Video: 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

It brings the zero to 60 time down from 11 seconds to eight and a half. Also adds one to two miles per gallon in combined city/highway driving. We're over 20 now. Woo-hoo! You get either a five speed automatic or a six speed manual. Now, between this and some changes in the ride quality recently, it is the most accessible, most mainstream vehicle the Wrangler has ever been. Does that mean it's right for everyone? Absolutely not. We'll take a look at why it might not be right for you. Now, the Wrangler is an off-roading powerhouse. One of the best that has good aspects, but it also has some downsides. High ground clearance means high step in height. Shorter people have more trouble, and unfortunately, the step rails here, two blue step rails, they're an option on low trims and come on the higher trim standard, they don't help much because they're so high. They're close to the floor. It would help if they were lower. You can buy those in the aftermarket if you want. For someone my height, I'm better off just pretending they're not there, and hoping I don't get too much dirt and salt on my pants while climbing in. Once you're inside, you'll find that there's enough room for an adult, but it might not be as roomy as you'd expect from the outside. Not a lot of space efficiency in a truck-based SUV like this. Some people find the dashboard high. It can make them feel a little bit entombed. Fortunately, there is a seat height adjustment for shorter drivers. The steering wheel tilts, but it doesn't telescope, and that can make a difference for people getting comfort, especially if you're sharing the vehicle between, let's say a large driver and a small driver. There are other aspects of the car that are downsized based on it being an off-road vehicle. For one, visibility to the rear. You look over your right shoulder and you're gonna see a pretty limited rear view, and that's because the spare tire is on the back. Also, the mechanism for the rear wiper is in the way, and also the big head restraint on the back seat doesn't help. Another important consideration is the four-wheel drive system. It is standard, but you have to turn it on, and that is not the way it is in most crossovers now. You have all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. It turns itself on, or it does what it needs to do for traction. In this one, your rear wheel drive, until when you're in gear, you pull this lever to go to what's called part-time four-wheel drive. That's great in snow and off-road, but you can't drive this way on dry pavement, so you always have to put it back. It's more work than in the normal SUV or crossover. This model happens to be a Wrangler Unlimited, which means it's a four-door, longer wheel base. So that changed a few years ago. Makes this car much more viable for family use. Even so, still not a great amount of room with the seat all the way back here. Also, the seat doesn't slide forward and back like some crossovers do. And the backrest doesn't recline. Now, the seats fold down for cargo purposes. It's very well done. You pull one strap here on the outboard side. The bottom cushion, the top, all just collapse, fall down. Even the head restraint bends back in one step for a level cargo floor. Now, unfortunately this will not stay down to improve your view from the driver's seat. Now, the spare tire is back here for a reason, and that is it can't go on the inside because it takes up too much space, and they won't put it underneath because that affects its off-road ability, its departure angle. So you end up with a swing gate instead. A practical limitation of this is you need space back here to open this thing. It's not quite like the lift gate on most SUVs. Having put all those caveats out there, I gotta say people who have Wranglers love them with a burning passion, and I happen to be one of them. So why is that? Well, for one thing, every Wrangler is a convertible. You might not know it because there's a hard top available, not just a soft top. In the Rubicon and Sahara models, it's body-colored. And the entire roof comes off. It is the most open air driving experience you can get. Now, how many vehicles are this good in the summer that you can also drive all winter? Now, if you take the hard top off, you have to stow it somewhere. That's a bit of an imposition, especially for the rear, which is very large, but Wrangler people don't care. We like being able to take the car apart. We like having to use a tool to take the rear off, a torque driver. We like laughing at speed bumps. We like having to shift from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive, and feeling like we're part of the machine. It's just a different type of vehicle for a different type of person. It's more comfortable than it ever was before. It's still not for everyone. <v Narrator>For more car related news, go to cars.com, or our blog, kickingtires.net.