2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Trail Test

No question, naming a vehicle after northern California's infamous Rubicon Trail is a bold move. Car-company marketing people throw names around like confetti, but in this instance, if you're going to name a vehicle after one of the country's most difficult and challenging trails, you'd better be certain that the vehicle is actually capable of covering this trail.

For that reason, Four Wheeler's road test of the Wrangler Rubicon is a trail test. We took delivery of a Rubicon in Los Angeles, and then we drove it to northern California, did the Rubicon Trail, drove out to Lake Tahoe via Cadillac Trail, and then drove home to Los Angeles, a total trip of about 1,200 miles.

The Rubicon is Jeep's top-of-the-line Wrangler. It comes equipped with the familiar 4.0L six, either a five-speed manual or a new four-speed automatic, a new NVG241OR transfer case that sports a 4:1 low-range ratio, Dana 44 axles, 4.10 rings-and-pinions, and air lockers built by Tochigi Fuji Sanjyo-when the rear diff isn't locked up, it's a limited-slip. So there's plenty of traction here, and plenty of gear reduction-with the 4.02:1 ratio of the manual's first gear, the crawl ratio pencils out to 65.92:1. Topping off this package are disc brakes all around, rock rails, 31-inch Goodyear MT/R radials and 1330 U-joints.

The Rubicon is powered by... 

   

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The Rubicon is powered by the familiar 4.0L inline-six. Nice and torquey for trail work, it's noisy on the highway, and not particularly powerful.

Our test vehicle came to us wearing all the bells and whistles, including air conditioning, a hardtop, and locking hard doors. This suited us just fine, as our travels called for the security the hardtop provided. Packing through the Wrangler's swing-out tailgate was a cinch, as the rear seat folds easily and, when folded, provides almost as much space as completely removing the seat would provide. The front-seat news isn't quite so good. We found that out on the highway, when you're in static positions for long stretches, the seats provide just minimal support. As a result, they're not as comfortable as they should be.

Thanks in part to interior upgrades made necessary by new safety standards involving head protection, the '03 Wrangler is very quiet and civilized at highway speeds, with minimal wind noise coming, as expected, from the mirrors and A-pillars.

Even with its low gearing, the Rubicon thrums along nicely at highway speeds thanks in part to the new-for-this-year four-speed automatic trans, turning about 2,000 rpm at 65 mph. But this Wrangler isn't for the highway, it's for the trail-and as a nod to that purpose, it contains, in addition to its hard-core hardware, some thoughtful detail touches-for instance, the odometer reset button is dustproof, and the engine air intake is nice and high to minimize the dangers of liquid ingestion during water crossings.

A Dana 44 loaded with an air...        read full caption A Dana 44 loaded with an air locker and 4.10 gears does duty under the front of the Rubicon.

Articulation? Well, there...        read full caption Articulation? Well, there is some, but as you can see here, it's not hard to levitate one of the Rubicon's tires.

The rocks also took bites...        read full caption The rocks also took bites out of the rubber bumper ends, and managed to bend the rear tow hook.

With its limited-slip rear diff and quality tires, the Rubicon can be coaxed along quite nicely in rough country unlocked in two-wheel drive. Eventually, though, you've got to stir that transfer case, controlled by a lever on the left of the center console. Just pull it up through a dogleg and you're in 4-low. Instantly, you're at the helm of a crawling monster-in the case of our automatic-transmissioned tester, further helped by the gear reduction from the torque converter. The combination of all this hardware means that you can roll along, where you need to, at speeds well below a walking pace, juggling momentum by modulating gas and brake, smoothly picking your lines over the toughest obstacles. The brakes feel powerful and sensitive, so are easy to modulate. What it all means is that with the Wrangler Rubicon, difficult trails just got easier.

But only up to a point. All the high-end hardware with which our test vehicle was equipped worked flawlessly, but there was one problem that none of it could help. It's that the Rubicon needs altitude. We 'wheeled this rig to a constant cacophony of bonks and scrapes as the fuel tank, rear bumper and transfer-case skidplate contacted rocks, seemingly on every obstacle. When it was over, a measuring tape showed that even with careful attention, we'd bashed the fuel tank about 31/44-inch flatter than it was when it was spankin' new. We were aired down to 18 psi, and that no doubt cost some clearance. But aired down or not, the Wrangler Rubicon still needs more clearance.

That issue aside, however, the Rubicon just went wherever we pointed it, and went there easily, aided in part by a nice, tight turning circle that made it easy to squeeze through tight places that caused other vehicles to back and fill. Any concerns about forward progress were solved by toggling on the front locker with the dash-mounted switch.

It seems clear that Jeep has a winner on its hands here. In fact, even before pricing was announced, the company already had received 3,300 orders for Rubicons. Pricing has been set at a base of $24,995. Factor in a seven-year, 70,000-mile warranty and a total production run of just 8,000 units, and it seems safe to predict that Jeep will indeed sell every Rubicon it will build. So if this sounds good to you, better step up now.

Check It Out If:
You like the idea of owning the most capable Jeep ever built.

Avoid It If:
You're a roll-yer-own kind of 'wheeler.

Tough trail, great scenery:...        read full caption Tough trail, great scenery: If that's what you're looking for in an out-of-the-box four-wheeler, the Wrangler Rubicon is worth your scrutiny.

How do you know when you've...        read full caption How do you know when you've shifted the transfer case and hit the air locker buttons, that you're actually locked and loaded? Because the dash display tells you so.

Not only did we manage to,...        read full caption Not only did we manage to, uh, modify the Rubicon's fuel tank, the trail's rock also left its mark on the Rub's rear bumper. Conclusion: The Rubicon has insufficient ground clearance.

Specifications