GOAT Project: What’s The Greatest Jeep Wrangler Ever?

Telling my friends I want to buy a Jeep Wrangler would be like throwing a pound of ground chuck into a piranha tank. Such a pronouncement would whip up an immediate frenzy about which generation of Wrangler is best and therefore deserving of a driveway spot.

I’m not in the market for a Wrangler (yet), but we’re a bunch that considers these hypotheticals like they’re life and death decisions. The ensuing arguments keep our minds sharp and strengthen our bond with other enthusiasts like quenching steel with oil.

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We’ve been known to break out spreadsheets, too. And a sort of pre-trial occurs where we first agree on what constitutes the best of something. After all, how can we agree on anything if we aren’t ranking the same thing?

Lucky you, dear reader: My friends and I are about to enlarge our discussion group. In this new series on CARiD, we’ll be debating and crunching the numbers on many amazing vehicles to determine which generation in its history is the best one to buy.

And yes, we’re starting with the illustrious Jeep Wrangler. If you’re like me, you may be surprised to learn the Wrangler technically has only four generations. After all, these off-roaders have been around since World War II, and the Willys MB and CJ off-roaders that came before the Wrangler were sold for 40 years by now-defunct automakers like Kaiser-Jeep and American Motors.

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The Wrangler, however, was born in 1986 when Chrysler and AMC launched it as a replacement to the venerable CJ-7. It was less spartan than the CJ and more forgiving for owners who wanted to drive it on pavement sometimes (or all the time).

There have been four generations of Wrangler since the mid-’80s, each with its own two-letter designation.

• YJ (1986-1995)
• TJ (1997-2006)
• JK (2007-2018)
• JL (2019-present)

As you can see, the first three generations served honorably for around a decade each, while the current generation is about halfway through its cycle.

And while all generations of Wrangler look very much the same, important changes happened with each passing of the torch that we’ll touch on in our ranking.

Before we begin, as previously mentioned, we have to define what makes a particular generation of Jeep Wrangler the best one. We’ve done this part for you, so here are the data points we’ll be using.

• Ground clearance (taller is better)
• Approach, departure, and breakover angle (highest aggregate number is best)
• Weight (lower is better)
• Width (thinner is better)
• Torque (higher is better)
• Inflation-adjusted price (lower is better)
• Just Want It factor

All of our data points are objective except the last one, the Just Want It factor. If we didn’t have this measurement, there’d be no discussion to have after we tallied the hard numbers. It is, essentially, what makes this whole process fun.

The Jeep Wrangler Through the Years

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Willys MB and Jeep(R) Wrangler. (J-02102)

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The OG: 2003 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon

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2007 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon

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2019 Jeep® Wrangler Sahara

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2019 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon

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2024 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon X 2-door with Xtreme 35 Tire Package

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2024 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon two-door with Xtreme 35 Tire Package

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“Back by popular demand, the Tuscadero exterior paint color - an audacious, deep and intense chromatic magenta - is making its highly anticipated return as an option on the iconic, new-for-2024 Jeep® Wrangler.”

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2024 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition

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In order to give a well-rounded Just Want It score to each generation of Wrangler, we assembled a body of automotive journalists, industry insiders, and general car nerds we trust to rank them subjectively according to their emotional pull. As you can imagine, the results were as non-unanimous as I’m sure the comments from the peanut gallery will be. But, in the end, they helped us determine which Jeep Wrangler generation reigns supreme.

Without further ado, let’s dive right into these piranha-infested waters with our last-place pick for the greatest generation of Jeep Wrangler.

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Wrangler generations can be marked by who owned Jeep at that time. The third-generation JK model came to be in the DaimlerChrysler era. It was a tipping point where the Wrangler became a truly civilized product thanks to its first all-new frame that vastly widened its range of appeal.

Unfortunately, in order to become a more liveable machine, the JK grew larger in every dimension, including width and weight, two important factors we considered in our ranking. Underhood, the Wrangler finally said goodbye to its venerable 4.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine (the last link to its AMC parentage) and hello to the “minivan motor,” a 3.8-liter V6 it shared with DaimlerChrysler’s family haulers. Halfway through its life, the JK ditched this engine for a well-regarded 3.6-liter V6.

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So why does the JK generation come in last place in our rankings? Despite its popularity in terms of sales, the JK marked the introduction of the four-door Wrangler Unlimited. Much like Porsche purists were forced to accept the Cayenne SUV as the brand’s savior, Jeep purists had watched the Wrangler grow more palatable to the masses over the years, and the introduction of the Unlimited was maybe a step too far to attract newcomers. The JK generation is perhaps most responsible for Wranglers becoming a more common sight at the mall than on a mountain.

