Jeep Wrangler Overland 2019 off-road review: Two-door

The Jeep Wrangler Overland is available in two specs: the two-door four-seat Wrangler and the four-door Unlimited. We tested the two-door, which is priced at $58,450 (plus on-road costs) but our test vehicle had Ocean Blue Metallic paint, adding $745 to the price-tag, bringing it to $59,195.

There are nice touches such as leather everywhere and Overland branding on the seats and you do get a bunch of stuff – like 8.4-inch multimedia touchscreen, sat nav, active cruise control, parking sensors, reversing camera, removable hard-top (I never tried it) and more – but you’d want it to have a stack of features, for almost $60,000.

Taking centre stage inside the Wrangler is 8.4-inch multimedia touchscreen.

It has AEB (standard only on the Overland) and blind-spot monitoring, but only a one-star ANCAP safety rating.

If you're interested, the four-door Overland Unlimited costs $62,950.

It has a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine – producing 209kW at 6350rpm and 347Nm at 4300rpm – and an eight-speed automatic transmission. It's an effective pairing for road driving and, more importantly on this occasion, low-speed 4WDing.

The 3.6-litre V6 makes 209kW/347Nm.

I mapped out a 4WD loop which included gravel tracks, light to medium corrugations, undulating mud tracks and mud holes, some decent sections of low-speed 4WDing (in particular, a steep rocky hill), and a few other bits and pieces to see if it was able to do everything safely and comfortably. I wasn't expecting any strife because the Wrangler is a genuine 4WD with a dual-range transfer case, a ladder chassis, solid axles and proven 4WD heritage.

On gravel, there’s an unsettling amount of steering-wheel jitter over even minor corrugations and more so over considerable bumps – but overall the Wrangler feels solid and composed on the road, largely in part due to its 2459mm-long wheelbase and bulk.

The Wrangler has 260mm ground clearance and a standard wading depth of 760mm.

Coil springs all-round help soak up the lumps and, for a purpose-built off-roader, this Jeep yields a comfortable ride for driver and passengers. As a true 4WD worth its salt, the Wrangler is immediately more at home taking on low-speed 4WDing than it is prowling city streets.

Switching to 4WD High or Low range is still via a stubby stick to the left of the main shifter, so kudos to Jeep for sticking with tradition, albeit with a modern flavour. Its Selec-Trac 4x4 system, is, as expected, very effective.

The Wrangler is supremely sure-footed during low-range work but visibility can be a problem.

Again, the V6 engine comes into its own, delivering smooth even torque when needed, but not over-working to achieve that at any time. Considered driving is required and slow and steady throttle is the order of the day, but that's easily done in the Wrangler as its loud pedal is none too sensitive to a jiggling boot.

Steering has a nice weight to it at lower speeds.

Coil springs all-round help soak up the lumps and bumps.

The Wrangler is supremely sure-footed during low-range work but visibility can be a problem; over-bonnet visibility has improved slightly over previous generations but seeing out clearly to the front and side is still a bit pinched, making it at times difficult to visually pick correct wheel-placement, especially when driving steep, sharply-angled terrain, i.e. the rocky hill we tackled. It can go hard-core, no worries, but it simply requires a little bit more thought, which is fine because it makes the whole off-road experience more of an engaging one. 

The Wrangler performed just as well through deep ruts and mud holes. It has 260mm ground clearance – plenty enough to clear most submerged obstacles – and a standard wading depth of 760mm. Its traction control system is effective, chirping in when needed.

Towing capacity is 750kg (unbraked) and 1497kg (braked).

The Wrangler Overland has a one-star ANCAP rating. It has AEB, dual front and side airbags, blind-spot monitoring, active cruise control, parking sensors, reversing camera, tyre-pressure-monitoring system and more.