Like seeing a cowboy in a suit, the Jeep Wrangler Overland tries to add some road manners, and a cool powered roof, to the adventure staple. Does it work?
- The power roof is cool. Hold on, I’ll just press the button to open it…
- Cross shopping is easy. It’s one of these or it’s nothing.
- It is impossible not to like the Wrangler. Rolling proof that character still has currency
- Look, there are quite a few issues with it. Let’s just say ownership has its compromises.
- Not economical in any way, shape, or form
- … and the roof has just finished. Was that $6500 well spent?
Is the Jeep Wrangler Overland a good car?
Jeep loves to remind you they have been offering fun and adventure with a seven-bar grille since 1941. And while the latest four-door 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Overland stays true to this ethos, it almost feels as though it has taken the date to heart by giving you a car that occasionally feels stuck in 1941.
That’s not to say that the JL Wrangler hasn’t been modernised, and it’s certainly not to take away any of the car’s go-anywhere capability.
There are just so many compromises on the way to the adventurous nirvana represented by the little Willys illustration in the windscreen surround that you need to make an all-in decision to become a resident of Jeep town.
It’s a fun place, with plenty of blue sky and benefits, and while I make no secret of the fact that I would love to move there one day, I’m not sure the urban-spec Overland is the horse to hitch your wagon to.
Priced from $74,850 (before options and on-road costs), the Overland sits in the middle of the three-variant range.
It’s the ‘comfort’ model, with heated leather seats and steering wheel, 18-inch alloy wheels with highway terrain tyres (Bridgestone Dueler), chrome accents, body-coloured fenders and a hard spare cover.
The Overland asks $5100 on top of the Night Eagle (previously just called the Wrangler Sport) and is $3600 more affordable than the more rugged Rubicon.
That is until you’ve ticked the box for the Sky Roof, a one-touch full-length powered sunroof that adds the universe above your head but an additional $6450 to the price tag.
It’s really cool, no question, and makes the open-top nature of the Jeep far more accessible, but the Granite Crystal metallic paint ($1175) makes our Jeep an $82,475 proposition before on-road costs.
Further, the one-touch nature of the roof may be simple, but it sure isn’t fast.
We’ll hit the open button now and come back to it a bit later…
| Key details | 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Overland |
| Price (MSRP) | $74,850 |
| Colour of test car | Granite Crystal Pearl |
| Options | Metallic paint ($1175), Sky-One-Touch powered top ($6450) |
| Price as tested | $82,475 |
| Rivals | There is only one Jeep |
What is the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited like inside?
Where do you start?
Function rules the roost over form here. For example, the window controls are in the centre of the console, perfectly un-ergonomically placed so that you can pull the doors off. Most panels and trim elements have exposed screw, hex and torx bolts so you can pull them off too.
Which is not to say form doesn’t get a say. Providing it’s saying Jeep, that is.
All the trim and switchgear is overly sized and overly comical. The vents, the off-road handle in front of the passenger, the nets in the doors, if it is done its overdone. Everything has a seven-bar grille motif, everything else has a 1941 logo on it. Why? Because Jeep.
It is a bit ridiculous. Even the housing of the review mirror has a Jeep grille on it. But this is the Jeep life, or more correctly, the Wrangler life. It’s no compromise, always-on, all the time.
I feel it goes without saying this could only be an American car.
Stars-and-bars patriotism aside, there are a few good things about the Overland’s interior.
The heated seats and steering wheel warm up fast and are very toasty. The heater itself is impressive too. There’s good storage on top of the dash, you score a twin-layer console and big cup holders. There’s even a phone holder between the cup holders, that in ironic fashion is the only thing not supersized, so it won’t fit a modern large phone.
Needless to say, it all comes together and all kind of works, in its own special Jeepy way.
The back seats, which are very upright, offer reasonable room. The bench is low, and your knees sit high, but you can spread out nicely.
There are power outlets back there as well as two main USB plugs and two USB-C ports, and it is very comfy, plus the big sunroof means that rear passengers can get the wind in their hair too.
You can even fold the central seatback into an armrest that includes clever cup holders in the rear of the headrest.
For added fun, the sound bar that sits across the middle rollbar, makes it feel that you’re heading out for orange mocha frappuccinos every day. Just don’t hit your head on it getting in and out!
Speaking of getting in and out, it is high up, so you tend to fall out of it and have to climb in, which is all part of the fun.
That said, the Wrangler suffers from that uniquely American trait of being able to make a car smaller on the inside despite its size on the outside.
The boot, once you deal with the swing-out tailgate and then flip up the glass panel, has protrusions from wheel arches, the roll bars and even the subwoofer. At 898 litres it is fine for daily use (the opening process notwithstanding) but it is not as big as you’d expect it to be.
While on sizing, we found the driver’s footwell really tight, which makes your feet feel cramped, likely because the car was never properly re-engineered from left-hand drive.
| 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Overland | |
| Seats | Five |
| Boot volume | 898L seats up / 2050L seats folded (noted to roofline) |
| Length | 4882mm |
| Width | 1894mm |
| Height | 1838mm |
| Wheelbase | 3008mm |
How big is the screen in the Jeep Wrangler?
The 8.4-inch Uconnect touch screen isn’t a bad system.
We found it would sometimes be a bit slow to connect to USB and the menu design isn’t the easiest to work your way around, but it has plenty of features (integrated navigation and DAB radio are included) and works well enough when you get used to it.
Apple CarPlay projection is clear, and the menu buttons are big, but some of the functions are quite buried, which can be a bit fiddly while driving.
The nine-speaker Alpine Premium Audio sound system is great, and a welcome inclusion to enhance the fun nature of the car. It’s standard across the range now.
Keyless entry is standard, and the seven-inch digital display in the instrument cluster offers a good amount of information while on the go. Curiously the Overland’s standard remote start function is removed when you add the Sky-One-Touch powered roof.
Is the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited a safe car?
The Wrangler scored three stars when tested in 2019.
It offers low-speed autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic detection and front and side airbags for the front seats only.
You also get a thick, integrated rollbar network running the full length of the passenger compartment, so you need to weigh up what you need for what you’re doing.
| 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Overland | |
| ANCAP rating | Three stars (tested 2019) |
| Safety report | Link to ANCAP |
How much does the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited cost?
Remember how we started to open the $6500 roof at the start of the review? It just finished.
The powered movement takes 17-seconds. Granted that’s 17 single-touch seconds between you and a roof full of blue sky, but it’s also $380 a second that you’ll be getting wet if you’re caught in a sudden downpour.
It’s also 17-seconds that you’ve got to look around and note the interior of the fibreglass rear window ‘turret’ is still unpainted white, whereas the outside of the car cost an additional $1175 to spruce up.
Oh, and when it rains. You know it. The cloth roof is loud!
| At a glance | 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Overland |
| Warranty | Five years / 100,000 km |
| Service intervals | 12 months / 12,000km |
| Servicing costs | $1197 (3 years) | $1995 (5 years) |
I know I’m being a bit harsh, as the powered top is really cool, but it doesn’t offer a huge amount of extra security, and it almost detracts from the simple appeal of the basic soft-top Wrangler.
Bottom line, you should not only save your $6500 on the Sky-One-Touch powered roof, but you should also save the $5100 step up to the Overland. The best Wrangler is the Unlimited Night Eagle with cloth seats and a removable cloth top.
This way you get all the benefits of the Wrangler’s fun and capability with more than $10k in your pocket for some chonky tyres and personalization accessories.
Whatever the case, all Jeep Wranglers include a five-year, 100,000km warranty and 12,000km or 12-month service intervals.
The first five services on a petrol Wrangler each cost $399.
Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp
| Fuel Usage | Fuel Stats |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 9.7L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 12.3L/100km |
| Fuel type | 91RON Unleaded |
| Fuel tank size | 81L |
What is the Jeep Wrangler like to drive?
Powering our adventure icon is a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine with 209kW and 347Nm available.
While peak torque isn’t noted until 4100rpm, the Wrangler feels very urgent down low in the rev range, and the power delivery starts to taper off soon after. Peak power isn’t until a very revvy 6400rpm.
The engine sounds good and is powerful enough for the big Jeep. It’s thirsty though, with a claimed combined cycle consumption of 9.7L/100km, and 13L/100km around town.
We saw an average of 12.3L/100km, which included some touring on top of the urban running.
Again, it is what it is and does what it does. No one should be buying a two-tonne rectangle and expecting hybrid efficiency from it.
Around town, you’re constantly reminded that the Jeep doesn’t want to be there. It is looking for muddy trails and uneven tracks and feels almost out of place on cleanly paved blacktop.
You feel the play in the steering wheel, great for managing inputs when scaling a rocky climb, but a bit disconnected when trundling down the high street. The car will move around on the tall tyres too, with roundabouts in the wet an understeering experience like no other.
To say some cars communicate through the steering wheel, the Wrangler would be an incessant teenager. It talks and talks and talks and just never seems to be quiet.
You’re always moving, and feeling the road through the wheel, regardless of surface.
This is why, when you’re able, you need to take the Jeep away from the city and set it loose where it belongs.
Off-road, the Wrangler is in its element. The H/T tyres aren’t great for all conditions, but the Wrangler’s inherent skillset is enough to manage most obstacles without breaking a sweat or requiring low range.
It’s a fun car to bounce around in in the mud, but even when you don’t you are telling the world you’ll be heading there soon.
As that’s really what a Jeep’s all about. This is the car that says to everybody, “I am an adventurer. I go out and do fun stuff. Here’s my Jeep.” It said it in 1941, and it says it now.
Beneath the colour-coded wheel arches and powered roof, the Wrangler is still all business. This is no watered-down marketing exercise, but nor is it a polished or premium vehicle.
The Wrangler Unlimited is a fun, irreverent, lifestyle truck, but more than that, it’s a Jeep every day of the week.
Bottom line, it doesn’t matter what I say about it, as If you want one, you’ll buy one anyway.
| Key details | 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Overland |
| Engine | 3.6-litre six-cylinder petrol |
| Power | 209kW @ 6400rpm |
| Torque | 374Nm @ 4100rpm |
| Drive type | Four-wheel drive with low-range |
| Transmission | Eight-speed torque convertor automatic |
| Power to weight ratio | 110.0kW/t |
| Weight | 1900kg (tare) |
| Tow rating | 2495kg braked |
| Turning circle | 12.4m |
Should I buy a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited?
The 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Overland is one hell of a compromised vehicle, but it’s an awful lot of fun. It’s such a considered choice that it really doesn’t cross-shop against anything, quite simply you don’t buy this unless you’re buying this.
The car has so much character that despite the frustrations you simply can’t stay mad at a Jeep. Every drive puts a smile on your face.
But, you do need to be honest with yourself and know what you’re getting into with a Wrangler. It may be an irreverent car, but buying a Wrangler means you get a Wrangler every day of the week and you can’t un-Jeep a Jeep.
Choose the right Wrangler for the right reasons though, and you’ll never look back.
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