[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAN EDMUNDS: We're here in the deserts of Utah
to drive the 2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited.
Now this is a vehicle we're pretty familiar with because we
own one in our long-term test fleet,
but 2020 brings a big twist, and by that I
mean the 3-liter EcoDiesel V6 engine.
We've driven this in the Ram 1500 and loved it, but how does
it fare in the Jeep?
We're about to find out.
So now we're off road in the new EcoDiesel Wrangler Rubicon,
and you can tell you're in a diesel.
It makes the noise, "tag-lag-lag-lag,"
but in a good way.
It feels really appropriate out here.
The throttle response is really nice and delicate--
I mean, better than I thought it would be.
It doesn't even work hard up and over these obstacles.
That one was pretty easy.
I think I see some tougher stuff ahead.
Oh no!
Traction control.
See, in four low I didn't have traction control.
This is a Wrangler Rubicon just like our long-term vehicle,
and it's got the same sort of suspension components--
BF Goodrich tires, offroad-tuned shocks.
Because the diesel engine weighs a little bit more,
the spring and shock tuning is a little different,
but the end result is the same.
They're not trying to make it anything different.
They're just trying to compensate for the weight,
and that's common with different engine options, not just
that diesel.
Yeah, I'm in drive in low range with the front stabilizer
bar disconnected for extra articulation,
and I'm just trying to creep over these obstacles.
It's really easy.
This looks a little bit interesting.
You might see the background tip up at a wild angle.
I'm driving on a fin of sandstone
that you wouldn't even think to walk on,
and I'm just creeping over it, and the last thing
I'm worried about is throttle response
because it's really delicate and it's really easy for me
to just nudge the throttle and get up and over obstacles
without any kind of overreaction or spin.
It's like I'm idling all the time,
but I can idle at any speed I want to,
if that makes any sense.
That was a piece of cake.
Always causing trouble.
I drove our long-term Wrangler here on a road trip
and I did some off roading.
And that 3.6-liter Pentastar is a great engine,
but I really like this one.
Fuel economy-- they haven't said what the actual number will be,
but the numbers I've seen here on the dash
are pretty impressive.
The tank is a little bit smaller,
but the MPG improvement is enough
that range will be increased.
Again, until we know the actual numbers, we can't say how much,
but any increase would be appreciated.
And one thing about gasoline MPG is
it's really hard to meet the EPA's number,
but in my experience, it's pretty easy
to meet a diesel's fuel-economy rating
because, frankly, torque is what we like,
and diesels make tons of that.
Wow.
That's really so subtle.
The control is so easy.
So one of the things about this diesel
is, of course, it has a diesel exhaust fluid tank.
That's why the gas tank's just a couple of gallons smaller.
I think about three, actually.
And there's a 5.1-gallon diesel exhaust fluid tank,
and it's back by the trailer hitch but in a place where it
doesn't affect the departure angle.
But certainly it needs a skid plate,
and so there's a skid plate right
behind the plug for the trailer wire harness,
and you can see it.
That's how you can spot a diesel on the road.
Interestingly, we have a diesel ZR2 pickup truck,
and it's pretty cool, but it has this really huge exhaust pipe
which really gets in the way when you're off roading.
I mean, it's comically huge.
This exhaust pipe doesn't look any different from the gasoline
models, and it's tucked up nice and tight.
Doesn't take up any extra space.
I haven't heard it ting off a rock
through any of these obstacles.
I'm so impressed with this powertrain.
I mean, I like the EcoDiesel in the Ram 1500 pickup towing.
And torque is great there, but here
off road, it's even better.
I mean, this is not set up to tow more
because a Jeep's suspension needs to flex over
rocks like this, so the tow rating's still the same
as it was before.
But the torque here is helping just it improve its range when
you're wandering off road away from fuel,
and also it's making it so much easier to control
over these obstacles.
It's just amazing.
The brakes are really very easy to control.
I'm dropping off a ledge here.
It's pretty steep, and I can really
control it very accurately.
And what's nice about the diesel is
I have that same level of control
on the throttle side, which is great.
