I was just out in Denver for 5 days and rented a 2025 Jeep Wrangler from National with 4 miles on it. I was excited since I've never driven a Wrangler and in Colorado it seemed like a cool vehicle to drive. The Wrangler had cloth interior, the larger infotainment, and the 2.0 Turbo 4 with the 8-speed. On as side note, my wife, a few friends and I caught Sting at Red Rocks and it was awesome!
The Bad - MUCH smaller than I thought it would be and at 6'5" I had to really contort my head/neck getting into and out of the driver's seat. The overhead crossbar did not allow me to sit in a comfortable position because it hit me squarely in the back of the head, even with the drivers seat as low as it would go. Also weirdly, the driver's side side mirror would not rotate outwards enough for me to see even with the very upright seat position that was needed for me to not hit my head on the crossbar. Had I been able to put the drivers back more to be comfortable, the view of the side mirror would've been even worse.
The 2.0 turbo is a hot mess. Push the accelerator and there is terrible turbo lag where nothing happens and without changing foot position at all, it violently surges with power.
The steering is also a hot mess. No on-center feel and impossible to not have to constantly move your hands back and forth and even then you end up ping ponging back and forth in the lane. It's also really easy to unsettle the chassis going over bumps around a corner - felt like it would hop several inches sideways.
The Good - Brakes felt great. 8-speed was smooth and always in the right gear. I also really liked infotainment system - it was big, clear, no lag, and did what is was supposed to do well.
The neutral - Never got to talk the top off/panels off but I'm sure it's a great experience.
Overall - I couldn't live with the size limitations, the steering, and 2.0 turbo lag.
The Bad - MUCH smaller than I thought it would be and at 6'5" I had to really contort my head/neck getting into and out of the driver's seat. The overhead crossbar did not allow me to sit in a comfortable position because it hit me squarely in the back of the head, even with the drivers seat as low as it would go. Also weirdly, the driver's side side mirror would not rotate outwards enough for me to see even with the very upright seat position that was needed for me to not hit my head on the crossbar. Had I been able to put the drivers back more to be comfortable, the view of the side mirror would've been even worse.
The 2.0 turbo is a hot mess. Push the accelerator and there is terrible turbo lag where nothing happens and without changing foot position at all, it violently surges with power.
The steering is also a hot mess. No on-center feel and impossible to not have to constantly move your hands back and forth and even then you end up ping ponging back and forth in the lane. It's also really easy to unsettle the chassis going over bumps around a corner - felt like it would hop several inches sideways.
The Good - Brakes felt great. 8-speed was smooth and always in the right gear. I also really liked infotainment system - it was big, clear, no lag, and did what is was supposed to do well.
The neutral - Never got to talk the top off/panels off but I'm sure it's a great experience.
Overall - I couldn't live with the size limitations, the steering, and 2.0 turbo lag.
