Used 2016 Jeep Wrangler

If off-roading is your passion, a used 2016 Jeep Wrangler is your new best friend. Sure, the Wrangler has its drawbacks, including average crash-test ratings, a spotty reliability record and a rough ride. But Wrangler owners swear by this little 4×4 and are willing to put up with a lot in return for the Wrangler’s better attributes. There are plenty of Wranglers on the market, but you’ll want to do your homework to be sure the one you want hasn’t been punished to the point of failure. The best choice might be a Wrangler coming off lease, or one that lived most of its life in the city, not roaming around the backwoods.

If you end up with a heavily modified Wrangler, be sure to take it to a good mechanic to check that the equipment is sound and installed correctly. And, as the Wrangler holds its value pretty well, you’ll want to do plenty of research to find the model and price that fit your budget. A base S or Sahara offers plenty of off-road ability and will cost a lot less than a full-blown Rubicon. You might also take note that a Toyota 4Runner, Land Rover LR4 and even a Jeep Grand Cherokee make excellent off-road companions, yet all offer a more secure cabin, better safety features and a more civilized ride.

How Does the 2016 Jeep Wrangler Compare to the Competition?
For many Jeep enthusiasts, the question might be “what competition?” It’s true with the demise of the Toyota FJ Cruiser and Nissan Xterra, the Wrangler is out there all on its own. No other vehicle in the Wrangler’s price range offers the option of a fully removable top, doors and even a folding windshield. The Wrangler is the ultimate off-road warrior, and while its V6 engine offers plenty of power, it’s also rather fuel-thirsty. Jeep offers a number of trims and 4×4 systems ranging from simple off-road recreation to serious Moab-style off-roading.

However, you can achieve the same light off-road abilities in a number of crossover SUVs like the Subaru Outback, Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and Toyota Tundra, although when it comes to climbing over boulders, logs and other nasty terrain, nothing beats the Wrangler. The 4-door Unlimited is more practical, with more room for rear-seat passengers and cargo, but again, if safety is at the top of your must-have list, a Toyota 4Runner might be a better call.

What Do Owners Think of the 2016 Jeep Wrangler?
Wrangler owners are a special bunch. If you buy a Jeep, you’ll find fellow owners waving to you as you pass by, following you to rest stops and helping out when you get stuck on the trail. Although every journalist who drives the Wrangler will tell you it’s loud inside, drives like a 1960s’ pickup and handles almost as poorly, you won’t hear Wrangler owners griping.

In fact, while KBB Editors gave the Wrangler an overall score of 3.8 out of five, they were unanimously overridden by the owners’ reviews that totaled a 4.6 out of five. Reading through the owner reviews, no one complains about noise or handling or gas mileage, they just sing the praises of locking axles, sway-bar disconnect and top-down, wind-in-your-face fun. Of the few gripes we did find, they include the difficulty installing the soft top as well as the top’s durability over time, failure of small electrical parts like switches and controls and some engine/transmission issues.

What Are Some Known Issues to Watch For?
Buying a used 2016 Jeep Wrangler is not without its risks. Reliability and repair scores are only average, and a look at some Jeep Forums reveals a number common problems with the manual gearshift lever breaking or not engaging in higher gears, the manual transmission popping out of first gear and issues with stalling and hard-to-start engines.

As buying a used 2016 Jeep Wrangler means you’ll have exceeded the basic 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and maybe even the 5-year/60,000-mile engine warranty, you may want to look into buying a certified pre-owned (CPO) model from an authorized dealer. CPO Wranglers come with a complete inspection for defective or damaged parts, as well as a 7-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty that takes effect from the vehicle’s original date of service (this means Jeep adds two years and 40,000 miles to the original factory warranty).

What About Recalls and Safety?
The 2016 Jeep Wrangler has three recall notices issued by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, or NHTSA. Recalls were issued regarding a front-passenger airbag inflator that may explode, a front impact sensor that may disconnect in a crash and for a clock-spring assembly that may become contaminated resulting in the front airbag failing to deploy.

As for the 2016 Wrangler’s safety scores, the government has only tested the Wrangler for rollover protection where it scored three out of five stars. The independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tested the Wrangler giving it a Good rating in the small overlap front driver’s side and moderate front overlap tests, and a Marginal rating in the side-impact and head-restraint/seat test.

