Rubicon, Sahara Or Sport ?

[Srikumar]

2 hours ago, Goutam said:

I have a Sport and if I were to buy one today I'd buy a 4D Sahara.

When I got my 2D Jeep - bought it only cause wife wanted a 2 door car and wasn't sure what I was getting into. Now I have buyer's remorse.

After you drive a 2D in the desert, you would not like a 4D, ever.

[Varun Mehndiratta]

2 door does look cooler .... Have the same argument with my wife she wants a coupe for her new car...perhaps deep inside I am jealous that I couldn't get it, so trying to convince her against that...😀 

[Roy Armale]

I know this is an old thread, but since there are multiple answer pieces, I thought I'd consolidate into a more comprehensive one.

Yes, the Rubicon is the better "stock" off-roader. This is because:

1. Both Axles are heavier duty (Dana 44) while the Sport and Sahara have a Dana 44 in the rear and a Dana 30 in the front. The fact that the Rubicon has 2 Dana 44 axles means:
   1. It can handle larger tires, which is why it comes with 33 Inch A/T tires and can go to 37 inches without risking the front differential breaking under stress
   2. It can have a locking differential both in the front and back, which it does (selectable e-locker)
2. It has a different gear ratio (4.11 v/s 3.73 on most Sport/Shara editions). This simply means that the gears send more power to the tires "earlier" (when you go into 4-Low, you kinda "regear" your car to send the power early)

There are a few other differences, but those are the main ones.

The Sahara is like the Sport from a performance perspective, but has the comfort add-ons.

Should you care? Should you save your money and do your own mods? Should you go for a Sahara and then make it beefier?

That's up to you since you can do everything from lifts to re-gearing to adding diffs.

However, your limiting factor will be the front axle and differential because it's expensive to modify (AED10K - AED15K at least) . That only matters if you expect to rock crawl (not much of that in the UAE) or get some air time while jumping dunes (can bend the smaller Sport/Sahara Axle) and if you're going that hard-core, you're already spending a lot on the upgrades, might as well do the whole thing your way.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Roy Armale