Jeep had a full spread at the Chicago Auto Show as they always do, showing off their vehicles well in their home environment, though I have yet to see water as blue as the day glow dyed stuff they had in their booth in any mountain lake or stream.
To the point, one of the vehicles that caught our eye was the 2017 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Recon edition. Featuring a number of visual upgrades and even some mechanical ones, the newest special edition Wrangler comes to dealerships late this month.
Starting with the Wrangler Rubicon, the Recon Edition gets a half-inch lift in ride height, a new 17-inch wheel design painted charcoal, a color that also spreads across the front grille and graphics across the Rubicon vented hood.
The bumpers are low gloss, the front one being winch ready. Red hooks are up front and at the rear as expected, but red accents flow to the interior too.
There you’ll find red seat belts, red stitching on the heated leather seats and steering wheel and in the embroidery. Buttons for the disconnecting front sway bar and axle locking are bright red as they should be.
The instrument cluster is unique as well with added read-outs for oil pressure, transmission and coolant temperatures, and individual tire pressure just to name a few things. Vinyl wrapping the armrests and console lid also get red accents and the netting for door pockets also bright red.
A soft top is standard but you can also get a a body-color hard top. Body colored fender flares are also an option. Mechanically, it gets a stronger front axle housing, tubes and end pieces underneath that up the off-road ante mechanically. Both axles get cast differential covers.
There’s also a pretty good looking set of off-road rock rails look more rugged and are short enough you can put up to 35-inch tires on without clearance problems.
The Wrangler Rubicon Recon Edition can be had in Black, Bright White, Billet Silver, Firecracker Red, Gobi, Rhino and Granite Crystal. Pricing started at $39,145 for the two-door and $42,945 for the four-door. They begin arriving at dealerships in late February.
