Wrangler better?

[vtgrenadier]

I don't have much experience with the JL, but have a JK (2017) that excels at its intended purpose: running up and down the beach in search of stripers (the fish, not the occupation... although, I've seen some disrobe in the heat). I pulled all of the carpeting out on Day One and built rubber-linked mats (like the kind Series Land Rovers were fitted with). By Fall, there's a solid 1" of sand accumulated on the floors... it's very much used as a tool and with the half-doors, both rare and functional in 4-door configuration.

I drove my Grenadier up my dirt road for the first time during what we in Vermont call "mud season." Boy was I disappointed in the washboard performance of the Grenadier! Almost worse than the Jeep.

 

[RobP]

I currently have 2 Wranglers, a 2 door JL Rubicon on 35's and a 4 door JL Rubicon on 35's (Exteme Recon package). To me, the Grenadier is much more comfortable in every situation with the exception of the driveline vibration on the highway at 2k rpms. It's much smoother on and off road and offers significantly more storage than the 4 door JL Wrangler. I do have the Fox adjustable steering stabilizer on the Grenadier, otherwise I'd prefer the Wrangler steering. I prefer the full time 4wd on the Grenadier as well. The Wrangler steers very differently when it's in 4wd mode.

 

[CRH]

The Wrangler steers very differently when it's in 4wd mode.

That's quite interesting, I'm guessing you mean worse, is it worse than the Grenadier with the stock stabiliser?
I'm happy with mine on the stock one with nr 20,000 miles on it, it holds steady and will slowly centralise just need to input a bit more for the last 45 degrees ish.

 

[HereinDaRockies]

I currently have 2 Wranglers, a 2 door JL Rubicon on 35's and a 4 door JL Rubicon on 35's (Exteme Recon package). To me, the Grenadier is much more comfortable in every situation with the exception of the driveline vibration on the highway at 2k rpms. It's much smoother on and off road and offers significantly more storage than the 4 door JL Wrangler. I do have the Fox adjustable steering stabilizer on the Grenadier, otherwise I'd prefer the Wrangler steering. I prefer the full time 4wd on the Grenadier as well. The Wrangler steers very differently when it's in 4wd mode.

You don’t find your 4 door Rubicons to be “cushier” than the IG?

In my week with it I found the Rubi to be way cushier than my IG on and off road ( high speed washboard and potholes). I blast it down whatever in front of me.

With the IG I find myself bracing for impending road surface imperfections, knowing it will be a stiff or jarring bump

 

[HereinDaRockies]

That's quite interesting, I'm guessing you mean worse, is it worse than the Grenadier with the stock stabiliser?
I'm happy with mine on the stock one with nr 20,000 miles on it, it holds steady and will slowly centralise just need to input a bit more for the last 45 degrees ish.

4h on the wrangler involves locked center diff, so does not compare to IG’s 4wd with open center diff. Steering with center diff locked is highly awkward on high traction surface..

 

[HereinDaRockies]

drove my Grenadier up my dirt road for the first time during what we in Vermont call "mud season." Boy was I disappointed in the washboard performance of the Grenadier! Almost worse than the Jeep.

Yeah washboard in my grenadier sucks… rattles and uncomfortable.
this was the most pronounced difference that I felt with the Rubicon. The rubicon was also at 44psi. It still felt much better than my IG at 36psi

 

[MattA]

haven’t read the whole thread but holly crap, jeep better than a Grenadier, that is not confidence installing that’s for sure

 

[RobP]

4h on the wrangler involves locked center diff, so does not compare to IG’s 4wd with open center diff. Steering with center diff locked is highly awkward on high traction surface..

This.
I launched a boat the other day in the 4 door wrangler and put it in 4wd before backing down the trailer. It's not really meant for this type of application and was hard to turn. Wranglers are RWD by default and don't play well if you have traction and put it in 4wd but I'd rather not chance sliding on a potentially slippery boat ramp.

 

[RobP]

You don’t find your 4 door Rubicons to be “cushier” than the IG?

In my week with it I found the Rubi to be way cushier than my IG on and off road ( high speed washboard and potholes). I blast it down whatever in front of me.

With the IG I find myself bracing for impending road surface imperfections, knowing it will be a stiff or jarring bump

I find the IG cushier but I haven't taken it through a washboard yet. I have with the Rubicons and they're all over the place! I run my tires at 34psi on all of them and they all have KO2s.

 

[DaveB]

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

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.

 

[HereinDaRockies]

haven’t read the whole thread but holly crap, jeep better than a Grenadier, that is not confidence installing that’s for sure

Well just my anecdotes based on a week’s worth of driving the jeep.

 

[DaveB]

I find the IG cushier but I haven't taken it through a washboard yet. I have with the Rubicons and they're all over the place! I run my tires at 34psi on all of them and they all have KO2s.

It would be normal if driving on roads with lots of corrugations or washboards to reduce the tyre pressure even further to improve the ride.

