Key Points in This Review
- The 2025 Jeep Wrangler is available as a two- or four-door SUV with four or five seats, respectively, and comes standard with a soft top; a hard top is available.
- The Wrangler’s off-road abilities are vast, but its lack of on-road refinement gets old.
- Despite the addition of some creature comforts for 2025, such as standard power locks and windows, the Wrangler’s cabin is pretty bare-bones, and driver-assist features are lacking.
Is the 2025 Jeep Wrangler a Good SUV?
That depends on where you take it. Drivers looking for an SUV that delivers on-road comfort and refinement should pop a U-turn at the Jeep dealership and not look back; the Wrangler is not for them. Outdoorsy shoppers with a feral streak who are searching for their automotive spirit animal, though, should definitely check it out.
The Wrangler comes in many configurations: It’s available as a two- or four-door SUV with four or five seats, respectively, and comes with a standard soft top or an available hard top, both with this SUV’s customary removable components. It’s also available with a couple of different powertrains, including a plug-in hybrid setup in the 4xe. This review covers a four-door hardtop Wrangler with the available turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine.
Related: Jeep Kicks Off Yearlong Wrangler Special-Edition Blitz With 2026 Moab 392
For 2025, the Wrangler sees some feature changes. Power locks and windows are finally standard, and there’s a new Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 Special Edition with military-inspired paint, interior and wheels. Also, the V-8-powered Rubicon 392 lives on in the 392 Final Edition trim. See the 2024 and 2025 models compared. The Wrangler competes with other off-road-oriented vehicles, including the Ford Bronco and Toyota 4Runner; see these models compared.
What’s It Like to Drive a 2025 Jeep Wrangler?
Again — and maybe you’re noticing a theme — the answer varies wildly depending on where you’re driving. I live in a city, so my Wrangler drive time was exclusively spent on pavement — specifically, highway treks and in urban traffic jams. Neither is the Wrangler’s happy place; the Wrangler is at its best off-pavement.
Driving a Wrangler on the highway is not unlike riding a carnival Tilt-A-Whirl: It’s loud, bouncy and sometimes nerve-wracking (especially on the highway … without doors ). Some people have a blast, others get nauseated. I found it exhilarating for a bit, but its “charm” quickly got old.
As a daily driver on pavement, the Wrangler’s combination of a bouncy ride and twitchy steering often felt unsettling at higher speeds, especially over potholes. In addition, the constant droning from wind and road noise was deafening, and the Jeep’s unrefined road manners felt out of place and annoying.
My test car was equipped with the Wrangler’s optional 270-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Power was prompt, and delivery was smooth. Four-wheel drive is standard, and the Rubicon trim level features upgraded mechanicals for more intense off-roading.
We know from past experience that off-road is where the Wrangler really shines. It’s extremely capable thanks to features like off-road-ready ground clearance (12.9 inches), tow hooks and skid plates, plus aggressive approach, departure and breakover angles.
However, there’s evidence that few drivers actually go off-road. According to a survey from Strategic Vision, 98% of all SUV buyers drive over rocks or in mud either not at all or only once per year.
Yet there are penalties for the Wrangler’s extreme off-road abilities beyond its unruly on-road manners: Its fuel economy isn’t great, either. The SUV’s slab-sided styling and heavy 4WD hardware result in EPA-estimated gas mileage of 20/22/21 mpg city/highway/combined for a four-door Wrangler with the four-cylinder engine; two-door models see a 1-mpg bump in highway fuel economy. Wranglers with the standard V-6 engine earn 19-20 mpg combined, depending on their configuration — and the gas mileage of the 470-hp V-8 in the Rubicon 392 is too embarrassing to mention.
The Wrangler’s gas mileage is, however, in line with that of the Ford Bronco, which is also available with four-cylinder or V-6 power. The 2025 Toyota 4Runner has better fuel economy, earning 21-23 mpg combined depending on its powertrain (which includes a gas-electric hybrid).
What’s It Like Inside the 2025 Jeep Wrangler?
Well, for starters, you don’t actually have to be inside to drive a Wrangler. It took about 15-20 minutes to remove the roof panels and doors of my hardtop model, and the payoff was a wild, truly freeing and unparalleled driving experience. This open-air setup is most definitely best for trail driving, though; on the highway, the Wrangler’s lack of refinement was amplified without a roof and doors.
With the doors and roof back on, I found the Wrangler’s cabin to be serviceable. It’s bare-bones by design, meant to clean up easily after a romp in the mud. Jeep has delivered a couple of more creature comforts for 2025, however, with power locks and windows now finally standard. (The Wrangler’s removable doors necessitate a quick-release wiring connector for in-door electrical components, which makes Jeep’s omission of these commonplace features until now understandable.) A newly available Active Cabin Ventilation feature allows owners to air out their Wrangler remotely via the Jeep app.
An infotainment update for 2024 brought a bigger 12.3-inch standard touchscreen and faster Uconnect 5 operating system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The screen is responsive, the menus are easy to figure out, and the large, clear climate controls under the screen are straightforward and within easy reach.
I put my kids in back for a short drive, but the Wrangler’s safety credentials gave me pause. Despite getting standard side curtain airbags that cover both rows of seats for 2024, the base Wrangler still lacks some systems that many vehicles have standard, such as forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking. What’s more, while the Wrangler received a couple of good scores in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testing, it was rated marginal in the IIHS’ driver’s-side small overlap front test, and its headlights earned poor and marginal ratings.
If you plan to put kids in back, be careful with forward-facing car seats and high-back boosters. The four-door Wrangler’s rear-seat head restraints aren’t removable, and they prevent car seats and boosters from sitting flush against the seatback, as they should. In other ways, the Wrangler did just fine in our Car Seat Check thanks to accessible lower anchors and decent rear legroom.
How Much Does the 2025 Jeep Wrangler Cost?
Though the Wrangler is bare-bones in some ways, its price is not. The 2025 Jeep Wrangler starts at around $34,000 for a two-door soft-top version with the manual transmission. While that’s less than base versions of the Ford Bronco and Toyota 4Runner, prices get steep fast.
Upgrading to an automatic transmission adds between $2,500 and $4,500, depending on how it’s configured, and upgrading to the four-door body style adds $4,600 . Opting for a black three-piece hardtop adds $1,795 regardless of door count. Bright White is the only no-cost paint color; every other color is a $595 or $895 option.
My mid-level Sahara trim, which is only available with four doors, topped out at just over $60,000, which was almost as eye-popping as the Jeep’s bright orange “Joose” paint (an $895 add-on). That said, shoppers interested in a Wrangler will likely be willing to pay up for the Jeep’s legendary aesthetic and go-anywhere abilities. Overall, the 2025 Jeep Wrangler is iconic, capable and adventurous, but even though it can go everywhere, it’s not for everyone.
More Jeep News From Cars.com:
- How Much Is the 2026 Jeep Wrangler?
- 2026 Jeep Cherokee Up Close: Boxier Should Be Better
- 2026 Jeep Cherokee Returns as High-Mileage Hybrid
- 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee: A New Heart for Jeep’s Moneymaker
- Is the 2025 Jeep Gladiator a Good Pickup Truck? 5 Pros, 3 Cons
Related Video:
We cannot generate a video preview.
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
