JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED POLAR EDITION REVIEW

Sitting down to write this, and having worked through and subsequently deleted probably a dozen or more attempts to begin this review, we cannot find any other way to say this other than so simply say that the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is probably the best vehicle in the Canadian market for the average Canadian. There. Done. That wasn't so hard.

And the reasoning behind that statement isn't much more complicated than the statement itself. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is simply capable of doing more than any other single vehicle. It is a convertible, a sedan, a commuter, a light-duty tow vehicle, and of course an all-weather, all-road 4x4. It is the very definition of the term "utility vehicle." And ever since the Wrangler was updated in 2012 to include the excellent Pentastar V6 motor and a significant amount of interior trim updates, it no longer requires its owner accept that its abilities come at the cost of interior refinement and comfort. To test this, we put almost 2,000 kilometres on a 2015 Polar Edition of the Wrangler Unlimited, including roughly 700 kilometres' worth of towing two motorcycles to a racetrack and another 700 kilometres trekking through the arid interior of BC in late summer.

And what did we find? Well, first off, like all 2012- and newer Wranglers, it's surprisingly well appointed inside. Gone are the terrible plastics and archaic design of the centre control stack, replaced by various soft-touch materials and modern switchgear fitted to a flowing and molded dashboard. The overly large and yet incredibly scrawny four spoke steering wheel has been replaced by one lifted out of various other Chrysler vehicles, and features a thick leather-wrapped rim and more modern switchgear that matches well with that on the centre console. Even the gauge cluster looks like something that would be equally at home in a passenger car.

Under way, the whole "passenger car" experience continues... with some obvious modifiers. While the aforementioned Pentastar V6 certainly improves the Wrangler's manners in and about town, the Wrangler is one of only two passenger vehicles on the market to retain a solid front axle (the other is the Mercedes G-Class), and as a result it shimmies, shakes and rolls a bit more than most other SUVs on the market. However, as the suspension is designed for both city and country use, it's not harshly damped and tends to loft its way over pavement irregularities quite well.

While tooling around the local area in the waning days of a beautiful summer out here on the west coast, we had plenty of opportunity to utilize the removable three-piece hard top's various features, and were thoroughly impressed with its ease of use and flexibility. The top is comprised of two smaller panels positioned over the front seats, and the rear portion, which serves to cover the cargo area and back seats. Any or all of these panels may be removed, and even with the rearmost portion removed, it's possible to securely attach the front two panels for those days when you may want the open air experience but prefer a bit of shade. However, there are some caveats: Although the smaller front portions can be stowed in the cargo area, they do not fit nicely and occupy the majority of the cargo space, and it is obviously impossible to remove the rear hardtop but take it with you. You can leave the soft top in and stowed, and simply fit the hard top over, but doing so significantly reduces access to the rear cargo area as the convertible top bisects the opening right across the middle. Basically, you kind of have to pick one, and stick with it.

Which meant that when it came time to undertake our two longer road trips; once to attend a track day with our motorcycles in tow and another time to visit family in the interior, we were forced to depart with the roof firmly attached. But while that may have been a bit of a bummer to cruise around with the roof on in the sunshine-filled days we enjoyed on both occasions, it gave us an appreciation for the impressive amount of work Jeep's engineers must have put into ensuring minimal levels of NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness), even at speeds right up to about 130 kilometres per hour. Given that the three-piece hard top roof is light enough to be easily lifted by two people, and the relatively lightweight and thinness of the also-removable doors, it does quite well at high speed for a big proper 4x4. Over 130 however, the wind noise passing over the Jeep's brick-like shape overwhelms the engineers' best efforts, and that solid front axle and long travel suspension start to struggle to keep up with the body movements.

Which brings us to perhaps the most impressive part of our Jeep experience. Having already driven these vehicles off road on numerous occasions and probably put over 10,000 kilometres on various Jeep Wrangler press vehicles, the one thing we had never attempted with one was towing. Equipped with the Max Tow package, our test vehicle came pre-fitted with a Class II receiver hitch, a four-pin trailing wiring plug, a towing stability program to prevent trailer sway, and a 3.73 axle ratio. We hitched our own trailer to the test vehicle which was very easy after we'd recently replaced the trailer wheels. Anyway, we found the hitching process easy enough and the rear view camera made reversing up to the trailer very easy.

Towing two sport bikes that tipped the scales at something around 450 pounds per, contained within a 1,200 pound trailer, we figured that with chocks, stands, fuel cans and the various other items stowed away we were sitting at about 2,300 pounds towing weight. It's safe to say we needed some gas lift struts to initially get the trailer hooked up to the Wrangler considering its weight. However, when it was connected it was smooth sailing from there on out. Since the Wranger's maximum tow capacity is a surprising 3,500 pounds, we had little trouble even at highway speed, and found our comfort only limited by the bouncing of the bikes against their tie-downs! And thanks to the relatively short overhangs, and a great turning circle, we remained at least someone manoeuvrable even with the trailer hooked up.

So, how much do we like the Jeep Wrangler? Well, beyond liking it enough to declare it the best vehicle for the average Canadian, we at Calibre will probably be looking to acquire one in the near future. As outdoor enthusiasts living in the city, the Wrangler Unlimited is one of the only vehicles that can provide open-topped and enjoyable motoring around town without giving up the ability to haul a reasonable amount of gear, tow motorcycles and ATVs, and seat five in a pretty decent amount of comfort. For all the vehicle enthusiasts or travellers wanting to live the 4WD Life, or looking for a nice vehicle upgrade for their next adventure, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited would definitely be a four-wheeler to consider. The rugged 4x4 will prove to be the ideal companion for your travel to almost any kind of terrain, so whichever place you have in mind, it can take you there. Not to mention that it looks like a beast and drives like one too.

They aren't terribly expensive either when you consider the versatility they offer, and although the as-tested price is a whopping $47,920, we'd be perfectly happy with a reasonably-optioned Sport or Sahara model for roughly $35,000. Add in the extremely strong aftermarket support that will allow us to customize and improve it to our tastes, and the most difficult part of making the decision to get one will be trying to figure out how to stick some Calibre decals on the doors and get it set up as a tax write-off!

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