 

[Tazzieman]

Tyres 25psi on corrugations

 

[DaveB]

Tyres 25psi on corrugations

The 17" rims also help to give more sidewall flex.

 

[angstorms]

Back in January when I had to rescue 4xe on the Alpine loop, I personally found the Jeep more cramped compared to the Grenadier, the controls we bit odd. I did have to use the lockers to get them out and traction boards since they were nose first into a snow bank on side of the road. . At the time the Alpine Loop with snow and ice over the road so it had number of hard ripples. Had more control in Grenadier than the Jeep on that surface. Once I got them un stuck I wanted out of the Jeep..

If you love the Jeep more, get a Jeep, you had lot of issue with your truck that lot us have not had. Once you distrust a vehicle it down hill spiral, I sold few cars when this happened.

For me I look forward to pulling off the ZF/Sachs/TRW mono tube shocks for Bilstein's in the future. Also wonder what tires were on the Jeep that can have big effect as well.

 

[Commodore]

Yeah washboard in my grenadier sucks… rattles and uncomfortable.
this was the most pronounced difference that I felt with the Rubicon. The rubicon was also at 44psi. It still felt much better than my IG at 36psi

you are running way too much psi for off road. Those should be in the 15-18 psi range for washboards. No wonder you think is doesn't ride well. The Grenadier springs are intended to carry a substantial load. Your tool to offset that is tire inflation. If you are running empty off road then you really need to air way down for comfort and traction.

 

[BenTN]

I own a four-door Jeep Wrangler JLU V6, and a 1-year-old Grenadier. I have many thousands of miles in both vehicles on long trips on and off road. I have towed a travel trailer (caravan) thousands of miles using both.

While on paper these two vehicles are similar in many ways, the experience of driving them back to back, day after day, is very different. I will jump to the summary: The Grenadier is a dramatically higher quality vehicle with a virtually identical capability offroad. On road the Grenadier is quieter, better planted, suffers from much less head toss, and offers better visibility and comfort.

There are a few areas that the Jeep beats the Grenadier:
- turning circle is noticeably better in the Jeep
- the doors come off
- the aftermarket is dramatically larger and less expensive
- the HVAC works predictably

But getting out of the Grenadier and into the Jeep feels like climbing into a toy car. The Jeep cabin is quite a bit smaller, and the roll bar impinges into the useful space dramatically. I wouldn't want to camp and sleep inside this thing. The Jeep is a pretty lousy tow vehicle, maxing out at 3,500 lbs. I have towed at this maximum weight cross-country for tens of thousands of miles, and while it has worked out OK for me, the vehicle weight and suspension are really not conducive to comfortable towing.

The Jeep is significantly lighter than the Grenadier, mostly because it has a shocking amount of plastic in the structure and in the body, and it feels that way. Creaks and rattles are everywhere at 85,000 miles. It sounds like the side view mirrors are going to fall off every time I close the front doors. Not to mention I had to replace a camshaft already. The Jeep is so loud on the highway that I basically can't drive it during a work day, since I can't make phone calls and expect to hear anyone on the other end clearly.

The Grenadier is not perfect. I hoped that it would have highway steering better than the live-axle Jeep, but it does not. If anything I find I have to be more attentive in the Grenadier. This was a bit of a disappointment. And I have had some sporadic HVAC problems. That's been frustrating.

But all in all, moving into the Grenadier has been an absolute joy. I love driving this thing and it is simply a better engineered vehicle, more useful, and better built. Not to mention it is awfully nice driving something that is unique and special, and captures people's imagination. This is so much better than passing fellow Jeep drivers with too many ducks on their dashboard, trying to wave at me.

I would offroad the Grenadier with confidence absolutely anywhere I could go in my Jeep. And it is a pleasure to drive in a whole lot of situations that would be miserable in the Jeep. I would buy the Grenadier again without a moment's hesitation. The Jeep is sticking around while my daughters learn to drive.

 

[rur42]

I have a JK Unlimited Sport as well as the Grenadier, and the gren is definitely more solidly built. Just looking around underneath both and it's clear where the extra money went. Hopefully that translates to better longevity and reliability.

I've towed a 3K lbs trailer quite a bit with the JK, and it's adequate, but not great. Looking forward to towing with the gren. Definitely more interior space with the gren. The JK actually fits me a little better, ergonomic wise, but that's a personal thing. The JK is loud though, and the wind noise on long trips was getting to me. The gren is loud too, but lower frequency which doesn't bother me as much. I've done mostly logging roads with both and have no concerns there with either vehicle.

The thing I like most about the JK is that I can get parts anywhere, get it worked on anywhere, accessories can be inexpensive, and there's a youtube video for pretty much any kind of work you want to do. I had another vehicle a few years back that was similar to the gren, in that it could only be worked on at the dealer, parts were never readily available and always had to be ordered... everything was a special deal and effort to do. It was very annoying and one of the reason I finally sold it. That was probably my biggest concern getting the gren, and that my dealer is an hour and half away.

Overall, the grenadier wins for me, but that doesn't make it the perfect vehicle everyone.