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Sam Charlwood13 Jul 2018
NEWS

2019 Jeep Wrangler JL engine details revealed

European versions to be offered with a choice of three engines, no manual transmission

New details of the 2019 Jeep Wrangler JL have emerged in the UK, offering a fresh pointer to what the right-hand drive Australian line-up will look like next year.

Officially, Jeep stakeholders in Australia aren’t disclosing our engine line-up at this point, but the first new Wrangler in more than 10 years will debut in the UK with a choice of three engines and two 4x4 systems. These comprise two petrol engines and a turbo diesel – each mated exclusively to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

First the oiler, which isn’t the new V6 turbo-diesel that is set to launch in US market, but a 2.2-litre Multijet II turbo-diesel also found in the Jeep Cherokee. In this application it makes 150kW at 3500rpm and 450Nm at 2000rpm, whilst also meeting EU6 emission standards.

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On the petrol front, the Wrangler is being offered in the UK with a 2.0-litre turbo-four that makes 203kW at 5250rpm and 400Nm at 3000rpm. A familiar Penstar V6 is also offered on the JL, producing slightly higher outputs of 212kW at 6400rpm and 347Nm at 4100rpm.

Both petrol engines are fitted with stop-start technology in a pointer to improved on-road efficiency. However, Jeep is yet to announce official consumption figures.

The big revelation for the right-hand drive JL Wrangler is the absence of a manual transmission. In none of the European launch information is a stick-shift mentioned, suggesting the out-going JK Wrangler will be the last version offered standard with a manual in Australian guise.

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A Jeep Australia spokeswoman declined to comment on whether a manual option would find its way to Australia, but motoring.com.au understands the UK specification virtually sounds the death knell for a stick-shift version.

We have previously reported only the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel and 3.6-litre V6 will make it to Australia, but Jeep is officially holding off on an announcement until closer to launch.

Jeep is sticking to convention with the Wrangler’s ladder-frame chassis and live axles, which will both find their way onto the new model.

The car-maker’s Command-Trac 4x4 system will be standard on all models save for the gnarly Rubicon variant, which gets an upgraded Rock-Trac system. The former is a part-time 4x4 system offering rear-wheel drive, high-range and low-range four-wheel drive. The latter gets a lower range gear set and will be available in diesel form for the first time.

Crucially, Jeep is also claiming the Wrangler is more capable off-road, pointing to improved approach, break-over and departure angle numbers and a 77:1 crawl ratio, versus the old 59:1 ratio. The most off-road focussed model, the Rubicon, comes standard with massive 32-inch rubber.

Wading depth at 760mm remains unchanged, while the braked towing capacity is also expected to be unaffected at up to 2300kg.

The JL’s core ladder frame chassis and live-axle coil suspension are new and Jeep is claiming better on-road dynamics, but the same engineering fundamentals apply as before. The steering has swapped from hydraulic to electro-hydraulic assistance but continues as a recirculating ball set-up. Turning circle for the Ultimate model has been reduced from 13.1m to 12.4m, while the three-door remains at around 10.5m.

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There are two hard-tops and two soft-tops, including a new Power-Top which retracts at the push of a button. Jeep says the Wrangler is more user-friendly, via easier roof removal and a new-design windshield requiring only four bolts to be unscrewed rather than the previous 26.

Inside there is more rear-seat passenger space because of the wheelbase stretch – itself driven by the need to fit the longer eight-speed auto – and an all-new dashboard design highlighted by the fourth-generation Uconnect infotainment system touch screen which, for the first time, includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration.

While AEB is currently missing, Jeep is touting more than 75 available active and passive safety and security features, including blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-path detection, a reversing camera with dynamic gridline, electronic stability control with electronic roll mitigation and four airbags.

FCA’s after-market and performance brand Mopar will also offer more than 200 accessories for the Wrangler, of which 113 are earmarked to come to Australia. Ninety-five per cent of Jeeps sold in Australian are accessorised. The figure is 98 per cent in the USA.

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