Another drop off here.
It's going to be like driving down a really steep stair
that you would probably hurt your ankle if you did it
on foot.
And now I'm going to just gently drop it down.
And now comes the rear.
It's probably going to touch in the back.
I'm sliding down the sandstone.
The thing about this Jeep is this capability
isn't just for bragging rights.
These trails in Utah, they're all over the place.
The Mountain West is full of places
where you can really do this anytime you want to.
There's a lot of open land to roam around on in a Jeep.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
You can't go through a tunnel without flooring
it a little bit, to hear the engine, even in a diesel.
Little sideways.
Well, we started out off road, which is always good.
Now let's see what it's like on the road.
Pavement, here we come.
So we just got done off-roading.
Now we're on the road.
Off-roading performance in a Jeep is incredible,
but on road matters a lot too because,
frankly, that's where most of us spend most of our time.
So the diesel engine on the road just as good as it
is off road, maybe even better.
This 3-liter EcoDiesel V6 may sound familiar
because, well, it is.
It's not exactly the same as the Ram 1500 engine
because, well, this isn't like a Ram 1500.
The engine compartment is a lot smaller and tighter, for one,
so they had to move things around.
And another reason they had to reposition things
is because fording is really important for a Jeep.
This can go through 30 inches of water
like the gasoline versions can.
But in order to do that, they just
had to change a lot of parts.
They had to relocate the alternator
to keep it out of the water.
They had to relocate the drive-belt system on the front
so they could deal with the alternator
being in a different place.
And all of that required a new block because those things bolt
on to bosses that are cast into that casting.
So a lot of major changes to end up
with an engine that has the same basic configuration,
but is it the same?
The end result of all of that is this engine
makes 260 horsepower just like the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel,
but here it makes 442 pound-feet of torque instead of 480.
Now that sounds like a big difference,
but 442 pound-feet is still quite a bit, as we've seen.
And what's nice is that peak happens at 1,400 RPM,
and most of the really meaty part of the torque band
is between 1,000 and 3,000.
So you always feel it.
And you just roll into the throttle like I am right now,
and it just moves forward, really feels effortless.
Now we don't know what the fuel-economy
rating of this vehicle is, but in the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel case,
there was a big change from the gasoline V6,
so we can expect that here.
It's enough that even though the gas tank is
three gallons smaller, the range is greater
than that of the 3.6 V6, and that points
to some pretty hefty numbers.
So the diesel engine is only available
with the 8-speed automatic transmission,
and that's fine with me because that's a great transmission.
We've loved it ever since it came out.
Now they did have to recalibrate it to change the shift
points to suit what's going on with the diesel's torque curve,
and that's normal whenever you change an engine.
You need to recalibrate the transmission's shift timing
to match the characteristics of the motor.
Of course, every diesel engine, in order
to meet the emissions requirements,
needs to use diesel exhaust fluid.
That's part of the exhaust-aftertreatment system.
And there's a tank that's been added.
We talked about that a little bit off road.
It's in the back back by the trailer
hitch, protected by an extra skid plate,
and it holds 5.1 gallons of DEF.
And they say that's good for about 10,000 miles
between refills.
The DEF port is right underneath the fuel-filler lid
right next to the fuel cap.
I really like this diesel engine, and I'll tell you why.
It's because torque is really where it's at,
and this has got buckets of it.
We've been marketed horsepower all our lives,
but torque is what we feel when we drive away
from a stoplight, when we roll onto the throttle
to pass another vehicle.
You get that easy acceleration that
just feels effortless without having to floor it
and make the thing kick down two gears.
It just rolls on and it responds.
You're probably wondering how much this all costs.
If you're like us, you may have had your eye on the V6
with an automatic.
Compared to that, the diesel costs
$3,250 more if you're buying a Sport or a Rubicon.
That difference is just $2,750 if you're
buying a Sahara because that V6 has eTorque this year.
So it all boils down to a $3,000 price bump over the V6
automatic, give or take.
So you'd have to figure out how much you'd save in fuel
to pay that off.
