Another day, another outpouring of information about and photos of the upcoming JL Wrangler which very shortly, and very thankfully, will no longer even be “upcoming” with the reveal just weeks away. It seems we know just about everything about the JL by now, all while still waiting in eager anticipation of the LA Auto Show unveiling.
Fresh from the press event in New Zealand, our friends at Road & Track have been lucky and kind enough to share the exclusive first-look photos of the JL Rubicon in both 2-door and 4-door Unlimited guises for our salivating souls to take in. Better yet, additional info– gas mileage, color options, and in-house performance add-ons– have been revealed through other outlets as well.
Hit the jump for more.

Let’s hit the important things first by addressing the onslaught of photos that have come out courtesy of R&T, Edmunds, and so on. I’ll hit the notable items that caught my eye, and be sure to comment to let us know what catches yours. Most importantly, it seems the JL makes the Wrangler more off-road capable than ever.

The new soft-top is present and impossible to miss as is the new roll-cage, which comes at the expense of a quite awkward side profile with soft-top’s canopy up (is it a powered unit after all?). It’s more safari-looking but the JK’s soft-top wasn’t exactly pretty either, and it seems there finally is a simple, quick way to fold it down from its fully in-place position. What the new unit did improve is the openness of the back; with the soft-top down there’s a much better rearward view with drastically increased visibility, which has in turn improved access to the cargo area.
Most notably, the D-pillar (C-pillar on the 2-door model), previously part of the soft roof, and part of the stiffening/tension structure, is now gone. It has been integrated into the rear side windows. This allows for what we are seeing above, a pillar-less cover in the back. The soft-top now gets its tension only from the rear roll-bar mounted brackets. If you ever removed, or worse, reinstalled those rear zippered side windows, you will find this to be a blessing. (-KK)

The tailgate itself appears to have a small storage area, and a Mopar accessory drop-down table is optional. The windshield has been made easier than ever to fold down, not requiring removal of any hardware. In another quip at the aftermarket, it looks like the door-mounted mirrors may quickly pop out and snap into the hood/fender, eliminating the need for secondary mounts and also streamlining the process of removing the doors. These subtle improvements will make the whole Jeep thing easier to live with. 

Much of what we can see more closely now are items we’ve long since known about, and there’s very little in the way of surprises even when considering how tech-heavy the JL is. The interior looks very modern and ergonomically sound, but it’s effectively a tech-ified version of the JK’s dash/interior layout and that might disappoint some. I do like the painted dash option but could see it being tacky in colors like Mojito! and Punk’n. And I will admit I love the look of the shifter as well as that of the sway bar disconnect and front/rear lockers buttons.
Note that the shifter now has a reverse lock-out. To put it into reverse the ring under the shift-knob has to be pulled, like on a Subaru. And it has auto start/stop. Ugh. (-KK)

The presence of Easter Eggs, as has become a Jeep tradition used to showcase the storied heritage (a word that gets their designers and marketing teams very excited), are all over the place, and they seem prouder than ever of their brand and of the vehicle they have made. Overall the JL presents itself as a very cohesive look both inside and out. Those “who know” will easily see the differences between it and the JK, but it will be easily mistaken by its predecessor by those who don’t. That said, I can’t fault a company for sticking close to a design that’s a proven sales hit, and especially one that has aged quite well even after ten years of production.

In addition to the other pictures that have surfaced on JLWranglerForums, they have also uncovered the colors that the new Wrangler will be available in upon launch. The forum is reporting and rendering ten different paints but prepare for dozens more as the special editions start rolling out. For now it’s a good list of options, ranging from the standard white/gray/silver/black to blue, yellow-orange, and the aforementioned what-the-hell-are-you-drinking-that’s-this-green Mojito! and just-in-time-for-your-Jack-‘O-Lantern-to-be-a-droopy-mess Punk’n orange. Bold as ever, and hard not to love.
Source: JLWranglerForums
Meanwhile, gas mileage figures for the Pentastar V6 have leaked and it looks like there will be decent improvements over the JK– ranging from 1-3 MPG better overall– across the board, thanks to the new 8-speed transmission and better aerodynamics. Much appreciated, and even more promising with the turbo-4 and turbodiesel engines on the horizon. We don’t know what the difference in weight between the JK and the JL is, yet. 

Also of note is the addition of 200+ Mopar performance parts for the JL, the reveal of which came at the ever-infamous SEMA show, most of which are available at launch. The JK is modified about as commonly as a joke about a Mustang crashing at Cars & Coffee, so Jeep is taking a stab at the available profits from said modifications and doing it themselves. Lifts, wheels, winches, beadlocks (in paint-matched trim, perfect for destroying on rocks!) are ready for your wallet’s taking.
Of special note here is the roof rack. The Wrangler has always had a problem with roof racks. The hard top was not that strong where it would support more than a pair of skis or a bike. Further, no one really wanted to drill into it. Most racks were bolted to the lower portion of the body giving the JK an awkward caged Defender look. It was only recently that good roof rack solutions came to the JK. But it looks like the designers thought ahead here and included provisions for it. (-KK)

All of this has us drooling with jaws dropped on keyboard. Jeep has released a trailer for the official, full-length reveal on November 29th. It cannot come soon enough.