On the Road in the 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4X4

The Wrangler has a real advantage over every other car on the road -- it's impossible not to look cool driving one, especially with the top down in nice weather. Don't jump out of a luxury car and into the Wrangler and expect to be impressed with its road manners, though -- the Wrangler is rough and rugged, and best for short trips. Once you accept the Wrangler for what it is, old technology employed for a specific purpose, you can appreciate the drive. The longer-wheelbased Unlimited smoothes out the ride on pavement and lowers the risk of rollover during emergency maneuvers. Don't get overconfident, and you can keep up a nice pace on a twisty road. The 4.0 liter inline-6 under the hood delivers nearly 85% of its 235 lb-ft of peak torque at idle, which means that take offs from a stop are assertive. My tester was equipped with the optional ($825) 4-speed automatic transmission, which was well-mated to the engine's personality. I would still opt for the standard 6-speed manual transmission for more flexibility off-road.

The Unlimited Wrangler arrives with 4-wheel disc brakes, but no ABS is available. You may have to relearn your emergency braking technique -- remember threshold braking and pumping the brakes on slick surfaces?