The last time I owned a Wrangler was about 13 years ago and it was a 1991 model with a 4 banger. It was a great first jeep, but forget about it holding highway speeds on a windy day. It just didn't have any power.

Fast forward to today and 4 pickups later, I find myself wanting a Wrangler again. What better time than when they've finally put an engine in the thing! So I visited my local dealer the other day and took one for a test drive. I wanted to drive a 6-speed, but all they had were automatics (2012) version. The ride was smoother than expected (2-door model). I couldn't even tell I was riding on mud terrain tires! The automatic was okay (I hate automatics), but what I wasn't impressed with was the power. For 285 hp and 4:10 gears, I expected a lot more get up and go.

So my question is, will I feel more power coming from the 6-speed? I definitely want the 6-speed because I love standards and I want the Rubicon because of the locking front and rear differentials, but if it won't have any more get up and go feel than the auto, I'm not sure I want it.

What do you guys think?

 

It's a Jeep...I think that answers your question enough What the #'s say doesn't matter, cause in the end they don't have near the same power as a truck or a car and doesn't have the get and go you'd expect or want from it. It has enough though, and that's all you can really expect from a Jeep lol The 6spd will make it WAY more enjoyable to drive though. Drive a 6spd and then compare the two

 

You'll lose traction long before you lose power.

 

It seems very hard to find a 6-speed Rubi in my area right now. I guess because the 2012's are fading out and the '13's are coming in.

Since you can now get the Rubicon with 3:73 gears, I would still think the 4:10 gears would have better performance off the line, right?

 

yes, especially if you plan on going with larger tires at some point

 

My 6 speed 2012 jkur has plenty of power. If you want off the line speed go get a turbo.

 

Love my 13 Rubi with the 6spd manual, plenty of power !

 

I have heard that there is a bit of a break in period. I didn't experience it myself but a lot of people swear that they felt a pickup in power after a few thousand miles

 

I agree. It took about 10K miles for my engine to loosen up and it was noticeable.

 

Buy new and put a supercharger on it or find a clean used JK with a Hemi swap.

Its a Jeep, not a sports car. Its designed to crawl not drag race or haul a trailer.