Photo: Via Sandy Munro
Munro came to fame as an engineer in Detroit and spent some time with Ford but now he's breaking down the future of Jeep.
That future is plainly seen in the new Wrangler 4xe and its innovative design. It might only feature a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine coupled to a plug-in battery but it's no slouch. With 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, this hybrid Wrangler is still an off-roader at heart and Munro is familiar with the platform.
He owns a gas-powered Wrangler that he ultimatly compares much of the 4xe to. As a person with knowledge of previous engineering design studies he speaks about the many considerations that come into play when desiging something like the 4xe.
Just one example is the power-operated retractable top of the new Wrangler. Munro comments how he once complained about t-tops on other Jeeps and how they were nice but ultimately inconvenient. The new Wrangler impresses him by changing the way this top is removed altogether.
Instead of having separate pieces to remove, the top of the 4xe slides back and out of the way via a switch above the driver's head. Not only is this far simpler than t-tops, but Munro is also surprised it's power-operated and not a manual slide.
He also likes the rear windows that are manually removable. Not only do they fit nicely in the rear cargo space of the Wranger, but they also come with their own bespoke carrying case. Of course, Munro says he'd never use it, opting to just keep the windows in the cargo space at all times.
Ultimately he seems quite smitten with the updated Jeep, saying that it's much better than his older model. He's looking forward to testing the new Wrangler 4xe out on trails around his location and promises to report back once he's had the chance to crawl over some rocks with it.
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