Moving with the times

SAHARA: LIKE COKE WITH LESS SUGAR, 2.0-LITRE KEEPS JEEP WRANGLER TASTE

- Jaco van der Merwe

The Jeep Wrangler. A local bakkie manufacturer was once the butt of all jokes when it introduced downsized 2.0-litre engines. "Only milk and Coke come in two litres," was the common banter doing the rounds.

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara recently delivered to our offices for a seven-day stay served as a timely reminder of those days. After 13 years, Jeep retired the Pentastar naturally aspirated 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine in favour of ... you guessed it, a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol mill. An eight-speed automatic gearbox still sends the power to all four wheels.

The "no replacement for displacement" protagonists will choke in their milk to hear that the 200kW of power the blown mill produces is 13kW down from the V6. And the 47Nm additional torque for a total of 400Nm won't be enough to flip their Coke bottle tops.

Off-road enthusiasts, however, should be chuffed with the addition of a full-float rear axle, four protective skidplates, revised front and rear suspension and re-tuned shock absorbers.