Ever wondered why the badge on the Wrangler’s tailgate reads 3.0 D | DIESEL but EcoDiesel V6 is only written on the engine cover? We did too, but our curiosity won’t be answered by this walkaround video of the newcomer at the State Fair of Texas.
It appears that Jeep is playing it safe with the next generation of six-cylinder diesels, more so if you remember the outgoing EcoDiesel V6 has been investigated over excessive emissions. As a supplier of a few of the “cheating” components, German juggernaut Bosch was also held accountable for Fiat Chrysler's blunder. Speaking of which, Bosch got off with a $100 million fine over the Dieselgate scandal that brought Volkswagen to new lows in terms of public opinion and customer satisfaction.
Turning our attention back to the 2020 Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel V6, TFLnow had a chat with a spokesperson about the differences over this engine and the turbo diesel in the Ram 1500. The intake and exhaust are the most obvious differences, which is why torque is down 38 pound-feet compared to the truck. In other words, look forward to 260 horsepower, 442 pound-feet and the best fuel efficiency of any Wrangler ever sold in the United States.
Over in Europe, the JL and JLU are already available with an all-aluminum turbo diesel four-cylinder engine that’s similar in design to what you’ll find in the Alfa Romeo Giulia 2.2 JTDM. A two-door model with this powerplant returns 9.3 liters on the combined cycle, translating to 25.3 miles per gallon.
Exclusive to the JLU and only available with the TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission, the 3.0 D could cost as much as $4,995 over the Pentastar V6. Dana 44 heavy-duty axles are offered as standard, and Jeep could surprise us with the towing capacity as well.
If there’s something we don’t like about the diesel-engined Wrangler, that would be a headline such as “The New 2020 Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel Gets Enough Torque To Crawl Up Everest.” Given how unimpressed U.S. customers are to this type of fuel, we’re pretty certain the Pentastar and Hurricane four-cylinder turbo will soldier on as the more popular engine options.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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