport is working out nicely.

 

[PatrickR]

Use case plays a big factor in rubi vs sport. I wanted a sport (well, sport s). I'm mostly on rough dirt roads using the Jeep as a hunting/adventure vehicle.

I wanted a limited slip, and it's proved to be very useful. I put on Rubicon take off suspension for $125, and I really don't have a need for anything else the Rubicon offers. Even if I go to real trails, BLD is sufficient, manually disconnecting isn't that hard, and the low range is fine for my uses.

I really just couldn't justify the added 10k when the sport is actually more useful to me (LSD).

 

[ipizzaipizza]

Wife did not want any other trim level except for Rubicon with Sky One-Touch. Wouldn't have minded her getting a loaded Sahara instead but it was Rubi or she would stick with her Audi.
First order of business was to remove the big red Rubicon stickers from the hood.

 

[Melny67]

For me it's a little overpriced it's nearly $10k difference over a sport s. Or a extra $200 a month in payment plus I live in Nyc that's %8.875 in taxes ouch. The nearest trail is 3 hours away that's 6 hours of driving just to make use of it. It was a obvious choice for the little offroading I would be doing the sport s is more then capable. People forget that a Wrangler is already better then the rest at offroading out of the box. You can have a hell of a time with a bone stock JL.

 

[CarbonSteel]

It depends on usage scenarios for whether a Diesel is right for you or not. Something that people generally fail to calculate when looking at cost/mile is will the Jeep stay stock? IF you are planning on running 37 or possibly larger, the Diesels cost/mile vs gas starts to make more sense. Even with regearing the gas engines have a harder time spinning up all the mass that large tires have. While a Diesel won't be as efficient as stock, it is much less likely to lose a lot of efficiency. I know some people on this forum are seeing below 15mpg with 37s, while with a Diesel I would expect to see well above 20 maintained. But there isn't a large enough sample size right now to really judge how it does yet. I would also estimate that every day driveability will be improved with the Diesel over gas as it will be able to accelerate more quickly from a stop with it high torque down low.

I would go as far as to say that one will never recover the extra cost of a diesel versus a gasoline engine over the life of both. The diesel is $4,000 more before anything else is ever added. When you consider the cost of the fuel (which is typically higher than gasoline), the extra maintenance and its costs, the costs of repairs outside of the warranty (when they happen, not if), and the track record this engine has on various forums, it certainly is a non-starter for me.

 

[Alh84]

For me it's a little overpriced it's nearly $10k difference over a sport s. Or a extra $200 a month in payment plus I live in Nyc that's %8.875 in taxes ouch. The nearest trail is 3 hours away that's 6 hours of driving just to make use of it. It was a obvious choice for the little offroading I would be doing the sport s is more then capable. People forget that a Wrangler is already better then the rest at offroading out of the box. You can have a hell of a time with a bone stock JL.

Yea I don’t understand how people on here say the rubi and sport are closely priced maybe if u get a fully loaded sport and a base rubi but it’s still like 5k. 90% of people with rubi never leave the pavement jus buying it for the rubicon sticker.

 

[scarleton]

Two months back I was faced with the question of: buy a Sport (or other models) and build it out Or buying a Rubicon. I was blessed with both the means to afford a Rubi and a supportive wife that was willing to allow me if that was what I wanted to do.

I opted for a Rubi for a few reasons:

• While I could afford the payments on any Jeep I wanted, I didn't have the $$$ in the bank to spend $10K in upgrades.
• While I did plan to take it off-road, which I did for the first time Friday with a group down in the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, It was not going to be dedicated to just off-roading and I really liked some of the extra features you get in the Rubi that you don't get in the Sport. An example is the Adaptive Cruise Control. While not as good as my 2020 Sonata, I LOVE it! It is GREAT Friday morning for keeping the 2h 20m drive down to the Gorge to go wheeling very stress-free!
  
  
  
  
  Here I am turtling the rig. I wasn't given the best guidance as most folks were up an over this obstacle pretty easily.
  
  
• As others have said, I liked the idea of keeping the rig as stock as possible. For the most part, the Rubicon had everything I needed for the light/moderate off-roading and overlapping I am planning on doing.
• While I could be wrong, I have a feeling the lightly modified Rubi will hold more value than a highly modified Sport.

 

[Bryce]

Yea I don’t understand how people on here say the rubi and sport are closely priced maybe if u get a fully loaded sport and a base rubi but it’s still like 5k. 90% of people with rubi never leave the pavement jus buying it for the rubicon sticker.

A base Rubicon is about $10K more than a base Sport S.
If you put factory options on a Sport S to make it closer to a base Rubicon, the difference is closer to $4K.

 

[aeonixx1001]

Over the past year, I have seen more than one recommendation to buy a Sport (or other models) and build it out versus buying a Rubicon. Why is this? What is it that is discarded on a Rubicon and replaced that would not be on a different model?

Genuine question here...

I can give you a very honest answer. I was looking at the Rubicons and Oh boy did I want one. Then a bit of reality set in after pondering a few weeks(I have owned a few Jeeps). I went down and Bought a Sport, it has some bells and whistles but basically a Jeep. To date, I have built the sport into what I consider to be more functional for me. I saved a boat load of money and have all the bells and whistles from the sound system, GPS, Alarm, Wheels, tires lift, Tazer, side bars, doing a couple suspension mods and I am done and probably saved nearly $18,000.. And I love my Jeep, I built it!

 

[word302]

Yeah, for me it's too much. It'd be fine if I wanted a black or red or white, or even a silver Jeep. But I'm one for the bolder shades, and red looks like crud with bikini pearl. :P

Complains about tacky accents..... Owns a turquoise Jeep and thinks it’s bold. lol

 

[word302]

I can give you a very honest answer. I was looking at the Rubicons and Oh boy did I want one. Then a bit of reality set in after pondering a few weeks(I have owned a few Jeeps). I went down and Bought a Sport, it has some bells and whistles but basically a Jeep. To date, I have built the sport into what I consider to be more functional for me. I saved a boat load of money and have all the bells and whistles from the sound system, GPS, Alarm, Wheels, tires lift, Tazer, side bars, doing a couple suspension mods and I am done and probably saved nearly $18,000.. And I love my Jeep, I built it!

I’d love to see your math on that calculation.

 

[Killdozer]

A wrench indeed--literally and along with the need for fairly deep pockets. If you have not owned a modern diesel, I would highly recommend that you spend some time to ensure that a diesel fits your use case. Modern diesels are made for the open road and not stop and go city driving or slow rock climbing. The maintenance is more than a gasoline engine and they are expensive when (not if) they break. I would not even consider a diesel, but certainly each person must evaluate that for themselves.

I was looking at a base sport since the less electronics on a fca vehicle the better. I have owned a 2015 one ton diesel for 5 years and do all the maintenance which is really not that bad considering what the truck can do. I drove unloaded and averaged low 20s. The truck is stock everything. I agree that when they break the expense is certainly higher. Don't tell anyone but I plan to immediately delete all the non sense emissions that have plagued this diesel with issues. Guess that will give us an idea if the actual engine is decent or not. The other options would be a consideration but with all the extra batteries and mild hybrid systems there are just too many things to go wrong. The 3.6 would be alright but I imagine that it is soon to be phased out for the the inline 6 turbo tornado engine. Now that would be the best of both. Gas and power and torque.

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