Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Rubicon is how well suited it is to pavement pounding now. It's quite easy to modify a base Wrangler with aftermarket parts to improve off-road abilities, but doing so always compromises the on-road behavior. After we completed the Rubicon Trail, we simply shifted back to two-wheel drive, flipped switches to disengage the lockers and re-engage the front anti-roll bar, and aired up the tires. Although the two-door Wrangler has come a long way since 1987, it's still a unique experience to drive a vehicle with such a short wheelbase and high center of gravity. The ride back to our hotel was surprisingly quiet with the optional hardtop, though the KM2 tires are more vocal on the highway than less-aggressive rubber would be.
For the ultimate on- and off-road machine, the four-door Wrangler Rubicon 10th Anniversary Edition is tough to beat. The added wheelbase didn't make the Rubicon Trail any more intimidating, but it makes an expressway jaunt far easier for the driver. Now that Jeep is building hardcore vehicles for its traditional Wrangler fans and also building easier to live with, but no less capable, models that expand the brand's appeal, it's easy to see why Wrangler sales regularly surpass 100,000 units per year. As long as Jeep keeps producing Rubicon models, the purists won't have a real reason to complain.
2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 10th Anniversary Edition
Power: 285 hp @ 6400 rpm
Torque: 260 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual, 5-speed Automatic (optional)
Drive: Four-wheel
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