Jeep Australia

Wrangler Sport: Where Rugged Meets Refined

Inside the latest Wrangler Sport, it's all premium SUV. Leather-wrapped steering wheel, soft-touch materials, chrome-trimmed instrument gauges, innovative storage and a media centre. Such is the refinement, you'd easily forget this is a 4x4 - although, a closer look reveals a wash-out interior, complete with drain plugs to help you clean out the mud.

Now look underneath. While you're likely to spot the heavy-duty suspension and axles, most of the really advanced technology is out of sight. Command-Trac® 4WD, standard on the Wrangler Sport and Rock-Trac® 4WD, standard on the Rubicon model, work behind the scenes delivering power where it's needed most.

This is all a far cry from the first Jeep® model that hit the roads back in 1941 during World War II when it was developed as a result of the military’s need for a lightweight reconnaissance utility vehicle. There were approximately 650,000 MB Jeep vehicles produced during the war, and they played a major military role throughout both Europe and the Pacific theaters of operation. Jeep vehicles were used by all allies, including the Russians, where over 5,000 vehicles were sent to help their war effort. 

Jeep vehicles were used for troop transport, weapons platforms, ambulances, command cars, reconnaissance, and pulling supply trailers. Troops raved about their speed, versatility, and ability to negotiate many types of terrain.   It has been speculated that because of these factors, the Jeep vehicle played a contributing role in the allied victory of World War II.

The first civilian version, the CJ-2A released in 1945, added more comfortable seats and a driver's side automatic windshield wiper. As these vehicles developed, it was soon clear they were taking on several roles at once. People who used a Jeep off-road, also drove many miles on road too; so 4x4 technology and passenger comfort needed to evolve together.

Just over 40 years later in 1987 and the first Wrangler Jeep hit the market: One look inside the cabin revealed the company had worked hard to give its hardest working model the soft touches it needed - but never to the detriment of its role as a 4x4. 

So its safe to say that today's Wrangler Sport is the result of 70 years of constant refinement & improvement to create the perfect SUV where the rugged meets the refined.

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