New Jeep Wrangler gets five stars – from buyers

The new Jeep Wrangler has arrived Down Under with a one-star safety rating, no autonomous emergency braking (AEB) for its base model and hefty price hikes across the range – and Aussie Jeep fans don’t care one bit.

Jeep Australia says it is already holding a strong order bank for the all-new 2019 Jeep Wrangler JL which was launched in the US last September and originally due here in November but delayed due to global demand.

The healthy local demand for the latest version of Jeep’s most iconic model comes despite a starting price of almost $50,000 (up nearly $10,000) and a lowly one-star Euro NCAP safety score.

The new Wrangler is now officially available in Australia in both two-door and long-wheelbase four-door body styles powered by carryover 3.6-litre petrol V6 and new 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engines. Both engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. There’s no manual transmission, no base 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine and the only diesel model is the four-door Rubicon range-topper priced at almost $70,000.

Also unavailable is AEB on the entry-level short-wheelbase Wrangler Sport S variant, despite the fact Jeep Australia stated last August that it was pushing for a Wrangler “with the best possible safety rating”.

Jeep Australia says it will add AEB to all Wrangler models as part of an updated MY2020 model due to arrive here by the end of this year, but doesn’t expect buyers to hold off as a result.

“Our dealers are reporting no customer concerns about AEB,” Jeep Australia chief Steve Zanlunghi told carsales, defending the safety credentials of the new Wrangler, which gains new driver-aids including blind-spot and cross-path detection.

“The new JL Wrangler has all the same safety features [as the JK], with 26 additional safety features,” he said.

“The vehicles tested in Europe were 2.0-litre and 2.2-litre. Our vehicles here are going to be predominantly 3.6-litre engines.

“Also the main key focus will be AEB because we have AEB here and also blind-spot monitoring, which they don’t have in Europe.

“I want to stress that the vehicle is ADR-complaint. It is a safe vehicle,” Zanlunghi said.

While the Wrangler was panned as “disappointing” by the independent vehicle safety body in Europe, Zanlunghi said Jeep had submitted information to Australian vehicle safety body ANCAP “to understand what rating it will be here”.

“We’re working with ANCAP to understand the differences that our set-up has versus the European set-up,” he said, adding that the rest of the Jeep Australia was five-star ANCAP-rated and the previous JK Wrangler was four-star (under a less stringent testing regime in 2012).

ANCAP spokesperson Rhianne Robson said a local safety rating for the new Wrangler would be announced this year.

“We’re working through our local assessment of the Jeep Wrangler at the moment,” she said.

“It is unlikely local crash testing will be required as European test data can be utilised for our assessment of the locally-specified model,” she stated.

Neither Jeep nor ANCAP would speculate a local safety rating for the Wrangler, but standard range-wide AEB fitment would make it at least eligible for a five-star ANCAP rating. However, trademark Wrangler features like removable doors, a removable roof and fold-down windscreen (the latter prevent head and curtain airbags) are problematic for top crash-rating results.

The Wrangler’s body-on-frame design also makes a five-star rating more difficult -- but not impossible, as the new Mercedes-Benz G-Class proves.

The fitment of AEB and a lane support system, which the Wrangler does not have, lifted the MY18 Ford Mustang’s Safety Assist score from 16 to 61 per cent and its overall Euro NCAP rating from two to three stars – the same rating achieved recently by Suzuki’s new ladder-framed, AEB-quipped Jimny. It remains to be seen what improvement the addition of AEB will make to the Wrangler’s 32 per cent Safety Assist score and therefore its overall ANCAP rating.

Jeep Australia would not reveal sales targets for the Wrangler, which has traditionally been the US off-road brand’s third best seller behind the Grand Cherokee and Compass. Last year 1092 were sold -- up 9.5 per cent. However, it cites improved quality, refinement, capability, technology, power, efficiency and value as reasons the Wrangler, which attracts Jeep’s most loyal customers, will be more popular than before.

At base level, the V6-only $48,950 JL Wrangler Sport S two-door costs $9960 more than the JK Wrangler Sport it replaces (add another $4500 for the four-door), but is claimed to add more than $9000 worth of new or updated features.

These include the eight-speed auto, reverse camera, rear parking sensors, daytime running lights, keyless start, 7.0-inch touch-screen and info displays, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Priced from $58,450 (two-door) and $62,950 (four-door), the mid-range Overland grades are also petrol-only but claimed to add over $12,000 more value than before, including those features plus Full Speed Forward Collision Warning Plus, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop, Blind Spot and Cross Path Detection, LED tail-lights and fog lights, proximity key and 8.4-inch Uconnect touch-screen with navigation.

