The Jeep® Legend Continues With New 2005 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

OVERVIEW

With unmatched off-road capability, the 2005 Jeep® Wrangler lineup continues to grow the Jeep legend with new options for Jeep enthusiasts. For 2005, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited adds a new Rubicon model (late availability), allowing hard-core Wrangler Unlimited owners to “Go Anywhere, Do Anything and Bring Everything.”

Also adding more capability for Jeep in 2005, all Jeep Wranglers feature an all-new six-speed manual transmission. A new Premium package is available on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. The Premium package features new and unique cloth seats, silver painted center stack and instrument cluster bezels, bright grille and body color fender flares. Also new for 2005 is an optional six-disc in-dash CD changer system (late availability).

No vehicle illustrates the legendary Jeep 4x4 capability better than the Wrangler, the heart and soul of the Jeep brand. Wrangler is the icon of the brand, offering open-air fun and freedom with award-winning off-road capability to young buyers, seasoned off-road enthusiasts and those who are young at heart. With the addition of the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited in 2004, Jeep has delivered the joys of “Jeeping” to new customers.

“The Jeep Wrangler and the Wrangler Unlimited are the heart and soul of the Jeep brand,” said Jeff Bell, Vice President—Jeep. “We have expanded the rugged appeal of the standard Wrangler to a whole new group of Jeep enthusiasts with the Wrangler Unlimited and now the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. The Wrangler Unlimited builds on the unique elements of the original Wrangler and continues to deliver a true emotional connection to Jeep customers. But with the Unlimited, Wrangler now appeals to a broader range of core customers who require more space.”

All Jeep Wranglers wear the Jeep Trail Rated® badge, indicating that the vehicle has been designed to perform in a variety of challenging conditions identified by five key consumer-oriented performance categories: traction, ground clearance, maneuverability, articulation and water fording.

2005 JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED RUBICON: THE LEGEND GROWS AGAIN
Building upon the success of the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, the 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon takes extreme off-roading to a new level.

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon model builds on the award-winning capability of Wrangler Rubicon with an off-road system that includes locking front and rear differentials, front and rear Dana model 44 axles, four-wheel disc brakes and a 4:1 low-range transfer case. Not only is this premier off-road package fully synthesized by Jeep engineers, it’s an exceptional value to customers.

“The Wrangler Rubicon was too popular with Jeep owners not to expand it to the successful Wrangler Unlimited,” said Bell. “With the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, we brought the Jeep sense of freedom and adventure to a new customer who required more space. The standard wheelbase Wrangler Rubicon continues as the ultimate off-road Wrangler, but both are rigs that are ready for serious off-road trails—and at a significant savings, compared to the costs of modifying the vehicle with aftermarket hardware.”

The Rubicon editions feature a Rock-Trac™ transfer case with 4:1 “low range” that slows vehicle speed to give the driver more control, while increasing the amount of torque available at the wheels. In addition, the front and rear axles include “air-actuated” Tru-Lok™ locking differentials to maximize traction. The Wrangler Rubicon also features Goodyear Wrangler “Maximum Traction/Reinforced” 31-inch tall tires with a beefy tread pattern that wraps around the sidewall to help grab ledges along the trail. This state-of-the-art off-road tire includes a three-ply sidewall and advanced silica compound for excellent durability and puncture resistance. The LT245/75R16 tires add an extra half-inch of ground clearance to the Jeep Rubicon models.

The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and Unlimited Rubicon feature unique exterior design cues that include heavy gauge diamond-plate sill guards, 16-inch five-spoke aluminum wheels and a “Rubicon” graphic placed prominently on each side of the hood.

JEEP: UNLIMITED POTENTIAL
The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited adds versatility to the Jeep icon, with 15 inches added to its overall length. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited delivers 13 inches more cargo area and two inches more second-row leg room, while maintaining the unmatched open-air fun and 4x4 capability of the original Jeep Wrangler.

“Jeep owners don’t want us to change a thing on their Jeep vehicles, but the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited holds true to the ideals of Wrangler and instantly becomes a formidable part of the family,” said Bell. “The Wrangler Unlimited delivers all that is Wrangler, but with more space for passengers and cargo, and a broader appeal.”

