It's Easier Here.
Leith Cars Blog
You might say it was nearly as bright as the sun, a yellow 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport S in what Jeep calls “Hellayella.” The 4×4 of all four-by-fours was parked in front of our Leith Jeep HQ on a beautiful Saturday morning. She had a black hard-top and 17 inch silver alloy wheels. The “ready for fun” yellow Jeep seemed to be just waiting for me to take her for a spin. “A Jeep Wrangler test drive? That’ll hook you, but good” I thought, as I walked towards my research project for the weekend.
With a fun and bright shade of yellow, you can’t help but smile when you drive this Jeep.
My Jeep adventure began when I stopped by Leith Chrysler Jeep in Raleigh, N.C. to help with some social media promotion for their Grand Re-Opening to celebrate the all-new Jeep and Chrysler showrooms that had been completed only weeks prior. I had been planning on doing some Jeep Wrangler research anyway in preparation for the arrival of the first-ever Jeep Gladiator mid-size 4×4 truck. General Manager Johnny Dudley asked me if I’d like to take a Wrangler home for the weekend to help with my Jeep review? “Absolutely”, I replied and within minutes, Johnny’s “Can Do” Jeep team had a 2018 Hellayella Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport S ready for me to drive away in.
A colorful assortment of candy-colored Wranglers in the new Jeep showroom during the Grand Re-Opening Celebration.
After a quick demo on how to remove the Freedom Top (the removable front panels over the driver and passenger seats that can be removed from the hardtop), I was off in my new yellow Jeep and headed to pick-up my family for a real-world test drive. During a short spin around the neighborhood, my wife exclaimed that she loved the Jeep, saying “I’ve found my happy place, riding along in a Jeep listening to Hair Nation on Sirius/XM.”
With Alice Cooper and Bon Jovi on the Uconnect and wind in her hair, my wife found her happy place in a Jeep.
Of course, our boys, 13 and 11 thought the yellow Jeep was really cool too, especially the open roof (whose two forward panels can be safely stowed in the back of the Jeep, behind the rear seats). Our weekend Jeep was equipped with the new, optional 2.0 litre 4-cylinder Direct Injected turbo engine that puts out a healthy 270 horsepower and 290 lb. ft. of torque. The funny thing, is that I didn’t realize my Jeep Wrangler had the new turbo-four and just assumed it came with the standard 3.6 litre V6, an engine I’m quite familiar with. It was only later when I popped open the Jeep’s hood latches that I discovered the smaller but equally potent power plant.
The 2.0L Turbo 4 was my biggest surprise in this all-new Jeep, offering plenty of torque whenever it was needed. This smaller power plant actually made the Jeep feel like I had the larger V6 under the Wrangler’s domed hood. Oh, and I need to mention that this tough little motor is the most efficient currently available in the Wrangler lineup, achieving a 23 city/25 highway/24 average mpg fuel rating. The 2.0 litre also comes with Jeep’s eTorque system which adds 71 pound-feet of electric torque in the low RPM range to boost off-the-line performance.
The new available 2.0L Direct Injected Turbo adds 71 pound-feet of electric torque in the low RPM range at launch.
Having one of the most capable vehicles in the world for the weekend also meant that I had to do more than just drive on city roads and highways to get a sense of what life would be like in the new Wrangler. So, the boys and I headed out to a state nature preserve in the north-east corner of Wake County, (my wife’s not really the “outdoorsy type” so she opted to stay behind). We explored the former location of an old grist mill and the remains of an old dam built long ago on the Little River. We didn’t really need to do any serious off-road driving to get there but we did have to turn “off the paved road” to park at the trailhead.
Before heading to the trail, I reattached the dual Freedom Tops. They both lock into place with just a few latches around the inside top of the windshield frame and along the Jeep’s roll bar. Looking back at our Hellayella Jeep as we entered the trail to the old dam, I couldn’t help but think what a great backdrop the Jeep made on our little outdoor excursion. Was the new Jeep starting to grow on me? Maybe just a bit, yes.
Just like Jeep says. “Today was made for adventure.”
When our Jeep weekend was over and it was time for me to return the Jeep Wrangler to Leith Chrysler Jeep on Raleigh’s Capital Boulevard, I started feeling a sense of loss. It was almost as if I was leaving a good friend behind that I might not ever see again. Was this a normal reaction to just having spent 48 hours with a Jeep or was it something more? Was it a longing to blaze a new trail, to seek out a new course for adventure? Look for the answer in the companion piece to this blog, coming soon to LeithCars.com
Written by Mark Arsen for LeithCars.com
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