1985 Jeep CJ8 Reviews

The Sport S is the new entry trim level to the new JL Wrangler line-up, with list pricing now $9,960 more expensive than the old Sport strarting price at $48,950.The JL Wrangler is an all-new design and comes with plenty of new features, so it arguably represents similar value to the JK.The Sport S is available in either two or four-door bodystyles, with the four-door costing $4500 more at $53,450.The Sport S standard feature list includes cloth seats and a soft roof with plastic windows, but does have a leather steering wheel, carpet on the floor and alloy wheels, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for the first time, albeit in the smaller 7.0-inch multimedia screen. It’s also got auto headlights and rear parking sensors.Note that the Sport S won’t get AEB and blind-spot monitoring until closer to the end of 2019.  Like all JL Wranglers bar the diesel version of the top-spec Rubicon, the Sport S comes with a revised version of the JK’s 3.6-litre petrol V6 engine which produces the same 209kW/347Nm as before, but the two-door’s official combined fuel consumption figure is now 9.6L/100km (9.7L/100km four-door) thanks to weight savings, a new eight-speed automatic transmission and the addition of a stop-start system.

Australia’s crash-testing body ANCAP has released the latest round of safety testing with the all-new Toyota HiAce and Nissan Leaf earning five stars, yet the Jeep Wrangler has earned only one star. Australia’s top-selling van, the HiAce, achieved 94 per cent for adult occupant protection, 88 per cent for child occupant protection, 84 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 77 per cent for safety assist. The second-generation Nissan Leaf scored well, too, with a 93 per cent adult occupant protection score, plus 85 per cent for child occupant protection, 71 per cent vulnerable road user protection and 70 per cent for safety assist.The Jeep Wrangler, on the other hand, scored just 50 per cent for adult occupant projection, 49 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and just 32 per cent for safety assist.From launch, the Wrangler is only equipped with auto emergency braking (AEB) and blind-spot monitoring on the top two models, though Jeep will add both features to the entry-level Sport S “towards the back end of 2019,” according to Jeep Australia boss Steve Zanlunghi.Beyond all of this, the Australian model lacks curtain airbags and is fundamentally challenged by having a fold-down windscreen and removable doors. “The safety performance of the Wrangler is limited, falling well shy of the expected standard in three of the four key areas of assessment” said ANCAP Chief Executive, James Goodwin. “Chest protection was a concern for the driver and rear passenger in each of the frontal crash tests, a number of penalties were applied for structural deformation and potential leg injury hazards, and base variants lack autonomous emergency braking altogether,” Mr Goodwin said.The outgoing JK Wrangler had a four-star rating but only on petrol V6 models produced from 2012 onwards - models dating back to 2007 were not rated. 

A fast-setting sun, the temperature poised to plunge from 10 degrees, zero phone reception, we were halfway up the remote west coast of Tasmania at least an hour away from our destination and there was a Jeep Wrangler bogged up to the axles halting us in our tracks.If we were in a LandCruiser, Patrol or Defender, this would signal an opportunity to score some brand brownie points by saving the day with a snatch strap. But given this was our first taste of the new JL Wrangler on Australian soil and we were among almost a dozen other Wranglers queued up behind the bogged lead car, you’d forgive our hosting Jeep executives for feeling a tad nervous at this point. This sort of thing seldom happens on media events thanks to impeccable planning of every possible contingency.But reality couldn’t have been more contrary, with smiles all round as snatch straps, Maxtrax and a shovel were mobilised and all hands hit the deck to get us out of there.This is the thrill of off-roading and Jeeping at its very core, adhering to the popular mantra that you’re not going properly off-road until you get stuck.It probably sounds mad to 95 per cent of the car-buying public, but the anxiety of apparent failure followed by the elation of extrication can be one hell of a buzz.The longer this recovery takes, the greater the thrill, and this one took the best part of an hour, in professional hands, so we’d been pretty damn stuck.Given the new Wrangler had proven itself as arguably the most capable off-road vehicle straight out of the box at it’s international launch on the infamous Rubicon Trail in the US last year, we should also take pride in the fact that it took Aussie soil to halt it.But how does it go on Aussie bitumen, in local spec? Read on.

Any fears over how the public would respond to a Wrangler-based pick-up appear to be misguided, with Jeep Gladiator attracting more than 25,000 US orders in its first month on sale.

Should you consider the Jeep Gladiator a rival to a Ford Ranger? Not really. What about a Ram 1500? Kind of. It's actually most likely going to be cross-shopped against the Wrangler four-door, because it looks like a Wrangler ute, after all. But having driven it at its international launch in the US this week, we can tell you the Gladiator is a lot more than just a Wrangler with a tray.

Jeep has confirmed it will offer a fully electric model at some point, and that when that happens, it will still be a hardcore off-roader.

A V8-powered version of the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator hasn't been entirely ruled out - but the brand will need to do quite a bit of work if it wants to make this dream a reality.

Jeep has revealed six new pick-up truck concepts ahead of the Moab Easter Jeep Safari, most of which are based on the all-new Gladiator dual cab ute.

The Jeep Gladiator dual cab may be the brand’s most anticipated model in decades, but the company is also mulling a single cab version.

April’s cooling weather may be the perfect time to take to the road in a new vehicle made for the long-haul holiday. There is a fresh crop of SUVs on the market and with it, a few great deals to sweeten the purchase. Here’s some deals to help you get out and explore.