Wrangler better?

[Zimm]

There is absolutely no point asking other people if you have the right vehicle for you.
That is something you have to decide for yourself.
It also depends if it is going to be your only vehicle, which I think is the case for many of us outside North America.

Australia is obsessed with 4wds and SUV's and they are by far the majority of vehicle sales
In Australia the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport has a list price equivalent to USD$50,000 on road but even a bad negotiator could get $10,000 off that.
Jeep Australia sold only 2,594 vehicles total in 2024.
February 2025 they sold only 32 Wranglers and that included dealers sales to themselves as demo stock.
Although Ineos don't report actual sales I was talking to one dealer who said he delivered over 30 Grenadiers in the month.
That is just one of 28 dealers.

the Oz market is different than the US market for a variety of reasons, but a couple are 1) laws. we get to booger rig our trucks without much interference and weak enforcement of what rules there are. You guys have rules, and the jeep is the king of booger rigging until it's a highway death trap. 6" lifts and 40's to go shopping isn't a thing there. You guys are confident with little penises where we aren't. 2) You have a continent of dirt roads where a 4x4 wagon with 33's is useful... mostly we're just pretending over here. with 10x the population on the same land mass, most roads are paved, and the fun ones that aren't get lotsa pressure in comparison, and get dug out by said 40's, so the jeep that can easily be altered to 40's has a purpose here. We're always looking for 4 more inches of clearance to avoid damage, and you guys are good to go with a stock gren or troopy.

 

[mcdoogs]

a 4C is one of those cars people say they want, because it really is "built for purpose", but it's even tough to drive to a cars and coffee. That thing hit you in the face with a reality 2x4 when you say "I want a dedicated track car for the street". It'll make you appreciate a Cayman.

Heh absolutely agree. Still, in this hypothetical a 4c would be deep down my garage roster. And probably only there because I couldn’t find a decent deal on a Lotus Exige

Definitely cars used to drive to and through the nearest curvy mountain road and not much else (besides fixing them in the garage afterwards). The bonus to these tiny exotic sports cars is they can be easily trailored to and from the mountain driving roads by our grenadier

 

[bigleonski]

the Oz market is different than the US market for a variety of reasons, but a couple are 1) laws. we get to booger rig our trucks without much interference and weak enforcement of what rules there are. You guys have rules, and the jeep is the king of booger rigging until it's a highway death trap. 6" lifts and 40's to go shopping isn't a thing there. You guys are confident with little penises where we aren't. 2) You have a continent of dirt roads where a 4x4 wagon with 33's is useful... mostly we're just pretending over here. with 10x the population on the same land mass, most roads are paved, and the fun ones that aren't get lotsa pressure in comparison, and get dug out by said 40's, so the jeep that can easily be altered to 40's has a purpose here. We're always looking for 4 more inches of clearance to avoid damage, and you guys are good to go with a stock gren or troopy.

I think you’re underselling the 4wd scene here, but I agree with your sentiment.
We have a substantial off road rock crawling, hill climbing, deep mud, technical tracks etc etc market here, predominantly inhabited by the 18-40 year olds. Hence why 80 Series cruisers and GQ and GU patrols rule this space. At that age you can live with breaking shit a little easier for your sport. Weekend warriors so to speak. A lot of us have been there and are happy to leave that to happy memories.
But the much bigger market is for outback touring - endless days of dirt roads if you want them. And that market is huge because even a stock SUV with decent tyres can take a family and a van to those places, so relatively stock gets by and it caters for the once is a while holiday set. And it also caters largely for families who camp a lot, but don’t want to get hard core.
But then there’s serious outback touring where you need the mods and accessories to go places very few people do go (thank God).
But yes, in terms of suspension and tyres, that’s prepped for long miles and shit roads rather than big lifts and huge tryes. I’ve always been ok with 33’s. Because 35”s just cost me a shyteload more in fuel and don’t provide that much more performance to offset the penis value.

 

[DaveB]

the Oz market is different than the US market for a variety of reasons, but a couple are 1) laws. we get to booger rig our trucks without much interference and weak enforcement of what rules there are. You guys have rules, and the jeep is the king of booger rigging until it's a highway death trap. 6" lifts and 40's to go shopping isn't a thing there. You guys are confident with little penises where we aren't. 2) You have a continent of dirt roads where a 4x4 wagon with 33's is useful... mostly we're just pretending over here. with 10x the population on the same land mass, most roads are paved, and the fun ones that aren't get lotsa pressure in comparison, and get dug out by said 40's, so the jeep that can easily be altered to 40's has a purpose here. We're always looking for 4 more inches of clearance to avoid damage, and you guys are good to go with a stock gren or troopy.