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Jeep was under Fiat stewardship at the time of the fourth-generation Wrangler’s launch. The JL model arrived with the same size creep from which the second- and third-generation models suffered, but it also brought forth a blossoming in terms of choice for consumers.

A new pickup truck based on the Wrangler, called the Gladiator, joined the historic two-door and popular four-door models. Of course, it too had four doors. Engine choices have also been plentiful in the six years the JL has been with us. The 3.6-liter V6 carried over from the last generation, but there was also a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder (including a short-lived mild hybrid version), a diesel 3.0-liter V6, a plug-in hybrid version of the turbo-four engine, and the pièce de résistance, a V8-powered model called the 392 that makes 470 horsepower and 470 foot-pounds of torque.

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The JL has also been blessed with modern upgrades in all departments, including safety equipment, convenience features, and off-roading technologies. Its third-place finish here in our ranking is perhaps reflected in the fact the JL has needed all of these new powertrains and technological advances to offset the qualities that have dragged it farther away from being a true Wrangler. For instance, after four generations, the Wrangler has become the heaviest and widest it’s ever been – 7.7 inches wider than the original YJ and over 1,100 pounds heavier. So while it’s cool we live in an era where both a plug-in hybrid and V8-powered Wrangler exist, neither come close to the essence of what makes a Wrangler a Wrangler, which is a purity of purpose that points off-road.

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The first Jeep to be called Wrangler was born out of Chrysler’s acquisition of American Motor Corporation in the mid-’80s. Led by Lee Iaccoca’s lust for the Cherokee and future Grand Cherokee product lines, the purchase also came with this little two-door SUV and a lot of history.

How does the least sophisticated, least powerful, and least comfortable Wrangler ever sold wind up second in our list? Mainly because those attributes make it an outstanding off-road vehicle. The first-generation YJ is truly a mountain goat, able to get into and out of places in which modern vehicles would simply sink in the mud. And if something breaks out in the field, that lack of complexity is what makes the YJ easy to diagnose and fix.

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True, you don’t get a lot of choice with your YJ Wrangler. Back then it was two doors only and one of three holdover engines from AMC, including the first appearance of the legendary 4.0-liter inline-six engine. Eventually Jeep struck upon the idea of offering the Wrangler with special option packages. The Sahara launched first in ‘88, followed by the wildly colored Islander and the sharp Renegade.

For all of its special qualities, the YJ missed out on being the greatest generation in our ranking. While it scored highest in many of the data points having to do with great off-road ability, it has the lowest ground clearance and least powerful engine. Plus, we haven’t mentioned the square headlights. The YJ is the only of its lineage not to have round headlights, and that includes going back to the CJ and Willys eras. It is perhaps a faux pas that’s never been forgiven by true Jeepers, and it didn’t help with the YJ’s Just Want It score.

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Many people were happy when the second-generation Wrangler TJ debuted in the mid-’90s. For one, it marked the return of round headlights, which Wranglers continue to use to this day. The TJ also began the Wrangler’s march towards modernization and away from its AMC roots.

While still retaining a few AMC parts, including that 4.0-liter six-cylinder engine, the TJ welcomed a new coil-sprung suspension to replace the former model’s leaf springs. Inspired by the new Grand Cherokee’s suspension, this setup gave the Wrangler a much better on-road ride and handling.

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Perhaps sensing what was coming, Jeep also introduced a long-wheelbase Unlimited model of the TJ Wrangler later in its life. Though it lacked the extra two doors that would arrive next generation, the first Unlimited did have a 10-inch longer wheelbase. This gave rear seat passengers two more inches of legroom and added 13 inches more of cargo space length.

There were also many option packages and special editions of the TJ, more than I have room to list here, though one deserves mention. The second-generation Wrangler marks the first appearance of the Rubicon model, which became the most off-road-capable Wrangler in the lineup.

After counting up the data in our spreadsheet and tallying our Just Want It scores, the Wrangler TJ is our winner. It is the greatest generation Wrangler, and it’s not a hard case to make.

The first and fourth generation Wranglers represent this vehicle’s two extremes, the former being the simplest, purest, and most affordable and the latter being the most complex, most luxurious, and most expensive Wrangler in the marque’s history. Their superlatives at each end of the spectrum were their downfall. The third-generation, meanwhile, is responsible for the four-door Unlimited model, which, while it’s now the best-selling version, is the farthest from the Platonic ideal of what a Wrangler really is.

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That leaves us with the second-gen TJ. It’s neither the simplest nor the most complex Wrangler, nor is it the least civilized or most compromised. The TJ hits that sweet spot where there’s a good mix of both philosophies in its engineering, and it also benefits from the goodwill of bringing back round headlights and introducing the Rubicon model to the world.

After this exhaustive process, we consider the matter of choosing the GOAT Wrangler settled. Unless, that is, you have something to add – perhaps via a kindly worded email to tips@carid.com?