2013 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

I am going through this same issue in my mind right now......I was eyeing a nice 08 this morning...but not sure I want to deal with the 3.8 people dont like and manual windows...otherwise I am very tempted.

 

My first car was an 03 Rubicon two door. That was back before all the nice stuff was on the interior, and that was an awesome Jeep. My sister has an 09 or 10 Sahara, with a lot of the newer gadgets, like power locks and windows. It has also been great, and she regularly makes a lot of interstate trips very comfortably, which was one of the only downsides to the earlier wrangles.

My previous vehicle was a 2012 GC with the penstar. I can't speak highly enough of that engine. The engine was phenomenal, with full time 4wd, I got over 26 on the highway, and about 19 in town. combined was usually just over 20. The performance was good, the power curve was smooth, and it was geared perfectly for mid range acceleration. Another thing I really liked despite some negative reviews was the navigation system. I thought it was easy to use, intuitive, and was reliable and accurate.

As for the overall quality of the vehicle, my case would obviously be a bit different since it was not a wrangler, but I started having a lot of small issues around 20k. The backup Camera would glitch out a lot, and show a static or messed up screen for the first second or two when I put the vehicle in reverse. I started to develop a lot of small rattles on interior parts. After a lot of home done detective work, and a few trips to the dealership, most of them were attributed to trim pieces that simply didn't fit well. Nothing that a replacement would fix, just poorly designed small parts that fit loosely or made noise. The most significant issue I had was that the transmission slipped at least 2-3 times a day, usually more like 5-6. Again, dealerships could not find anything wrong with the transmission, it just didn't quite work the way it was supposed to.

I loved the GC, and I loved my older Rubicon as well. Both were solid cars, and both were great off road in their own ways. My only concern with Chrysler products, especially with all of the newer electronics, is long term reliability. Based off of my personal experience, I would be a little hesitant to buy another Jeep that has all the neat electronic bells and whistles.

 

I am new here due to me selling my 2012 Unlimited Rubicon and buying a 2013 Tacoma DC TRDOR. I special ordered my Rubi with every option except leather seats. I put a AEV 2.5" lift and 285/75 KM2s. The Jeep drove wonderfully and was the best Jeep I ever had (and I have owned many). I was forced to sell my Jeep due to having to get a home loan. After the home loan was completed, I went to search for another Jeep, but this time I remembered how many times I was in town and wished I had a truck bed to throw something in, so I purchased a Tacoma. You cant go wrong with Toyota quality and dependability and Toyota has a better resell value than any other trucks out there. My 96 T100 never gave me any problems and I treated that thing like crap.
I do miss my Jeep, but not enough to get rid of my Tacoma. I really like this truck.
If a truck bed is not a issue, the Jeeps are nice, but if you need a bed, you will not be happy with the Jeep. If you buy a trailer, then its just another trip to go and get it (which in my case, was a 30 minute drive back home).

 

By the way, the Rubicon with 4.10s will net you about 16mpg. That's what I was getting before the lift. Guys that claim that they are getting 19-20mpg has a sport or sahara with the high gear ratios.
I think the best match for the pentastar in a wrangler automatic is 3.73. The 4.10 seemed to be too low for everyday driving. Even with the 285s.

 

Something about a jeep with an automatic. Its kinda like buying a corvette with an auto. Some things just shouldnt happen.
To each their own i guess

 

I wouldn't take a Vette where I like to drive and when I'm there, the last thing I want to think about is what gear I'm in and dealing with the clutch. I'm much more interested in not going over the edge and if I have to do a forty point turn, well that should speak for itself. On top of that, the JKs have this stupid thing with never pushing in the clutch while in water.

 

How are you liking it??

 

I am in the process of trading in a 2012 4Runner TE on a 2013 Jeep JKUR 6-speed manual. I ordered the JKUR.

Keeping the Tacoma.