Yes, well said.
It is a little bit like the 70 series landcruiser over here.
They will go anywhere, forever, after you throw $50K at them to make them liveable.

 

[HereinDaRockies]

Ok drove my IG first time after trip with the rental Rubicon. One stark difference that makes the Grenadier feel less “cushy” was the distinct booming/drumming sound whenever the vehicle rolls over a bump, driving on road

On the wrangler boom either was nonexistent or the loud ambient noise masked it.. the boom sound in the grenadier is VERY annoying. It gives it the feeling of harshness and unrefined. I even applied a layer of Dynamat to my cargo floor. It helped with reducing the booming but it is still very pronounced.

 

[JohnF]

Have been driving a rental rubicon on factory ko2 (at 43psi) over the past week in the Mojave desert.

The jeep(with 2k on the odo) feels more solid than my grenadier on wash board roads. It’s squeak and rattle free( unlike the grenadier which makes a horrible metallic rattle on the driver side). HVAC works without any fuss. All the off road bits work great - activated 4L, lockers and sway disconnect on various segments of a trail. Took the front row hard top panels out for a period of time. Suspension feels more comfortable going over potholes and washboards.

The jeep has the 2.0 turbo. Sounds like sht, but has decent power.
Steering has no squeal sound and turning radius is excellent.

Yeah I have been told it has poor build quality. However so far on this trip it has been highly impressive… makes me wonder did I get the wrong vehicle?

It’s also about $25k cheaper(aggressive discounts from Jeep) than the grenadier

Any former wrangler owners say otherwise?
View attachment 7890435

Really, I’ve owned every proper jeep except a YJ since my first car a 1980 CJ5 including a JL with the four cylinder turbo. I sold two 200 Series Land Cruisers that I swore I never would but after buying a Grenadier I just assume throw rocks at them. We now have two Grenadiers in the garage and a Quartermaster on order. I enjoy mine equally off road bashing it against rocks as slogging 9 hours down the interstate at 80. Not saying Jeeps aren’t good. They make fun toys but to suggest it’s equal or superior to a Grenadier I think is a huge stretch. A One Ton Truck costs more than a 1/2 Ton all things being equal because of payload and towing. Finally, if your Grenadier rattles or makes the sound you described there is something wrong, which is possible. As good as they are I’m sure they are not perfect, though I’ve not heard of a single similar complaint.

 

[84-4runner]

I have both, a JKU and a Grenadier. The jeep is better if in an emergency you are able to sleep inside. I am still trying to figure out
how to do this in the Grenadier. I saw a post here some where, where someone was able to make dohickie which allowed that. But
it should have had a flat floor when the rear seats are folded down. They do feel different. The jeep doesn't wander on the highway.
Grenadier is bigger inside. The grenadier is a tank and the jeep a sportscar. But remember jeep did it to themselves by jacking up
the price and lowering the quality. Which I beat.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

I have both, a JKU and a Grenadier. The jeep is better if in an emergency you are able to sleep inside. I am still trying to figure out
how to do this in the Grenadier. I saw a post here some where, where someone was able to make dohickie which allowed that. But
it should have had a flat floor when the rear seats are folded down. They do feel different. The jeep doesn't wander on the highway.
Grenadier is bigger inside. The grenadier is a tank and the jeep a sportscar. But remember jeep did it to themselves by jacking up
the price and lowering the quality. Which I beat.

Diabolical rear drawer - then it’s all flat. I’m thinking of that, myself

 

[shiv.nandak]

Ok drove my IG first time after trip with the rental Rubicon. One stark difference that makes the Grenadier feel less “cushy” was the distinct booming/drumming sound whenever the vehicle rolls over a bump, driving on road

On the wrangler boom either was nonexistent or the loud ambient noise masked it.. the boom sound in the grenadier is VERY annoying. It gives it the feeling of harshness and unrefined. I even applied a layer of Dynamat to my cargo floor. It helped with reducing the booming but it is still very pronounced.

I ended up adding two layers of sound proofing on the trunk floor and the wheel wells. Also added some resonix sound absorbing material at various places in the wheel wells. The noise is acceptable now.

 

[Zimm]

Diabolical rear drawer - then it’s all flat. I’m thinking of that, myself

You'd still have to saw 6" off my legs, or head.