American Grand Prix: off-road

Saturday, October 27, 2018

The Wrangler Africa is the star of the Jeep concepts

Forget the Jeep Chief. If we're going off road, we're taking the Wrangler Africa. A turbo-diesel engine, proven Dana 44 axles, and serious steel wheels. Sold.

(by Zach Bowman roadandtrack.com 3-19-15)

Everyone's got their unmentionables in a twist over the Jeep Chief concept, and for good reason. The thing's as rad as they come, but if I'm going off road and I'm taking one of the new Easter Jeep Safari baddies with me, the Wrangler Africa is going to be my whip of choice. Why?

Let's start at the bottom and work our way up.

Steel. Wheels. I've had a handful of Wrangler testers, and subjected them all to the horrors of Windrock OHV park. They all came from the factory with gorgeous aluminum alloy wheels, and none of them survived the rock gardens without at least one gnarly scar. Steel isn't light, but it is durable and cheap, making it the perfect material for off-road rollers that do more than clog the Starbucks parking lot.

The wheels are wrapped in 35-inch BFGoodrich mud terrain tires. That's considerably taller than stock, helping to add ground clearance and negate some of the drawbacks of the long wheelbase Wrangler. The two-inch lift, with its Fox shocks, doesn't hurt either.

There are a set of proven Dana 44 axles front and rear, though Jeep doesn't say anything about whether or not the sticks come with lockers. The beefier front axle is a good thing with the larger tires, and the torque from the 2.8-liter turbo-diesel engine.

That's right, I said the magic words: turbo diesel. The 2.8-liter mill is small and fairly lightweight, but still manages to make big torque low in the rev range, right where you need it when it comes time to scramble over an obstacle. The extra fuel economy will also help you stay out longer, as will the auxiliary fuel tanks. Win.

Add in body protection like hood-to-roof guy wires, rock rails, and a high-clearance, steel front bumper, and you're good to tackle everything but the meatiest of trails. Oh, and if you do happen to get stuck, there's a winch up front to help yank you out.

Keep your Chief. I'm taking the Wrangler Africa.