With front and rear solid axles and a body-on-frame layout, the 2016 Jeep Wrangler is built with conceptual technology that peaked about 75 years ago; which is precisely why it works so well off-road. The requirements don’t change: generous ground clearance, minimal overhangs, capable 4-wheel drive, compliant suspension, rugged construction. All that makes the Wrangler nearly unstoppable off-road. Yet, it’s not quite as awful as you might imagine on pavement. The suspension deals with road irregularities about as well as can be expected, and the precise steering is as welcome off-pavement as on. Still, the ride is not that of even a mid-range sedan, it’s ridiculously loud at highway speeds and its barnlike aerodynamics means you’ll use a lot of gas to not go very fast. Instead, get away from pavement, take advantage of the excellent Pentastar V6 engine and the Wrangler’s marvelous off-road capabilities, and enjoy yourself.

Even with the available leather, the 2016 Wrangler’s interior does not qualify as plush. The main requirement is durability, which describes the Sport model’s cloth seats and the hard plastic surfaces. But there’s plenty of versatility: The rear seat will fold flat for carrying gear and that in the 4-door Unlimited models will accommodate three people. The instrument panel is not necessarily stylish but does have the control functions within easy reach. And, as it has been for years, if the interior gets really dirty you can pull the handy drain plugs and clean it out with a garden hose.

The 2016 Wrangler’s styling is unmistakably that of a Jeep. The original box-on-wheels shape, with no compound curves, was engineered for ease of manufacture; Jeep wouldn’t dare alter it any more than you’d change the shape of a Coke bottle. The upright windshield allows great outward visibility and folds down for those times off-road when you need to lean over the hood. Tires pushed out to the corners give the Wrangler unmatched approach and departure angles. From time to time there are minor changes, but the Jeep shape remains among the most enduring, and endearing, on the planet.

3.6-LITER PENTASTAR V6
Chrysler’s Pentastar V6 is the best thing to happen to the Jeep Wrangler since aftermarket winches. With smooth operation, nice throttle response and even decent fuel economy, it’s just about as perfectly suited as it can be. In addition to the 6-speed manual transmission there’s an available 5-speed automatic.

COMMANDING OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY
If you’re not buying a Jeep Wrangler for its off-road capabilities, then why? Solid axles, generous ground clearance, short overhangs, compliant suspension, rugged construction, terrific 4-wheel-drive systems, tidy size; no wonder it’s so good away from pavement.

Two major items are standard on every 2016 Jeep Wrangler: a 285-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 engine and 4-wheel drive with a low-range transfer case. Beyond that are stability control with roll mitigation, hill-start assist and trailer-sway control. Doors are removable, and there’s a tool kit for doing just that. What is not standard on the base Sport model are power windows, door locks and air conditioning.

The 2016 Wrangler options list is impressively comprehensive and, primarily, aimed at additional enhancements and capabilities for increasingly serious off-roading. Many of the options are in the 14 packages, some of the more important being: the Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock Package, Willys Wheeler Package, Sport S Package, Connectivity Group, Power Convenience Group, Trail Kit, Trailer-tow Package and the Dual Top Group. With the packages and various options, the buyer can easily order and build the Wrangler of his or her dreams, which is the way we’d recommend doing it. There’s also a huge aftermarket industry of third-party parts and accessories.

The only engine for the 2016 Wrangler is Chrysler’s terrific 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, with 285 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque; it’s one of our favorites. Its smooth power delivery makes easy work of highways or rock crawls, and it’s by far the best engine ever in a Wrangler. A 6-speed manual transmission is standard and a 5-speed automatic is available as an option. In the 2-door Wrangler, there’s no difference in fuel economy between the two. There are so many variations of axles and gear ratios that both the manual and automatic gearboxes work well on or off highways, and we’re enamored enough of 3-pedal driving that we’d probably choose the manual.

3.6-liter V6
285 horsepower @ 6,400 rpm
260 lb-ft of torque @ 4,800 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 17/21 mpg (Wrangler), 17/20 mpg (Wrangler Unlimited, automatic), 17/21 mpg (Wrangler Unlimited, manual)