New 2020 Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel Introduce

New 2020 Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel Introduce https://youtu.be/ZGjmafCHyDc

Driving the 2020 Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel through the sparkle-aired splendor of Zion National Park is bound to produce cognitive dissonance. Volkswagen’s fateful emissions scandal might have made diesel a dirty word – literally and figuratively – but here in pristine, southwestern Utah, Fiat Chrysler executives swear that their diesels are different: Legitimately clean enough to meet U.S. pollution rules, no cheating VW software or corporate conspiracies required.

Having not packed a mobile laboratory to sample and sniff the Jeep’s tailpipe emissions — though academic lab researchers will get to that soon enough — we’ll have to take their word for it. Some reassurance is provided by the 5.1-gallon tank of Diesel Emissions Fluid (or DEF) that’s visible below the Jeep’s rear bumper, surrounded by its own skid plate to ward off blows during off-road maneuvers. That’s enough smog-fighting fluid to last roughly 10,000 miles, prior to a refill via a nozzle adjacent to the diesel fuel filler.

Jeep fans who’ve been clamoring for a diesel option will likely focus on the Wrangler's beefy torque, diesel durability and all-day driving range provided by solid jumps in highway fuel economy despite a smaller 18.3-gallon fuel tank (versus 21.5 gallons in gasoline-powered four-door models).
During a bright-and-early outdoors presentation near Zion — just days from the park’s 100th anniversary — a row of handsome, candy-colored Wranglers await our test. Jeep executives promise the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 will return a highway driving range beyond 500 miles, besting the Wrangler Unlimited's current best of 452 with the turbo inline-four or 430 with the standard V6. Overlanders are bound to appreciate the increase.

EPA fuel economy numbers weren’t yet available (Jeep expects them any day now), but that 500 miles sounds more-than-doable. Once underway, the Wrangler shows 32 to 34 mpg, with as little effort as it takes to match the highway speed limits. That’s a commendable new high in mileage for any Wrangler, with its brick-like aerodynamics and off-road-spec tires. An educated guess suggests the Wrangler EcoDiesel will secure an official rating of 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway, with the EPA underestimating its real-world mileage, as it does with many newer diesels. Applying that 29 mpg figure, consuming 17.5 gallons of the Wrangler’s available 18.3 would equate to 508 miles of range, which again computes with that potential EPA reading.

Still, even that conservative figure represents a considerable improvement versus the Wrangler Unlimited with the efficient optional 2.0-liter turbo four, which earns an official EPA estimate of 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. The standard 3.6-liter gas V6 returns an official estimate of 19 mpg city and 22 highway with the optional eight-speed automatic. The standard six-speed manual is effectively 1 mpg worse. Note that the EcoDiesel is only available with the four-door Wrangler Unlimited.
Even if real-world fuel economy does in fact beat the eventual official specs, the performance does not: The on-paper promise of 260 horsepower and, especially, a robust 442 pound-feet of torque from the Italian-built 3.0-liter V6 is belied somewhat by leisurely acceleration and noticeable turbo lag when you squeeze the accelerator. Don’t forget that the EcoDiesel is also the heaviest Wrangler, with as much as 4,862 pounds punishing the scales in Rubicon trim. Depending on trim level, that’s between 330 to 487 pounds more than comparable gasoline models. A pokey 0-60 mph run in the 9-second range seems likely, well off the sub-7-second pace of either the turbo four or gas V6 versions.

There’s just-right passing power from both 30-50 mph and 50-70 mph, aided by a smooth eight-speed automatic transmission (no manual is available) that keeps the engine in its narrow sweet spot, between roughly 1,200 and 3,000 rpm. But at no point will you or your passengers be saying “Wow!” over the grunt on tap. OK, maybe when you’re storming over a sand dune in a higher gear than you’d ever manage in gasoline models, but that’s about it. Towing capacity is unchanged as well, matching the 3,500-pound trailer rating of four-door gasoline models.