Tested: 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 Makes No Excuses (2024)

It's important to maintain some levity in our lives, distractions to help keep our moods light. While the metaverse and pop-star hookups may entertain some, we posit that a more effective pursuit involves big tires, a powerful V-8, and the ability to transport you far from the daily grind, both literally and figuratively. Jeep, by way of its updated 2024 Wrangler Rubicon 392, seems to agree.

Within the greater strata of charismatic off-roaders, this Jeep's 6.4-liter V-8 develops roughly a third as much power (470 horses) as your average Monster Jam competitor, and its 35-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires are only around half as tall. But that hasn't stopped the Wrangler 392 from being a heroically ridiculous middle finger to the sensibilities of the uninitiated (and good luck getting Grave Digger into your garage). From the whopping 90 decibels of full-throttle thunder leaving its active exhaust to the tire-squawking hole shots it can pull at stop lights, few vehicles encourage deviant behavior like this Jeep. Disturbing the peace is its raison d'être.

But you already knew this because the Wrangler 392 is not new. In our test of a 2022 model, we called it a "rocket-propelled basset hound," a somehow fitting descriptor for this 5413-pound covered wagon that can hit 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and cover the quarter-mile in 12.8 seconds at 104 mph. That it's also imbued with the same over-the-road qualities as pedestrian Wrangler models—ponderous recirculating-ball steering, a buckboard ride from two live axles, and a cramp-inducing lack of a dead pedal—makes those test results even more impressive, if a little unsettling. Drivers take note: You'll still need at least 194 feet to stop this thing from 70 mph, and it orbits the skidpad with a meager 0.71 g of grip (though those are improvements over the 2022 model's 218-foot and 0.70-g efforts, respectively).

Updated Innards

While the 392's brashness remains its charm, the Wrangler's mid-cycle refresh does bring some noteworthy refinements for the 2024 model year. Beyond a seven-slot grille that's been subtly rejiggered to better accommodate a newly optional 8000-pound Warn winch in the front bumper, a redesigned interior adds greater convenience when you're terrorizing the countryside. The highlight is a slick new 12.3-inch touchscreen that's horizontally arranged atop the lightly revised upper dashboards of all trim levels. Wireless phone mirroring is standard, with higher trims like the 392 gaining built-in navigation with Jeep's Badge of Honor trail guidance for certain mapped trail systems. As interfaces go, this is one of the better ones, offering an intuitive menu structure, quick responses to inputs, and crisp graphics for easy legibility.

Elsewhere, the 392's front seats have been reengineered and fitted with 12-way power adjustments, and like all 2024 Wranglers, its exterior mast antenna has been swapped out for an in-windshield unit. Side-curtain airbags also have been integrated into the rollover structure, while top trims get a cabin upgrade with some softer trim pieces, additional sound insulation around the windshield, and dual-pane front side window glass. Sadly, those sound-attenuating measures don't amount to much, barely dropping the noise level inside at 70 mph, from 76 decibels to 75—even louder than in our long-term Ford Bronco.

Less Work, More Play

But if creature comforts are guiding your potential 392 purchase, you're doing it wrong. Merely entertaining a 470-hp Wrangler on 35s requires a lull in common sense and a surplus of life insurance. Just look at its result on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test: 13 mpg, the same as its EPA city estimate, and we averaged just 12 mpg overall. No, this is a novelty item for escaping the mundane, offering a commanding view of the road that imparts a sense of invincibility from behind the wheel—if you can't outrun it, you can drive over it. And considering its meaty tires, full-time four-wheel-drive system with low range, 3.5 inches of suspension lift from the newly standard Xtreme Recon 35-Inch Tire package (previously a $3995 option), a new fully floating Dana 44 rear axle, front and rear locking differentials, and a high-performance Off Road Plus drive mode, that's probably true.

More rational minds will say much the same about the Ford Bronco Raptor with its even larger 37-inch rubber, easier drivability, and greater high-speed stability. But if the Wrangler 392's Hemi V-8 is good for nothing else, it's for drowning out pragmatic notions with a blip of the throttle. Unfortunately, the 392's base price is up $9150 over last year to $93,440 (in part because the pricey Xtreme Recon 35-inch tire package is now standard), and rumors are already circulating that 2024 will be its final model year. The doomsayers surely won't like that. Maybe they'll be able to drive one in the metaverse.