Dan Trent: Strong desire for a Jeep Wrangler AEV Rubicon Brute

This got me thinking about other sociable open-air cars that could make a journey like that equally fun for all the family, maximising the sense of adventure over my usual fixation with going fast. The sense of adventure? There I was tapping ‘Jeep Wrangler’ into the search bar, the idea of zipping down the lanes with the family trading ISOFIX for a firm grip of a roll bar sounding rather fun. Plus, my four-year-old would probably have more appreciation of something like this than he would a classy 60s Merc.

Turns out there’s a fair selection of short-wheelbase ‘proper’ Wranglers running lifted suspension, fat tyres and no-nonsense air of knockabout fun. This one https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/jeep/wrangler/jeep-wrangler-4-0-jamboree-2dr/7386574 for £15K looks a giggle, being manual, petrol-engined and modified without looking too much like my old Tamiya Wild Willy radio-controlled car. The same dealer has stuff like this for https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/jeep/wrangler/jeep-wrangler-4-0-sport-2dr/6961800 less than £10K too and I was all set along the path of ‘affordable fun’ and ‘cheaper than a Defender’ themes.

Then this caught my eye. And ‘affordable fun’ suddenly got a little bit more extravagant.

Now I’ve written here before about the temptations of big American pickups, the Ford F150 Raptor being one of my favourites. Given they sell for over list in America importing one over here is going to be very, very expensive indeed – you could be knocking on six figures. And cool as they are they’re absolutely huge, to the point where the novelty could quickly wear off driving it here.

This Wrangler, upgraded by respected off-road brand American Expedition Vehicles and sold here through equally experienced UK 4x4 specialists Nene Overland, looks like just the ticket. Wranglers are vaguely sensibly sized for UK roads, this one is right-hand drive, it’s considerably cheaper than a Raptor (all things relative – it’s still £60K plus VAT) and most of all it looks absolutely amazing.

The machismo rating is off the scale too – it’s called a Brute for crying out loud. And the colour? Not just green. Anvil Green. Saying all that it’s actually rather classy, all things relative. It’s relatively easy to lift a 4x4 and put fat tyres on it to get the look. But just from the pictures you can see the AEV modifications are fit for purpose, not just aesthetics. Running a 3.5-inch lift and 35-inch tyres it’s got some serious off-road swagger, underpinned by AEV bumpers and side protection bars. It looks serious but not over the top, Nene Overland head man Andrew Harrison-Smith explaining AEV is among few in the conversion business understanding how to make cars like this handle as well on the road as they do off it.

So it’s a bit silly. But I don’t think it’s too silly, and that’s an important distinction. Were you so inclined, you could drive this around Knightsbridge and probably win the hearts and minds of the kerbside phone camera brigade. But, unlike others of its type, equally, you could turn up to an off-road centre and not be laughed off the premises before dipping a tyre in the mud. Serious fun, I’d like to think. With seating for all the family, a tailgate to sling the bikes over and a restrained sense of menace I think this would be the absolute business. My kind of lifestyle vehicle! 

Photography courtesy of Pistonheads and Neneoverland