The four-door-only Rubicon costs $10,500 more at $63,950, plus another $5000 for the only diesel engine in the range ($68,950), but is claimed to add more than $14,000 of content, including LED reflector headlights, a premium black Sunrider soft-top and winch-ready steel front bumper.

There are a host of options including heated leather bucket seats and steering wheel for the Rubicon, and more than 100 Mopar accessories – from a tow bar kit and roof rack kit to chromed bonnet latches and 17-inch Satin Carbon Wheels. A three-inch suspension lift kit is coming.

For the first time, capped-price servicing is available across the Wrangler range ($299 per service for the V6 and $499 per service for the new Fiat Multijet II diesel) during the five-year/100,000km warranty period.

Service intervals are 12,000km (V6) and 20,000km (diesel). Jeep says the JL is between $680 and $850 cheaper to service than the JK over five years. All Jeep models come with lifetime roadside assist.

Jeep Australia expects four-door (previously known as Wrangler Unlimited) models to comprise 75 per cent of sales. In terms of grade splits, the Sport S models will account for 50 per cent, Overlands 30 per cent and Rubicons 20 per cent, says Jeep. Diesels should be 12-15 per cent.

Local boss Zanlunghi said the pruned Wrangler model range was designed to reduce complexity and continue Jeep’s premium model push but didn’t rule out adding North America’s 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine or two-door diesel or Rubicon models in future.

But he added that the 2.0T, which is more expensive than the petrol V6 in the US, could come here as a special-edition. Demand for the JK two-door diesel was low, while the manual transmission, which accounted for 15 per cent of JK sales, is only available in North America.

Beyond repeat buyers, Jeep says about 14 per cent of Wrangler buyers will come from the Ford Ranger 4x4, followed by customers of other 4x4 utes and SUVs including Toyota LandCruiser and Prado.

Zanlunghi said upcoming “Wrangler-like” models such as the new Land Rover Defender would “hopefully drive more interest” in Jeep’s most iconic model, which he said commander 20 per cent higher resale values than rivals – from 78 per cent at 12 months to 52 per cent at five years.

See the full price and spec lists below and stand by for our first Australian review this Friday (May 24).

2019 Jeep Wrangler Sport S highlights:
209kW/247Nm 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine
Eight-speed ZF automatic transmission
Select-Trac full-time 4×4 system
17-inch alloy wheels
Cloth upholstery
Daytime running lights
Dusk-sensing headlights
Reversing camera and rear parking sensors
Keyless ignition
Leather-wrapped steering wheel
7.0-inch Uconnect infotainment with eight speakers
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity
Black Sunrider soft-top roof

2019 Jeep Wrangler Overland highlights:
209kW/347Nm 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine
Eight-speed ZF automatic transmission
Select-Trac full-time 4×4 system
18-inch alloy wheels
Leather upholstery
Autonomous emergency braking
Adaptive cruise control
LED headlights, tail-lights and DRLs
Remote start
8.4-inch Uconnect Alpine infotainment with nine speakers
Satellite navigation
Blind-spot monitoring
Front parking sensors
230-volt power outlet
Body-coloured hard-top roof

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon highlights:
209kW/347Nm 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine
147kW/450Nm 2.2-litre Multijet II turbo-diesel engine (optional)
Eight-speed ZF automatic transmission
Rock-Trac 4×4 system
17-inch alloy wheels
32-inch BF Goodrich off-road tyres
Tru-Lock locking front and rear differentials
Autonomous emergency braking
Adaptive cruise control
Front stabiliser bar disconnect
Heavy-duty front and rear axles
Heavy-duty rock slider
LED headlights, tail-lights and DRLs
Remote start
8.4-inch Uconnect Alpine infotainment with nine speakers
Satellite navigation with off-road pages
Blind-spot monitoring
230-volt power outlet
Winch-capable front bumper
Rubicon bonnet decals
Black hard-top roof

How much does the 2019 Jeep Wrangler cost?
Sport S two-door petrol — $48,950
Sport S four-door petrol — $53,450
Overland two-door petrol — $58,450
Overland four-door petrol — $62,950
Rubicon four-door petrol — $63,950
Rubicon four-door turbo-diesel — $68,950

* Prices exclude on-road costs