If it wasn’t clear enough up until now, the Jeep Wrangler has one purpose and one purpose only-Off Road, this is even more apparent when you step inside the Wrangler’s cabin. For a vehicle to sport removable doors and roof panels alongside washable interiors, it is evident that function has been placed higher than form. Even with this approach though, we are pleased with what the cabin of the Wrangler has to offer for the most part. Yes, the hard plastic used throughout the interior is typical FCA treatment and the amount of comfort that the seats offer is a little questionable, the general layout of the dashboard and ergonomics are more than acceptable.
The rugged ethos of the Wrangler echoes all throughout it’s cabin with chunky knobs and dials that are surrounded by acres of plastic and metal trim. We are genuinely fond of what the Wrangler has to offer but if you are looking for more luxury on the inside, maybe a Wrangler is not something you should put down on your shopping list. In terms of space, there is enough room to seat average Americans in decent comfort both at the front and rear while the cargo capacity is also pretty usable at over 31 cu-ft which can be extended to over 70 cu-ft by folding down the rear seat.
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Model
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2016 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
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2016 Toyota 4Runner SR5
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2016 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited
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Passenger capacity
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5
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5
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5
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Front Row (Head / Shoulder / Leg) (in)
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41.3 / 55.8 / 41.0
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39.3 / 57.8 / 41.7
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40.8 / 58.1 / 42.9
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Second Row(Head / Shoulder / Leg) (in)
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40.4 / 56.8 / 37.2
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38.6 / 57.8 / 32.9
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38.9 / 57.3 / 38.1
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Cargo Volume (cu-ft)
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31.5
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47.2
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35.5
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Maximum Cargo Volume (cu-ft)
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70.6
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89.7
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73.3
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The Wrangler is at a major disadvantage when it comes to cargo capacity as both the rivals in question have more space on offer. Although when we do look at the interior space on offer, the Wrangler isn’t too far behind even offering superior head room in certain cases which does earn it some extra brownie points. The Toyota 4Runner in fact offers a cramped rear seat which is only good for kids, but in exchange offers the largest boot at the back. Some notable interior features include:
- 6-Way adjustable Driver Seat and 4-Way adjustable Passenger Seat
- 60-40 Folding Split-Bench Front Facing Fold Forward Rear Seat
- Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel
- Deluxe Sound Insulation
- Locking Cargo Area Concealed Storage
- MOPAR Slush Mats
How intuitive is the 2016 Jeep Wrangler’s infotainment unit?
The 2016 Jeep Wrangler comes equipped with a 6.5 inch touch screen infotainment system that is powered by the UConnect system which is prevalent in many other FCA products. The U Connect system just about does justice with the provided hardware and overall operation is decent enough to not prompt any complaints. That being said, there is not much technology on offer and everything is mostly bare bones in this regard.
Yes, a sleeker user interface and better response times would make the experience better by ten folds but for such a purpose-built vehicle, the infotainment is pretty good.The optional Alpine audio system is something we encourage you to splurge some cash on as it livens up your entire Adventure trip with some great sound quality, much more than what we would expect from a Wrangler-based system.
Some other salient infotainment features include:
- AM/FM Stereo w/CD Player/MP3 Player
- Bluetooth Audio
- SiriusXM Satellite Radio
- 9-speaker Alpine Premium Sound System w/all-weather subwoofer (Optional)
- Hard Disk Drive (Optional)
- Voice commands
