Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 Is An Ode To An America That We Were Supposed To Leave In The Past
There are few cars I've had a more complicated relationship with than the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392. On the face of it, this big SUV is everything I'd ever want. It's loud, it has a massive V8 motor, you can (pretty much) drop the roof and it'll go wherever you want it to. There's just one problem: it feels a bit awful to drive around in. When you're in the Wrangler 392, you get the feeling that you are the bad guy, and that's unfortunately because you probably are.
In my week of testing Jeep's 470 horsepower, $110,000 flagship truck, I couldn't help but think I was making everyone's day a bit worse as I drove by. I also couldn't shake the shameful feeling of cold-starting its 6.4-liter V8 in an age where it's nearly 60 degrees in January in New York City. None of that takes into account the fact that over 635 miles of testing, I somehow only managed to get 13.4 mpg — and that's with a lot of highway driving. Still, the Wrangler Rubicon 392 is immensely fun, and it never failed to put a smile on my face when I mashed the gas pedal. Maybe that says more about me than the car. It's tough to say, but we're going to figure it out together.
Full Disclosure: Jeep lent me a 2024 Wrangler Rubicon 392 with a full tank of gas (that didn't last very long) to do with as I pleased for a week.
The real centerpiece of the entire Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition is very much its 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine. It's the first time a Wrangler has had a V8 since the CJ7 was still lumbering around. In this application, the Mopar motor puts out 470 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque all routed through an eight-speed transmission. That is more than enough to get this 5,245-pound truck from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds, according to Jeep, which is astonishingly fast for a Wrangler. Of course, 2024 isn't the first year you've been able to get the V8. It's not even the last either, despite its 'Final Edition' name. Jeep has been pumping these 392s out since the 2021 model year, and it's still alive for 2025.
The motor completely dominates the experience. From just a feeling perspective, it never falls into the background. You're always well aware there's a massive V8 just a few feet in front of you. Every single time you go up and down the rev band you feel it vibrate and twist the chassis, those thunderous active quad exhaust pipes bellowing all the way. There's an argument to be made that this motor is actually practical, too. When you combine its huge power, Jeep's second-to-none off-roading systems and massive 35-inch tires, getting the Wrangler Rubicon 392 stuck on an off-road trail is pretty much impossible. Hell, even if you do get it stuck, the Final Edition comes with a Warn winch that'll literally tug you out of trouble. Even I, a novice off-roader at best, was able to take this relatively compact vehicle to places no normal car would be able to reach. You can absolutely tear up the earth below your tires before your engine kills the rest of it.
To be expected, all of this off-road prowess means the Wrangler Rubicon 392 is sort of a nightmare on road, but who really cares about that? You bought a V8, off-road-focused Wrangler. If you wanted something that would be good on road, buy a Miata, cuck. I could get into the steering feel being nearly non-existent, and the long-travel suspension is making this thing bouncy as hell over even the most modest pothole, but who really cares? I don't, and I cannot imagine you do either. You just want to know what the Wrangler sounds like at wide open throttle with all 392 cubic inches of displacement being taken up by air, gas and fire. Well, folks, it sounds like thunder. Those who 'get it' will love it, and those who don't will despise it. It's a noise that feels far more at home in the Bush Administration than at the tail end of the Biden Administration (when I conducted my testing).
The interior, for better or worse, is also a throwback to a time before folks used 'DEI' as a slur. A few years ago Jeep gave the Wrangler's interior a bit of a refresh, but it has remained largely the same since the JL Wrangler was released for the 2018 model year. Sure, there are some creature comforts like four heated seats, a 12.3-inch UConnect touchscreen and a power driver's seat, but there's little to distract you from the fact this truck is old. If you're someone who likes buttons, this is the interior for you. Granted, when you're off road that does come in handy. All of your off-road-specific controls, like the transfer case, differential lockers and off-road modes are easy to find at the bottom of the stack.
Still, the Wrangler doesn't have a very refined interior, not that you'd expect one. There's tons of wind, road and tire noise, which is pretty par for the course. If that's not your thing, perhaps don't get a Wrangler. The coolest feature on this Wrangler Rubicon 392, other than the motor and off-road gadgets, is Jeep's Sky One-Touch Power Top, which has fixed rear pillars and a powered cloth sunroof instead of the normal fully removable hardtop. It takes all of the headache out of dropping the roof on a Wrangler, and while it doesn't give you that complete open-air feeling, the all-electric ease of use it comes with more than makes up for that. Opening the roof up also gives you unfettered access to the unbelievable noise coming out of the rear of the Wrangler 392.
This being the top-of-the-line Wrangler means things don't come cheap. Just to get in the door of a Rubicon 392, you're going to have to give Stellantis (a worrying proposition) $91,545. If you want the Final Edition package, fork over a further $8,450. It gives you all sorts of special badging, retuned, beefy suspension, that Warn winch, beadlock-capable 17-inch wheels wrapped in 35-inch rubber and a few other goodies. Add in that $3,995 Sky One-Touch roof, an air compressor and some special paint, and you're looking down the barrel of a $108,475 price tag, including destination.
I've got to say, there aren't too many ways to more conspicuously broadcast that you spent $110,000 on a car, and that's the problem I have with the Wrangler Rubicon 392. Sure, it's a brilliant piece of off-road machinery, and that V8 is charming as hell, but I also can't help but feel like it shouldn't be here anymore. It's loud and antisocial in a way that not many vehicles are anymore. I suppose that's sort of Stellantis' thing these days, but I don't know, man. I just felt yucky while I was driving it —like everyone who saw me knew who I voted for.
The only time I truly felt comfortable in the Wrangler Rubicon 392 was on an off-road trail, far away from the onlookers who could guess my thoughts and opinions on 'pronouns.' Here, the truck shines with its high driving position and shouty exhaust. Everywhere else, well, you'd probably be better off with a Wrangler 4xe.
I thought cars like this would be things of the past by now. Even Stellantis had to give up on the V8-powered muscle car. Now though, with our what's-old-is-new-again President, the Wrangler Rubicon 392 might actually be a bit restrained.
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