1000 KMs With The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Some cars are meant to get you from one place to another. Others make you look forward to the drive itself. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon belongs to the second category. I have driven the Wrangler earlier, but mostly on shorter drives, so this time I wanted to spend proper time with it and see how it performs as a long-distance tourer.

The plan was simple: drive from Mumbai to Vadodara and then back to Mumbai. The one-way distance was around 400 kilometres, and with local driving in both cities, I ended up covering a little over 1000 kilometres. Interestingly, I didn’t do any off-roading during this trip. Instead, I wanted to experience the Wrangler in the environment where most owners will probably spend a lot of their time – on the highway and in the city.

I started early in the morning from Mumbai, which helped me avoid a lot of the usual traffic. I took the old Mumbai-Gujarat highway and settled into the drive. Before leaving, I had already paired my phone with Apple CarPlay, adjusted the seat and mirrors to my liking and set up the audio system. So once I got behind the wheel, everything was ready and I could simply concentrate on the drive.

The driving position is one of the things I really like about the Wrangler. You sit high up and get a commanding view of the road, which makes the SUV feel even bigger from behind the wheel. Despite its size, visibility is quite good, and there is something genuinely enjoyable about sitting in the driver’s seat and looking over the traffic around you. On an early morning drive, with relatively empty roads, the Wrangler felt right at home.

For around 220 kilometres, I stayed on the old highway before joining the expressway near Kharel. The Wrangler was covering the distance effortlessly, with its powerful engine making overtaking and maintaining highway speeds very easy. The downside, as expected, was fuel consumption. Even on the highway, I was getting only around 6-7 km/l, so I had to plan my fuel stops carefully.

I had already topped up at Vapi because the expressway has limited fuel stations, and I didn’t want to take any chances. Once on the expressway, the journey to Vadodara became much quicker. The engine has plenty of punch, and while the Wrangler is a big and heavy SUV, it never feels short of power. The cabin is comfortable for the driver, and even after spending several hours behind the wheel, I didn’t feel tired. The seat and driving position work really well for long journeys, although the footwell could have been better designed. There isn’t a lot of space for the left foot, and I found myself adjusting its position occasionally during the drive. It’s a small issue, but something you notice when you’re spending several hours in the car.

After reaching Vadodara around lunchtime, I had some food and got on with my work. Over the next couple of days, the Wrangler became my everyday car as I drove around the city and finished various chores. This was actually a good way to experience it because it showed me that despite its size and rugged design, the Wrangler isn’t particularly difficult to live with.

It certainly attracts attention, though. The size, shape and road presence make it stand out wherever you go, and people notice it even when you’re simply driving through the city. Parking isn’t as challenging as you might expect because the high seating position gives you good visibility, but you have to be conscious of the Wrangler’s width. The bumper edges, body cladding and other exterior elements stick out quite a bit, so tighter parking spaces require some extra care.

The Wrangler also isn’t the quietest SUV around. There is a fair amount of wind and road noise that makes its way into the cabin, particularly at higher speeds. The nature of the roof and the overall construction means it doesn’t offer the kind of insulation you get in more conventional SUVs. However, that is also part of the Wrangler’s character. It feels more like a rugged machine than a heavily insulated luxury SUV.

After finishing my work in Vadodara, I started the journey back to Mumbai at around 8 a.m. on a Sunday. The roads were relatively clear, and the Wrangler once again settled into a comfortable highway rhythm. The 400-kilometre journey passed without any major issues, and I reached home at around 2:30 p.m.

The return journey also highlighted some of the Wrangler’s strengths. The engine remains one of its biggest attractions because there is always plenty of performance available when you need it. The braking performance is good, and the combination of its tyres, ground clearance and rugged construction means you don’t have to worry much about potholes or broken patches of road.

There are a few practical areas where I feel Jeep could have done better. The door pockets at the front and rear could be more spacious, especially considering how large the SUV is. The rear seat experience isn’t particularly impressive either. The Wrangler is clearly a vehicle where the driver gets the best experience, and that’s where I found myself enjoying it the most.

After driving more than 1000 kilometres, I also understood where the Wrangler fits in better. It isn’t a high-speed highway cruiser, and it doesn’t feel like one either. Up to around 100-110 km/hr, it feels comfortable and reasonably stable, but beyond that, there is more body movement and you become more aware of its tall, rugged construction.

It also isn’t a vehicle you want to attack corners with. The Wrangler isn’t a corner carver, and trying to drive it like one defeats the purpose of the SUV. It is built around its off-road capability, and that character comes through even when you’re driving it on the highway. Treat it like a rugged off-roader and it makes a lot more sense.

The same applies to its fuel consumption. A powerful petrol engine combined with a heavy SUV and a boxy shape was never going to result in impressive efficiency. The 6-7 km/l I experienced made this an expensive road trip, especially with more than 1000 kilometres of driving, but it was a cost I was willing to accept because of how enjoyable the Wrangler made the journey.

This trip wasn’t about testing the Wrangler’s off-road capability or pushing it to its limits. Instead, it was about spending proper time with the SUV and understanding what it is like to live with over a long distance. And after more than 1000 kilometres, I came away impressed by how comfortable and enjoyable it can be when driven in the right manner.

The Wrangler isn’t perfect. It could have better fuel efficiency, more cabin storage, a better rear-seat experience and improved high-speed stability. There is also quite a bit of wind and road noise. But these shortcomings don’t really take away from what makes the Wrangler special.

What it does give you is a very engaging driving experience, a powerful engine, excellent road presence and the confidence to tackle poor roads without giving them much thought. Even without doing any off-roading on this trip, I appreciated the ground clearance, tyres and rugged construction every time the road surface deteriorated.

Overall, it was a very fun drive with the Rubicon and it is truly a driver’s SUV.

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