Jeep delivers diesel Wrangler offroad upgrade
Jeep is offering an upgraded Offroad Pack to its diesel Wrangler customers... It's not quite a Rubicon but it's closeWrangler's ultimate offroad variant, the Rubicon, has one fault, according to local offroaders; it comes as a petrol-powered model only. It's a sentiment shared by Jeep Australia personnel, but equally is a function of the domination of petrol powertrains in the market where the lion's share of Rubicons are sold -- the USA.
However, Wrangler fans will soon be able to have their turbodiesel cake and eat it too. Jeep Australia will shortly announce the availability of a special Offroad Pack for turbodiesel Wranglers -- both two and four door (Unlimited).
The pack will be offered as a factory-fit option at a cost of $3000 to both manual and automatic turbodiesel Wranglers. It will comprise upgraded driveline components and a step up in torque for the 2.8-litre CRD powerplant to match Cherokee and Nitro -- from 430 to 460Nm.
Driveline upgrades start with revised 3.73:1 final drive gearing. In addition, the Offroad Pack includes a Dana 44 rear locking diff and electronically detachable front sway bar.
The capacity of the fuel tank is also increased from 79 to 85 litres (on the two-door model).
Jeep Australia's Jerry Stamoulis told the Carsales Network that the Offroad Pack is a direct response to customer feedback.
"Our customers are telling us that they'd like to be able to buy a turbodiesel Rubicon. We can't offer that, but in conjunction with the factory we've put together the next best thing," Stamoulis said.
"The pack gives the diesel Wrangler even better offroad ability -- which is what a key section of our Jeep family wants."
Stamoulis says Jeep is not in a position to forecast the percentage of diesel Wrangler buyers who will option up with the Offroad Pack. There's a $4000 premium over the price of the petrol Wrangler for the diesel and then a further $3000 on top of that for the Offroad pack, which is why Jeep is uncertain how many of the diesel Wranglers will be specified with this pack.
"It starts to become an expensive car and that's why it's hard to determine the take-up rate," Stamoulis said.
He says the equipment will be available on Wranglers ordered through dealers from a jump-off point some time within the next couple of months.
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