MORE ROOM, VERSATILITY AND COMFORT
While maintaining its legendary 4x4 Jeep capability, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited offers more refined, on-road comfort and quietness because of its longer 103-inch wheelbase—10 inches longer than the original Wrangler.

The versatility and functionality is increased with the additional 13 inches of space behind the second row, giving the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited double the amount of cargo capacity. The additional two inches in the second row provide more leg and knee room for passengers. Access to the second row is also improved with tip and slide front seats added to the driver’s side.

In addition to a more refined ride, the longer wheelbase contributes to the Wrangler Unlimited’s best-in-segment towing capability of 3,500 lbs., which is 1,500 lbs. more than the standard Wrangler.

OPEN-AIR FUN, 4x4 CAPABILITY AND NO COMPROMISES
Jeep Wrangler continues as the only open-air sport-utility vehicle with legendary Jeep 4x4 capability.

“We continue to sell Jeep Wranglers to off-road enthusiasts—the opinion leaders who recognize there is no substitute for the original—as well as younger buyers and those who want the fun, freedom and ultimate four-wheel drive capability for their second or third vehicle,” said Bell. “The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited broadens that appeal, and solidifies Wranglers as one-of-a-kind vehicles with no real competitors. No other vehicle can match the emotional connection with the outdoors and the excitement of driving with the top down, doors off and, if desired, the windshield down on the trails.”

The 2005 Jeep Wrangler lineup includes short wheelbase Wranglers in SE, X, Sport and Rubicon models, and the long wheelbase Wrangler Unlimited. Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon is new for 2005 (late availability).

The Jeep Wrangler lineup for 2005 includes SE, X, Sport, Unlimited and Rubicon soft top models. A hard top with full steel doors, roll-up windows and tinted glass is available on X, Sport, Unlimited and Rubicon models. Also optional on Sport and Rubicon models is a dual-top package that includes both a hard top and soft top in matching colors. Additionally, the Wrangler Sport model is available in right-hand versions for North American markets in order to accommodate a variety of purposes, including rural postal delivery and parking enforcement.

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited features include a new option for open-air fun with an innovative new Sunrider™ soft top, which includes a “sun roof” feature in addition to the full top-down option. This new soft top gives a second open-air option by folding the soft-top back completely over driver and front passenger to create a 45x23 inch sun roof opening—larger than any typical glass sun roof. The sun roof can also be operated from the inside of the Wrangler Unlimited, once the vehicle is stopped.

The Sunrider soft top includes larger, deep-tinted side windows, giving second-row passengers a better view. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is also available with a hard top and larger, deep-tinted rear windows, as well as rear defroster and rear window wiper and washer.

RUGGED AND DURABLE POWER
The Jeep Wrangler X, Sport, Unlimited and Rubicon models feature as standard equipment the 4.0-liter Power Tech™ I-6 mated to a new-for-2005 six-speed manual transmission or available 42RLE four-speed automatic transmission. The 4.0-liter engine is rated at 190-horsepower (142 kW) at 4,600 rpm and 235 lb.-ft. (319 N•m) of torque at 3,200 rpm.

The Jeep Wrangler SE is equipped with the 2.4-liter Power Tech I-4 engine, which is the same engine that powers the Jeep Liberty. The 2.4-liter engine provides 147 horsepower (112 kW) at 5,200 rpm and 165 lb.-ft. (224 N•m) of torque at 4,000 rpm, and is available with the six-speed manual transmission only. Wrangler SE is also available for the first time with the 190-horsepower (142 kW) 4.0-liter engine. Jeep Wrangler X, Sport and Wrangler Unlimited models include a Quadra-Coil suspension and a Command-Trac® four-wheel drive transfer case.

Safety features standard on all Jeep Wranglers include next-generation air bags, a driver’s side constant force retractor, self-adjusting low-tension three-point belts, height-adjustable shoulder belts and energy-absorbing foam in the sport bar and trim around the windshield and back of the hard top.

For 2005, the Jeep Wrangler adds two new exterior colors—Impact Orange and Deep Beryl Green. The Jeep Wrangler Sahara model is no longer offered in 2005.

Sold in 100 countries, Jeep Wrangler is available in right- and left-hand drive versions. Jeep Wrangler is built at DaimlerChrysler’s Toledo (Ohio) Stickney Avenue assembly plant.