Jeep revives shorty Wrangler Rubicon shorty for good

THE short-wheelbase Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is back, this time as a permanent fixture of the wider Wrangler portfolio following its popularity when it was when was briefly offered as a limited-edition last year.

The revived Rubicon ‘shorty’ will check into local showrooms in the final quarter of 2021 priced from $64,950 plus on-road costs alongside the rest of the MY22 Wrangler line-up, which has been trimmed down from five full-time members to four with the Sport S and Overland both getting the chop.

The axing of the budget-friendly – and short-wheelbase – offerings has resulted in a significant increase in the Wrangler’s starting price, given the $61,750 Night Eagle Unlimited is now range-opener. 

Slotting in some $5000 downstream of the Rubicon Unlimited, the new Rubicon shorty shares its five-door sibling’s off-road hardware as, including the Rock-Trac active on-demand 4x4 system, 77.2:1 crawl ratio, 4.10 rear axle ratio, electronic sway-bar disconnect, Tru-Lok locking differentials on both axles and heavy-duty rock rails.

With the same alloy wheel design and decals as the five-door, the Rubicon shorty may be tricky to single out when seen from either directly in front or behind, which is why Jeep will be releasing a limited-edition ‘Gecko’ green colourway exclusive to the three-door.

For reference, other colours will consist of black, Bright White, Firecracker Red, Granite Crystal, Sting Grey, Snazzberry, Hydro Blue and Sarge Green as per the rest of the range.

As usual, power will come courtesy of the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine that has gone unchanged for this model update, still developing 209kW/347Nm and paired exclusively to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Standard equipment highlights on the shorty include Rubicon leather-trimmed seats with heating function in the front, a heated steering wheel, 8.4-inch Uconnect infotainment system with satellite navigation, a reversing camera, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a 7.0-inch driver information display, adaptive cruise control, a nine-speaker Alpine audio system, front and rear parking sensors, keyless entry and remote start.

To justify the $5000 price premium over the shorty – besides the obvious inclusion of two extra doors and a longer wheelbase – Jeep has made a few specification tweaks to the flagship Rubicon Unlimited, which have bumped its asking price up from $68,250 to $69,950 before on-roads.

The tweaks primarily consist of new features taken from the ‘Rubicon Luxury Package’ and being made standard, such as McKinley leather seats, premium door panel trim, heated front seats and steering wheel (shared with the shorty) and the trail rail management system.

No equipment or price changes have been made to the Night Eagle or Overland Unlimited.

According to Jeep Australia marketing and communications director Tom Noble, the Wrangler shorty “is a favourite for passionate off-road enthusiasts”.

“The limited-edition Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Recon attracted huge customer demand when it was introduced last year, resulting in the run being snapped up so quickly,” he said.

“Defining what the iconic Jeep 4x4 is all about, giving the two-door Wrangler a permanent position in the 2021 line-up was a must, a true representation of the fun you can have behind the wheel of a Jeep.”

Jeep sold spot on 1000 Wranglers through the first six months of 2021, accounting for a narrow 1.7 per cent of the packed sub-$70,000 large SUV segment.

2022 Jeep Wrangler pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs