Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Recon long-term review

We were invited on a snow drive with the crew from Double Black Offroad earlier this year.

Needing a 4x4 vehicle that was properly off-road-capable to get through the expected deep snow on Mount Skene, we hit up Jeep for a Wrangler Rubicon and they made the short-wheelbase Recon we’d previously reviewed available to us.

With its lockers and mud tyres as standard, this was the best possible showroom stock vehicle for the job and, even if it struggled for clearance, its solid recovery points could be put to use. No other new 4x4 comes so well-equipped from the factory.

4

DBOR is a Jeep specialist business and there was meant to be around 20 modified Jeeps on this trip, most of them on 35s and 37s, so the stock Recon would be put to the test to keep up with them.

The lockdowns came in to force the day before we were set to leave, and DBOR’s Bill Barbas postponed the trip for a month – Jeep told us to just hang on to the shorty Rubi, I wasn’t complaining.

Limited to local commutes while we waited for lockdowns to lift, the Recon is a lot of fun to drive. With its heated leather seats and well-equipped cabin, it is always comfortable to get behind the wheel, and its short stature makes it easy to drive to the shops and back. And that’s about as far as we were going with it.

4

The little Jeep is relatively zippy around town; its short final drive gearing waking the 206kW petrol V6 up and giving it some pep around the suburbs. The Wrangler really is about having fun, and the SWB Recon certainly delivers in that regard.

The closest we got to taking it off-road and making the most of its ability was as a photographer’s car on the G400d shoot, where at least we did see a bit of snow. It was limited to full-time 4x4 use with no real off-roading; but with mud tyres, lockers and the ability to pull the G out if its road tyres lost traction, it made for the perfect support car.

4

As lockdowns were extended, the DBOR trip was cancelled and we had to give the Recon back. My time with it convinced me I could live with the shorty. I’d ditch the rear seats and put a cargo barrier behind the front seats to make the rear of the car more spacious and usable. Then I’d take a trip to Double Black for a mild suspension lift to accommodate some 35-inch tyres, and I reckon I’d have a fun little weekend plaything.

It’s great to see Jeep Australia has reintroduced the SWB Rubicon into the local line-up, so that more than the 40 people who scored one of these limited-edition Recons will be able to enjoy driving one.