2018 Jeep Wrangler Spotted On Test

It’s nearly been two full years since Jeep first debuted in India. And that seems like a good enough time frame to start updating products, right? Well, Jeep India thinks so too. They’re looking at kicking things off with the brand new Wrangler, that looks all set to debut by the festive season. We spotted a few test mules of the new SUV on the outskirts of Pune, in both 3- and 5-door guises.

While it may not instantly look like it, what you see in pictures is in fact an “all-new” Wrangler, and not a mere facelift. The big boy from Jeep, now in its fourth generation (codename: JL) debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show back in November 2017. Jeep has retained the boxy, abuse-friendly exterior design, while subtly updating a few bits and bobs. For instance, it now has a new all-LED headlamp setup that pushes the outer slats of the iconic Jeep grille in. The rake of the windscreen is a bit sharper, and there are new bumpers and alloy wheels too. Goes without saying, you can still fold the windscreen away, and take the doors and roof off with nothing more than the toolkit.

Inside too, the Wrangler manages to blend its off-road roots with some modern, luxury elements. We’re talking about tech like an LCD display for the instrument cluster, dual-zone climate control and a touchscreen infotainment system. There’s some leather on the seats, around the gear lever and the steering wheel too.

But, those aren’t features you should be interested in if you’re eyeing the Wrangler, should you? Mug up these numbers instead. The approach angle stands at 44 degrees, while the breakover and departure angles are 27.8 and 37 degrees respectively. All of those one up the previous generation of the SUV. Ground clearance stands at 276mm, whereas water wading depth stands at a whopping 762mm.

Coming to engine options, we’re expecting the Wrangler to get a 3.0-litre V6 diesel, and the 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine. The diesel motor is good for 263PS/600Nm, whereas the petrol makes a healthy 289PS/352Nm. Both engines are likely to be offered with an 8-speed automatic gearbox only. There’s Jeep’s Command-Trac 4x4 tech as well, which will be standard across the range.

Jeep India is likely to launch the new Wrangler in the next couple of months, just in time for the festive season. We’re expecting prices to start around the Rs 60 lakh mark for the petrol, and Rs 65 lakh mark for the diesel variant. The Wrangler doesn’t have a direct rival in the Indian market, but will find itself in the contention list among luxury SUVs such as the Mercedes-Benz GLE, the Volvo XC90 and the Audi Q7 owing to its price.