Test Drive with Kyle Ashby

2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara

Jeep is one vehicle that has kept an overall consistent and specific look throughout the decades of improvements and new technology. The three piece body match hard top is a convenient and great looking option to consider when shopping for a new 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara. I noticed a very tight seal around the four doors and hard top which eliminated any road or wind noise that can be apparent with other convertibles or vehicles with removable tops. It is a very quiet ride, even at highway speeds.

There are a lot of aftermarket accessories to outfit a Jeep for any kind of driving conditions or owner preference to style and comfort. With that being said, this Jeep is ready to drive on or off road from the factory.

While driving this brand new 4WD four door on the city streets of Cache Valley and through the mountainous terrain at the top of Utah, I remembered another Jeep driving experience when I was in high school. Back in the early 90s I drove around in a 1955 CJ5 Jeep that was mostly rusted out and was a continual work in progress, but it sounded great and had a lot of power. My “high school sweetheart” could out climb, out mud or even out run any truck or SUV my friends owned at that time. In fact, I may have been a little too confident one dark, winter night when my brother and I had to walk off a mountain in tennis shoes and jackets because the Jeep couldn't continue blazing a trail through what seemed to be 3 or 4 feet of snow. We got stuck and weren't able to retrieve the jeep with any other vehicle until the following spring after the snow melted, months later. Although this experience makes a fun story to tell, I’m grateful to only compare the old Jeep to the new Jeep, and not report on a similar experience of being stuck this time around.

That may be because the new Sahara comes with a 3.6-liter V6 24-valve VVT engine, Next Generation Dana 44 heavy duty rear axle and a Dana 30 solid front axle. The Command-Trac “Shift-onthe-Fly" 4WD system and hill start assist features were used during the majority of my recent off road driving experience. I was impressed with the power and gearing of the 5-speed automatic transmission with the anti-spin differential on the rear axle. I didn’t push any of these 4WD features to their capacity by any stretch, but I was pleased with the outcome of my rocky, snowy, wet and muddy off road driving experience up Providence and Millville Canyons.

The model I drove had most of the interior upgrades and amenities available from Jeep. The in-dash electronic vehicle information center displayed individual tire pressure monitoring/alert, outside temperature, compass direction, trip timer, average fuel mileage, miles to empty, and many other personal settings to choose from. All functions were accessible from the leather wrapped steering wheel or dash button. Uconnect voice command with Bluetooth was convenient and I was able to connect my phone with great ease. The Uconnect system played music and stored files and photos from CD/DVD/MP3/HDD/NAV, all accessible from a USB device connected to a 40GB hard drive and accessed through a touch screen. All of the benefits from turnby- turn GPS navigation and listening to commercial free music through an Alpine Premium Sound System via SiriusXM were features that need to be mentioned.

Whether it’s a Jeep built in the ‘50s or the conveniences of GPS, digital signals and remote start on a new Jeep, driving through city streets or on the trail makes for a fun and memorable story to tell.

You can find the 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara at The Davis Auto Center in Logan at 2900 North Main Street, 435-752-0050.

Base MSRP: $31,195
Price as Driven: $37,600