Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Diesel review: American Hero
No other car lets you indulge in your American action hero fantasies more than the Jeep Wrangler
Singapore –
One of the more interesting cars I’ve ever had to test in my (relatively short) writing career so far has to be the Jeep Wrangler. Objectively, it wasn’t really the best car in the world, but driving it made me felt like some sort of undefeatable action hero, ready to gun down villains and win the day (along with the damsels in distress, of course).
I was recently asked to drive another version of this American classic, and to be honest, I was actually quite looking forward to it. Yes, it probably serves no practical purpose in an urban jungle like Singapore, but hey, sometimes you just gotta take a break from your environment and indulge in a little fantasy, right?
This particular car is the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Diesel, and yes, we agree that the name is quite a mouthful. ‘Wrangler Unlimited’ means that this is the five-door, more practical version of the Wrangler, as opposed to the three-door car that we see so often American movies and TV shows (that model is simply called the Wrangler). Sahara denotes the trim level, while Diesel means that, yes, this Wrangler is powered by a diesel engine.
That particular unit is a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel powerplant that produces 200bhp and 460Nm of torque. Unfortunately, that’s not actually a lot of power to propel what is essentially a nearly two-tonne military vehicle, and the car does feel somewhat sluggish and reluctant to go quickly. To be fair though, the diesel unit’s low-end torque does make it somewhat more tolerable at the lower end of the rev band, but as a whole, this is not a car you want to go fast in.
But you’re unlikely to want to do that anyway, because this car seems to be made for one thing and one thing only: to go off-road. The Wrangler Unlimited sits incredibly tall, with a huge amount of ground clearance, and according to Jeep, the car is capable of fording through up to 762mm of water (perfect for our ‘ponding’ situations). In addition, the Wrangler Unlimited has a tough, body-on-frame construction and a Command Trac all-wheel-drive system, which can be engaged via the secondary gear lever located beside the standard one for the five-speed automatic gearbox.
The result is a car that can literally go anywhere you want, paved or unpaved. And it looks the part too, with its big and tough black bumpers that are designed to take on plenty of punishment, and the chunky wheels that look like they can eat up any terrain. And just for kicks, the doors can be removed too, which is useful if you need to lean out of the car to shoot at an enemy on the battlefield, but not so much when you’re just trundling down Shenton Way.
The interior of the Wrangler Unlimited is filled with tough plastics that were probably designed to withstand bomb attacks, but surprisingly, this model is also fairly well-equipped, with features such as cruise control, power heated wing mirrors and steering wheel-mounted stereo controls all available as standard. Being a five door model, there is room for five occupants, although truthfully space all round is at a bit of a premium.
Regardless of its flaws however, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Diesel does offer something that most other cars do not: individuality. Virtually no other vehicle on the road, short of an actual military jeep, can give you the sensation of feeling so heroic, making you feel like the biggest action star around, here to save the day in your tough and trusty Jeep. Now that’s entertainment.
NEED TO KNOW: Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Diesel
Engine 2,776cc, 16V, turbo diesel, inline-four
Power 200bhp at 3600rpm
Torque 460Nm at 1600-2600rpm
Gearbox 5-speed automatic
Top Speed 172km/h
0-100kmh 10.7 seconds
Fuel Efficiency 8.8L/100km
CO2 230g/km
Price $258,000 with COE
Availability Now
