Here's my brand new Rubicon which I've driven about 2000 miles over the last two weeks.

I'm a first time Jeep owner (my previous 4x4 was Mercedes G) and have been lurking on this forum for months - really appreciate all your replies and the fantastic contents of the forum in general.

I was fully prepared for lots of possible drawbacks and problems with my new Rubicon but I have to say that I am more than pleasantly surprised. Here are a few points from the 2000 mile trip we made across Europe. I had to buy the car in Austria as 4 door Rubicons are not sold in Spain, where I live. We took the opportunity for a touring holiday and went from Vienna and Salzburg to Prague, Berlin, the Baltic coast, Hamburg and then back to Spain.

The car is standard except for the painted freedom top, the powder coated wheels nad the grille inserts. It has a US style licence plate on the back and I plan to get rid of the Euro plate holder once I register the car in Spain.

Engine: the 2.8 CRD diesel with autobox is certainly loud, but it's strong and cruises at 80-90 mph no problem. Top speed is meant to be 112 mph and I've had her at about 105. You never feel unsafe.

Interior: there's a lot of heat soak from the engine, so the AC is a must above 25 degrees but it works pretty well. The quality of the interior is really pretty good and the seats are comfortable even on a long journey.

Tops: this is where I was wary after having read of so many people's problems on this forum but, either I'm lucky or by now Jeep have improved quality (my car's built in July). The hard top made no noise, has no leaks. The soft top, amazingly, makes hardly any more noise than the hard top and is pretty well designed as far as I can see, although it's pretty hard on softer hands . I've taken both tops to over 100 mph and no problems. With the soft top open in the Sunrider position, I've gone about 70 mph with no problems or fluttering.

Other: The lights are very good - The Euro version has Hella halogens which are load adjustable.

So, altogether, I'm really pleased and again want to thank all of you and the folks running JK forum and JK project for this magnificent source of information and enthusiasm.

 

High praise indeed, coming from a previous G-wagon owner.

GREAT job on the top!

 

This was a great post and very informative. Thanks alot! Welcome to the forum! That is an awesome looking Jeep and the CRD sounds very interesting. How is the power off of the line (you know, from a dead stop)? Do you get a chance to offroad much in Spain?

 

Great looking JK! Love the painted top and wheels. Please give us more info on the diesel as you spend more time driving it. We can only hope they offer it in the states! Congratulations!

 

Nice looking Jeep. I think most people here in the states will be jealous of your diesel. We can't get them here. What kind of gas mileage do you get with the diesel? Would you say the torque is better than the V6?

 

I like your 110 better. JP

 

NICE! I really like the euro style front and rear bumpers...I wish they had them here in the states.

 

Anyone notice that there is no Trail Rated badge on Euro models! Interesting, guess it doesn't matter, just a watchful eye on my part.

 

The initial acceleration is actually pretty brutal so you have to feather the gas pedal.

I'm getting between 20 and 18 mpg, but it is improving constantly. That is mainly fast highway driving, at speeds of aroungd 80+ mph.

???

 

when the hard top was painted did they sand it back smooth or are the bumps still there. looks great!

Too bad I cant get the CRD Rubi here in OZ :(