2018 Jeep Wrangler - Take a Closer Look

by Tim Healey

Published: November 30th, 2017

Jeep Wrangler fans are the type of enthusiasts who know and appreciate the history of the model, and Jeep knows that. Since we already knew just about everything about the 2018 Wrangler before the sheets came off in Los Angeles, we here at TTAC figured it might be interesting to take a closer look at some of the smaller details that go beyond horsepower, torque, and transmission type.

One of Jeep’s PR folks walked me through the various callbacks to prior Wranglers that are evident, if not obvious, on the new Wrangler.

Wrangler lovers will like the plaque mounted on the inside of the tailgate — it lists the JL’s dimensions and just looks cool.

The next cool detail is the roofline — the softtop can extend out past the C-pillar and give a bit of coverage to the rear cargo area, as shown here.

I wasn’t able to get quality photos, but the doors have different pull hooks and door pins than the current model.

The air vent shown here is functional, helping to cool the motor:

Two footman’s loops adorn the hood, as pictured here.

Perhaps most notable, the Jeep badge deserts the front grille and moves back to the bodyside.

And, of course, the windshield folds down, as previously reported.

The dash also returns to a flat-top design.

And finally, eagle-eyed readers will notice that the doors are bit more rounded-off — this is to make it easier to get in and out of the Jeep when off-roading.

Jeep has loaded the 2018 Wrangler with enough small details to keep the keen-eyed busy. Next up — actually driving the damn thing.

#2017LosAngelesAutoShow #2018JeepWrangler #Jeep #JeepWrangler #JeepWranglerJL #JlWrangler #Wrangler #WranglerJL

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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PrincipalDan on Nov 30, 2017

Sport V6 2-door 4x4 6 speed manual hardtop is how I would want mine. The high resale is the thing that keeps tempting me on buying one new.

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- EquipmentJunkie on Nov 30, 2017
  
  I totally agree on the resale value of Wranglers. I bought my '98 TJ right, drove it for 50k, and sold it for $600 less than I paid for it.
  
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- PrincipalDan on Nov 30, 2017
  
  @EquipmentJunkie Just went to look at "trade in value" on a 5-6 year old Sport S 4x4 manual transmission hardtop with 80,000 miles and even the online sites which tend to low ball trade in a bit were saying that it was roughly $16,000. That's insane when you could buy a new one for about $25,000.
  
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Kato on Nov 30, 2017

Looks like a nice update. I'm intrigued by the photo with a cargo carrier mounted directly to the hardtop. One of the things that has kept me from considering one previously is having to install a giant exoskeleton in order to carry a canoe. If it can carry a boat and can be had with V6, MT, and full-time 4WD, I'm interested. I passed on the Liberty 'cause full-time could only be had with an AT.

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Recent Comments

ToolGuy First picture: I realize that opinions vary on the height of modern trucks, but that entry door on the building is 80 inches tall and hits just below the headlights. Does anyone really believe this is reasonable?Second picture: I do not believe that is a good parking spot to be able to access the bed storage. More specifically, how do you plan to unload topsoil with the truck parked like that? Maybe you kids are taller than me.
ToolGuy The other day I attempted to check the engine oil in one of my old embarrassing vehicles and I guess the red shop towel I used wasn't genuine Snap-on (lots of counterfeits floating around) plus my driveway isn't completely level and long story short, the engine seized 3 minutes later.No more used cars for me, and nothing but dealer service from here on in (the journalists were right).
Doughboy Wow, Merc knocks it out of the park with their naming convention… again. /s
Doughboy I’ve seen car bras before, but never car beards. ZZ Top would be proud.
Bkojote Allright, actual person who knows trucks here, the article gets it a bit wrong.First off, the Maverick is not at all comparable to a Tacoma just because they're both Hybrids. Or lemme be blunt, the butch-est non-hybrid Maverick Tremor is suitable for 2/10 difficulty trails, a Trailhunter is for about 5/10 or maybe 6/10, just about the upper end of any stock vehicle you're buying from the factory. Aside from a Sasquatch Bronco or Rubicon Jeep Wrangler you're looking at something you're towing back if you want more capability (or perhaps something you /wish/ you were towing back.)Now, where the real world difference should play out is on the trail, where a lot of low speed crawling usually saps efficiency, especially when loaded to the gills. Real world MPG from a 4Runner is about 12-13mpg, So if this loaded-with-overlander-catalog Trailhunter is still pulling in the 20's - or even 18-19, that's a massive improvement.