Jeep has one of the largest fleet of vehicles around but apparently, most of them are the Wranglers. Late last year, a new generation of Wranglers emerge and among them is a variant that stands out from the crowd. It is the Jeep Wrangler Sahara and this particular vehicle looks gentler than its siblings.
Instead of coming out with that warfare-ready styling, the Sahara adopts a gentler design with large front bumpers, soft rounded headlamps, boxy cabin and a nice black metallic paintjob. The interior too is themed in black and is completed with the latest general features like a multi-purpose steering and a complex climate control system.
Retailing at $32K, the Wrangler Sahara looks as if it is developed for the general market but when we tested out the vehicle, we discovered that we were wrong. The Sahara, like the latest generation of Wranglers, is still a beast as it runs on the powerful 3.6L V6 Pentastar engine.
In figures, this develops a whopping 305hp. Then again, the Sahara is not a performer when on the tar mat. The vehicle feels more like a cruiser with high inertia. This is because of the way the throttle is tuned, which is architect in the off-road fashion.
It seems that we were right as the Jeep Wrangler Sahara performs flawlessly when on the dirt trails, hill ascends and river crossing. While it might average at about 25mph when off the road, the Sahara offers a thrill that never gets old. Being a Jeep, the Sahara is completed with the carmaker’s hallmark off-roading technologies.
On the downside to this, the Sahara failed in offering great fuel economy. It might be a nice ride overall but being limited to off-roading will be its biggest obstacle to sell well.
