Jeep Wrangler
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Ah, the Jeep Wrangler. Where do we even begin? We could pretty much just end this bit like this: It’s a Jeep Wrangler (but we won’t). Simply put, the Wrangler might very well be the highest-rated vehicle on this list if we were to rank each vehicle from #20 to big Numero Uno. You already know about the Wrangler if you’re reading this, so we’ll focus more on its history and achievements.
The Wrangler started out as the primordial multi-purpose wheeled military vehicle for the U.S. Army in WWII. It functioned as a troop carrier, a command personnel vehicle, an equipment hauler, and even a forward-advancing vehicle equipped with machine guns and artillery shells in tow. Of course, this first rendition of the modern Wrangler wasn’t called a Wrangler, but the basic design and premise remained the same.
Although the Wrangler name wouldn’t be adopted until the mid-80’s, the vehicle behind it would serve as one of America’s first civilian workhorses after the great war. A useful addition to the farmer’s arsenal, the 4×4 Jeep gained favor among working men as the Jeep CJ. The CJ was optioned with 6- and 8-cylinder motors and it boasted a reliable four-wheel powered chassis. That became a problem after the 1979 oil crisis.
Jeep saw the writing on the wall: The favored CJ couldn’t last in an economy that favored smaller, more well-equipped vehicles. In 1987 the company introduced the YJ, the first official Wrangler. Smaller than the CJ but featuring the same rugged axles and coil suspension instead of leaf springs, the YJ quickly became a hit. Its ultra-compact wheelbase, modest low-end torque, ease of maintenance, and an open-air cabin with high ground clearance essentially set the gold standard for all modern 4×4 vehicles.
The second generation of the Wrangler, the 1997 to 2006 TJ, came with improved coil spring suspension, a stiffer body, and a huge seven-inch increase in suspension articulation for both the front and rear axles. A torquey 4.0L motor was introduced, and in 2003 the automatic transmission finally received a gear, bringing the Wrangler into the 21st century properly.
Today’s Wrangler is, simply put, the 4×4 to beat. The recently-introduced 2018 JL Is expected to arrive with a 3.0L diesel motor loaded with tons of torque for off-road fun. The redesigned chassis sports excellent ground clearance and many off-road features can be easily snagged as factory equipment or optional goodies – including huge Dana 44 axles, electronically-disconnecting sway bars, steel bumpers, meaty mud tires, suspension lifts, tunable shocks, and much more. The new and old Wranglers have, and likely always will be, the most 4×4-capable vehicles ever produced in their original factories.
