Jeep Wrangler (JK)

The Jeep Wrangler (JK) is a 2-door convertible / 2-door SUV / 4-door convertible / 4-door SUV from Jeep, built from 2006 to 2018, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Mark Moushegian (2003) / Ryan Nagode (2011 interior: 2008) / Lorenzo Ramaciotti (2014 exterior: 2012) drew it.

The background

The Jeep Wrangler (JK) is the third generation of the Jeep Wrangler off-road vehicle. The Wrangler was unveiled at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the JK series 2007 Wrangler Unlimited at the 2006 New York Auto Show. The car's body and chassis were completely redesigned during the era when Jeep was part of DaimlerChrysler. Just like the Willys MB, the CJ Jeeps and the Wranglers before it, the JK continues to have a separate body and frame, rigid live axles both front and rear, a fold-flat windshield, and can be driven without doors.

Also, except optional 4x2 models, the Wrangler JK continues to have part-time four-wheel drive systems, with the choice of high and low gearing. In addition to the traditional 2-door Jeep, the JK introduced a factory standard four-door model, called the Wrangler Unlimited. Contrary to the first, TJ-based Unlimited, and the CJ-8 "Scrambler", its wheelbase is stretched by 20 instead of 10 inches. The Wrangler Unlimited became a big sales success — by mid-2017 three-quarters of all new Wranglers listed for sale were four-door models.

The engineering

285 hp is the published figure. It weighs 2760 -. Work it out per tonne and you get about 103 horsepower — brisk everyday performance. It shifts through a 4-speed Ultradrive 42RLE automatic / 5-speed Mercedes-Benz W5A580 automatic / 5-speed Chrysler 545RFE automatic / 6-speed Chrysler NSG370 manual. The wheelbase is 2-door: 95.4 in / 4-door: 116 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Where it sits

Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Jeep Wrangler (TJ) / Iveco Massif (Spain); its successor was the Jeep Wrangler (JL); assembly was at Toledo, Ohio. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Mazda RX-8, the Mazda CX-9, the Infiniti QX50 — show what else the money bought that year. Its Jeep stablemates include the Jeep Wrangler (TJ) and the Jeep Gladiator.

What it costs now

The money question first: $10,600–$34,000 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $4,733–$11,295 a year. Insurance sits around $1,120–$2,120 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.