A weekend Jeep thrill

Access and storage is easy thanks to its tailgate and rear liftgate windows.

If you are looking for a modestly priced, high-performance SUV with some serious offroading capabilities, you might wish to consider the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport 3.6L V6.

Priced at about P2.3 million, it is powered by a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine. It has a torque of 347 Newton-meters and an output of 284 horsepower mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.

This allows the Wrangler to have enough grunt to tackle most offroading challenges and to cruise along  highways comfortably without any hesitation when overtaking.

It was not the first time this writer test-drove a Jeep Wrangler for a weekend. A number of Jeep owners and offroading enthusiasts took the back roads of Mt. Pinatubo for some serious offroading trails and found the Jeep to be a proven performer, regardless of variant and models.

Dubbed as “Jeep Thrills,” CATS Motors invited several Jeep owners and some members of the media last year to experience how it is to trail the Jeep.

On the outside, it may look quite Spartan and may seem to lack modern-day vehicle amenities and accoutrements. But check out its inside: it  features a Uconnect 135 CD/MP3 with steering wheel-mounted audio controls for its eight-speaker entertainment system, auto dim mirror with reading lamps, power locks and windows, and a premium intelligent instrument cluster with trip and fuel consumption readings.

It also has temperature and compass gauges to help the driver navigate unfamiliar and offroad terrains. Its rear 60:40 folding seat offers flexible cabin storage for cargo, which is good for out-of-town trips or offroad trailing activities.

The Jeep Unlimited Sport variant is fitted with 17×7.5-inch aluminum wheels and P245/75R17 OWL on/offroad tires that match very well with its black accent fender flares.

This Jeep is also fitted with heavy-duty suspension and gas shock absorbers to be able to carry out the most rigorous and punishing terrain with enough ground clearance, best for wading through creeks and navigating through rough roads and obstacles.

The Jeep will be 75 years old next year.

The Jeep Wrangler is a performer both on and offroad.

The Command-Trac shift-on-the-fly four-wheel-drive system allows consistent traction.

It is also packed with the usual 4×4 goodies and safety features like electronic roll mitigation, electronic stability control, hill descent control, hill start assist, advanced multistage front air bags, fuel tank skid plate shield, tire pressure monitoring warning lamp (in case you deflate the tires too much to get better mud grip), and sport bar with full padding.

Like in previous  variants, this Jeep Wrangler’s roof and doors can be removed to allow a true open-top offroad adventure. The cabin’s interior finish is designed and laid-out to take in a lot of punishment like dirt and mud, and is designed to be cleaned  up quickly so it can still be used as a daily commute after a weekend offroad adventure.

In 2016, the Jeep will be 75 years old. Back in homeland America, the sales for the Jeep were just a little over 200,000 units annually, with little presence in other markets during the global financial crisis years.

Now, it is one of the fastest-growing car brands, with sales expected to breach 1.2 million  this year.

Last June, the Jeep sold 71,529 vehicles in the US market alone, a record number in its 74-year history. About a third of this is the Jeep Wrangler model.

For more information, visit the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep showroom located at Edsa, Greenhills, Chino Roces (Pasong Tamo) Extension, Makati and Alabang-Zapote Road.