Jeep Wrangler
Jeep's open-top, body-on-frame 4x4 and the heir to the CJ line, with solid axles at both ends, removable doors, and a windshield that folds down. It arrived for 1987 and has run through four generations, growing longer-wheelbase Unlimited versions, including four-door models, along the way.
Generations, newest first
JL
Jeep Wrangler (JL)
The fourth-generation Wrangler was shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show at the end of November 2017. It kept the solid axles, removable doors, and fold-down windshield, but saved weight with aluminum doors, hinges, hood, fenders, and windshield frame and a magnesium swing gate. It brought a turbocharged four-cylinder, an eight-speed automatic, an available Sky One-Touch power top, and far better cabin tech. Later came a 3.0 L EcoDiesel, the 4xe plug-in hybrid, and the 470 hp Rubicon 392, the first factory V8 Wrangler in nearly 40 years. A 2024 update added a slimmer grille, a 12.3-inch Uconnect 5 screen, and side curtain airbags, and the JL was Motor Trend's 2019 SUV of the Year.
3.6 L Pentastar V6 · 2.0 L turbocharged I4 · 3.0 L EcoDiesel V6 · 2.0 L turbo I4 plug-in hybrid (4xe) · and 1 more
2-door convertible · 4-door (Unlimited) convertible
JK
Jeep Wrangler (JK)
The JK was the first clean-sheet Wrangler since the TJ and the first to come with four doors, the long-wheelbase Unlimited. It kept a ladder frame and solid axles at both ends but grew wider and longer, and a V6 became the only engine in North America. The 2012 switch to the 3.6 L Pentastar V6 and a five-speed automatic answered the main complaint about the early 3.8 L trucks. The four-door turned the Wrangler into a family vehicle, and by the end of the run most Wranglers sold were Unlimiteds.
3.8 L V6 (EGH) · 3.6 L Pentastar V6 · 2.8 L CRD turbodiesel I4 (VM Motori)
2-door (soft top or hardtop) · 4-door Unlimited (soft top or hardtop)
TJ
Jeep Wrangler (TJ)
The TJ brought back round headlamps and swapped the old leaf springs for coil springs at all four corners, which gave a far better ride and more axle travel. Engines carried over from the YJ at first, with the 4.0 L six as the favourite. The 2003 Rubicon added locking Dana 44 axles and a 4:1 transfer case straight from the factory, and the stretched Unlimited (LJ) followed in 2004. It is widely seen as one of the best Wranglers for off-road use.
2.5 L AMC I4 · 2.4 L PowerTech I4 (DOHC) · 4.0 L PowerTech I6
2-door (soft top or hardtop) · 2-door Unlimited long wheelbase (2004 to 2006)
YJ
Jeep Wrangler (YJ)
AMC launched the Wrangler in 1986 to replace the CJ-7, giving it square headlamps, a wider track, and a more car-like cabin to widen its appeal. It still used leaf springs and a separate frame, and engines were a fuel-injected 2.5 L four and a carburetted 4.2 L six, replaced by the 180 hp fuel-injected 4.0 L for 1991. Purists were slow to accept it, but it sold well and built a huge aftermarket. There was no 1996 model year; the TJ arrived early as a 1997 model.
2.5 L AMC I4 (throttle-body injection) · 2.5 L AMC I4 (multipoint injection) · 4.2 L AMC I6 (carburetted) · 4.0 L AMC I6 (multipoint injection)
2-door (soft top or hardtop)