I mean, I think it's worth it even if you're not really
going to pay it off because there's just
driveability benefits that I really like.
But it actually might pay itself off
depending on what the price of gasoline and diesel fuel
is in your area.
You're going to get better fuel economy,
and so you're going to buy less fuel.
And so you're going to have to do the math, sorry to say.
But I don't think you need to because, really,
the driveability benefits on road and off road
are worth having.
And I've been talking a lot about the Rubicon
because that's what I'm driving, but this diesel engine is not
just limited to the Rubicon.
You can get it in any trim level.
You can get it in the Sport, and you can get it in the Sahara.
And when you get it in the Sahara,
you get something you don't get otherwise,
and that's the heavy-duty Dana 44 axles, which you can't
get in the Sahara otherwise.
So if you want to do an off-road build but you just
need a Sahara, you'll get the beefy axles
if you get the diesel.
Now one thing about the axles is the axle ratio
in the diesel is 3.73.
Our gasoline V6 Rubicon has 4.1s.
And you'd think, oh, that sounds like a disadvantage,
but there's so much torque here that it more than makes up
for it, so not a problem.
Driving this on the pavement like we are now,
it doesn't feel that different from any other gasoline-powered
Wrangler, and that's because it's really not
trying to be any different as far as the suspension
and steering goes.
The ride's pretty much the same.
The steering is just as indistinct
as it is in the gasoline world.
But, of course, that's because recirculating-ball steering
is present and it's got a solid axle.
So it's never going to feel particularly precise,
but it definitely feels very easy going at least,
and it has a pretty good sense of straight ahead.
As far as the engine though, I keep coming back to that.
Every time I need to adjust my speed
or accelerate away from a signal or around somebody else,
it's just easy.
The interior of this year's Wrangler EcoDiesel
isn't really any different from last year
when they didn't have that motor because the vehicle itself
hasn't really changed.
This is a Rubicon just like our long-termer
except it has a tan interior, which was always available.
We just didn't get it.
But there's really nothing here to see
that's any different at all.
The main thing is if you scroll through the menus here
you'll see a readout of the DEF tank's fluid level,
and that's pretty much it.
That said, this JL Wrangler that came out two years ago
has just always been impressive in terms
of the quality of the switch gear, the Uconnect
system and the way it works with Apple CarPlay.
It's all very seamless.
These buttons on the steering wheel,
they all are easy to understand.
They have a purpose.
The driving position is good.
The steering wheel tilts and telescopes
just the right amount.
I mean, this is the nicest Jeep interior they've ever made,
and this year they didn't really have
to do anything to make it any better because it's pretty darn
good.
The diesel does come with one thing.
[ENGINE STARTING]
It makes a little noise.
But this diesel exhaust noise is about what you'd expect.
It's not bad.
It kind of fits the personality of it.
And when you get going about 60 miles an hour on flat ground,
it disappears.
It'll come back again when you're
going up hills and putting a little bit of effort
into a maneuver.
Then you'll start to hear it.
But a lot of the time it's not anything
you notice unless you're going really slow or stopped.
We did notice a little bit of wind noise today,
but that's not unusual with the boxy Wrangler.
And this top is different than the one we have.
We have the hard top.
This is the power roof.
Check it out.
One button, one touch, and you bring the outside inside,
which here is no bad thing.
It goes all the way back over the passengers too,
so it's like a convertible.
And the side panels can be taken off as well.
It's no surprise that I'm a big fan of the Jeep Wrangler.
I've been saying so since it came out in 2018 when
this JL model debuted.
And our long-termer's been great,
but the diesel engine just makes it so much better, even better
than I thought.
I'm so stoked with this engine.
I mean, the torque is there when you're driving around town.
It's going to deliver great fuel economy.
I saw some pretty good numbers on the dash today.
But man, off road, the low-speed driveability
is just to die for.
I was so much more impressed with that
than I thought I would be.
So yeah, I'm a big fan.
The $3,000 price tag over the V6 doesn't scare me,
but let us know if it scares you in the comments.
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