 

Actually there has been four cylinder head revisions for that 3.6L Pentastar. In two years. AA was the original, then came the AB, then the AC and the latest that is supposed to correct all problems is the AD. All those heads are stamped, the last two places stamped on the head should read "AD" or don't buy it. There's also the problem with the sintered metal valve guides, they're not replaceable. Meaning if you need a valve job somewhere down the line, you can't just have the guides replaced, you have to buy an entire new head.

 

I think the AD revision is the same change as AC, but for passenger side whereas AC is driver side.

 

Ok, though it seems unusual that they would use left bank/right bank and revision number with the same digit.

 

the older 3.8 sounds better with the 3.6 issues.

 

Well said...and what's this about "thinking" what gear you're in?!!!!

 

So what's all this Jeep stuff doing in the 2nd Gen. Tacomas discussions? Shouldn't this be in the Off-Topic General Automotive area?

 

^^Apparently not. 9 pages worth of really good conversation/info here.

Finally back with an update.

As I told everyone before, I picked up the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon on Wednesday May 8th and the salesman was so very kind enough to let me test drive it until Monday May 13th. Tuesday May 14th, I filled it up with gas and checked my MPG and I got 19.3 mpg total for 6 days. And that was very little highway driving. I concluded that it just is not the vehicle for me, at least right now. To be clear, I KEPT MY TACOMA!!

It was not an easy decision though, not by any means.

The JKUR is a truly impressive vehicle. I still say Jeep has changed the game with this new interior and drivetrain.

Navigation display clarity/resolution wasn't that great but it was very user-friendly, leather seats were truly impressive to the look and touch, seat heaters weren’t great though, heated mirrors are a nice touch and something I miss having since my '03 4Runner, steering wheel feel was comfy and it was positioned perfectly, despite non-telescoping. Not as many storage cubby holes as I would like, but useable just the same, lots of room in the back with the rear seats folded down, despite the seat backs being very vertical, and maybe the most surprising thing, there wasn’t 1 squeak or rattle inside that cabin, nothing. Not in the hardtop, rear hatch door, dash. No rattles or squeaks to be found, and I really tried. It drove just about as nice as my truck on the road too. Didn’t wander in the lane like everyone says Wranglers do and it happily cruised along at 80 mph on the highways. BFG MTs were a little noisy, but I would’ve replaced them probably with BFG ATs anyway. New engine is very powerful, even on quick upshifts from 2nd to 3rd, when it engaged third gear, it would really push you back in the seat. Transmission was smooth as can be on upshifts under hard acceleration, unlike my Tacoma, and it didn’t downshift unnecessarily when coming down a hill, again, like my Tacoma does. I played around with it in 4WD for a little bit on a woods road on my hunting ground, and it would certainly go anywhere you’d point it, even in 4 wheel high. I can’t imagine how that thing would be locked in 4 LO.

Again, a very tough decision, and if I were coming from a totally different class of vehicle like a sedan or crossover, I think I would've gone with the JKUR, but since I've already made some payments on the Tacoma, I think that weighed in on my decision a little more than I wanted to admit.

Overall the JKUR just seemed less easy to drive compared to my truck. The Tacoma you just hop in and go, whereas with the Jeep, even after 5+ days, it still felt like it needed "broken in." Like wearing a new pair of shoes that you keep expecting to get more comfortable. To me, the Tacoma feels like a comfy old hiking boot whereas the JKUR is more like a pair of new cleats....

5 out of 6 days I had it, it rained.....a lot....so I never got the entire top off. I did cruise around for awhile with the Freedom panels off, and it was kinda cool, but I can't see it being a feature I would use frequently at all. Guess I'm getting older at 34, but I'd rather just have a big electric sunroof, something I can open and close at will, rather than pulling off the road and putting the panels back on if it looks like rain.

In summary, keeping the Tacoma. Bad part is, that now I know it's worth a good bit more than what I paid for it. So now I have a few thousand dollars burning a hole in my pocket.....I did find a nice 2011 4Runner Trail.

Thanks again for all the open-mindedness in the thread, and for the fanboys comments too. It's nice to see people being passionate about their vehicles

 

I couldn't deside either so I bought both. The jeep will out 4x the taco anyday anywhere.

 

If it can make it to the trail