Jeep Houston 2006 – 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon – Review – Picture
2006 – 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
What changed about the 2006 Jeep Wrangler except this silly name “Rubicon”? I really don’t see much of a difference between this Wrangler and all previous Wranglers…do you? I was at the 2006 Jeep Houston Auto Show and strolled through the Jeep section…pretty boring if you ask me. I mean, auto shows are where you the manufacturer bring out your best to entice the audience into buying your new models. Jeep fell on their face…in my opinion…please no hate emails.
What features does the 2006 Rubicon have?
1. 4X4 Rock Trac System (ok ok ok, so it is a four wheel drive)
2. Dyna 44 ratio front and rear axles (so does my 92 Chevy pick up)
3. 4.0 liter inline 6 cylinder (ya…so what same engine for the last 10 years)
4. 4 wheel disc brakes (wow, now there is innovation!)
5. Heavy duty drive shafts (ok, so that explains the overpriced price tag)
6. Boasts – most severe duty 4 X 4 set up
7. Starts at $28,000 …no thank you!
Sorry to be such a party pooper…but this vehicle does not wow me in any way at all…not even a little. If you own one and you think it is the greatest thing since Tivo, please email me and let us hear all about it…send some pictures as well.
Blessings,
Austin Davis
RSS
Stay informed with my RSS feed.
I have owned 15 jeeps from the late 60s model Kaiser Jeeps to a 2005 Wrangler Rubicon. I bought the rubicon in 05 because I knew the model was going to change and it is the last Jeep I will buy. I’m not an auto mechanic, but I studied Aviation Mechanics for four years and I have some specialized off road driver training for combat. Point is I have put my rubicon through 130,000 miles of pure hell. I had it lifted and rhino lined from the factory. The Rubicon label buys you a few things and the unlimited buys you extra length that is more than storage.
Rubicon means air locking differentials so you can run in four high or four low with limited slip differentials that are still safe on the road in slick conditions. Off road however, when the jeep gets stuck you can simply hit the button and choose to have completely locked differential in the rear or in the front and rear making it a massive tractor that never stops trying to climb. The added length of the unlimited smooths out the trail and aids in that same climbing. I’ve watched other Jeeps hopelessly get stopped on steep grades and then driven around them off the trail, hooked a line, and pulled them up to the top while still on the grade. Rubicon buys you the additional skid plates that armor plate all the stuff you usually break sliding over rocks and such.
Buying prior to the model change was smart to get that bullet proof 4.0 liter engine. I put 240,000 miles each on two of them and they still ran fine at that point. If you wanted that kind of dependability then you meant to keep the truck and it only made sense to pay for the added durability. Also, Rubicon had an optional 6 speed transmission. The off road world has moved away from my upbringing that a standard is the only kind of transmission and I am happy to use modern automatics offroad. I’ve had jeeps with the Hurst lockout shifting trannies, 3 speeds, 5 speeds, etc. Anyone who really likes to drive offroad in a Jeep appreciates that 6 speed tranny. If you can have Dana 44s under your Jeep instead of 30s then you are just saving your self the trouble of changing them later should you intend to use it offroad. Furthermore, if you run a Dana 30 or something similar without the air lockers then I bet you are going to replace them even quicker. When the tires slip and grab and slip and grab a lot that jars the gears inside your differential like a teenager burning rubber all the time. I could go on and on, but Rubicon was the last thing Jeep did right.
I don’t like their new angle of making too many models, selling 15,000 mile differential fluid changes, and running plastic radiators with engines that can’t hang much past a 100 grand. I haven’t even mentioned the little extras like Rubicon’s larger fender flares that saved me the trouble of replacing them, the puncture resistant MTR tires that came with a good offroad tread already sized more appropriately for the vehicle, decent offroad aux lights most jeep people buy anyway, a sound system that sounds great at 80 miles an hour on the highway, rockslider protection for the body so a boulder doesn’t crush the sides in when you make a mistake.
There are problems with this vehicle, but I can take mine apart in my driveway and if something does break I can buy a better part from a dozen vehicles and make the experience fun. My rubicon was worth the money in 2005 and it’ll be worth it when my daughter turns 16 in 2021 and I’ll still be able to tow H3s to the junk yard in it.
Wow, great comment. Thanks!