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By the time we approached the third steep obstacle in the off-road 4x4 track, we felt confident enough to take the sucker with a full burst of acceleration. Applying the right balance of power, I let off the brake pedal at the beginning of the incline and gunned it, clearing the top, front wheels up in the air like...




By the time we approached the third steep obstacle in the off-road 4x4 track, we felt confident enough to take the sucker with a full burst of acceleration. Applying the right balance of power, I let off the brake pedal at the beginning of the incline and gunned it, clearing the top, front wheels up in the air like a reared stallion and my heart full of glory.

View full sizePhoto by Cathy Jacob Gaffney

That was until the front of the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara began to level forward, causing the back wheels to come off the ground and the chassis to become stuck on the transfer case skid plate. No amount of reverse- and forward-gear jimmying would free the vehicle from its perched predicament. Barely into the six-mile course that looped through 250 acres of private property in the backwoods of Crossroads, Miss., this city slicker and off-road virgin had already fallen from grace.



Fortunately, my vehicle was situated between the retrofitted 1986 Jeep Grand Wagoneer driven by Travis Bennett and the mini-monster truck steered by his buddy V.J. Perrin Jr., both seasoned off-roaders who had generously agreed to take me and my brave traveling companion under their wings for the day to test the trail-worthiness of the 2011 Sahara.



V.J. attached a towline to the Jeep and slowly pulled me free. “If you’re not getting stuck,” he later said smiling, “you’re not four-wheeling.”



We saddled back up and hit the trail, bouncing and careening along voluptuously hilly terrain. Soon we had reached the kind of doomsday obstacle I never would have attempted if not for V.J. in the lead vehicle sticking his arm out the window and giving me a thumbs-up.



“Ohmigod!” my companion screamed, as I punched the accelerator and the nose end of the Sahara pitched upward at a 45-degree angle and all we could see through the windshield was blue Mississippi sky. I felt the wheels come off the ground.



This time I didn’t get stuck.



Road rave

In our trio of vehicles my Sahara was the only “stocker” (a factory stock vehicle with no custom after-market embellishments), yet my learned teachers ensured me the “trail tested” badge on the side of my transporter meant this Jeep model had tasted some of the most hellacious 4x4 off-road tracks in the country during testing.

View full sizePhoto by Cathy Jacob Gaffney

Of all the Wranglers test-driven thus far, the new Sahara is by far the nicest in the bunch, sporting an additional nuanced layer of creature comforts that now include a media center, seven-speaker Infinity sound system, audio device jack input, satellite radio, remote keyless entry, leather-wrapped steering wheel, temperature and compass gauge, tilt steering column and 60/40 split rear folding backseat. And — yes, my fellow city slickers — you can get an optional remote USB port and Uconnect phone with voice command, heated front seats and 6.5-inch navigation touchscreen display.



But none of these bells and whistles mean squat off-road if your Sahara doesn‘t come equipped with the 4x4 gizmos that have helped make this dirt-eating bushwhacker a veritable legend. Fortunately, it does. From the electronic stability control and traction control to four-wheel disk anti-lock brakes, electronic roll mitigation, hill-start assist feature and shift-on-the-floor, four-wheel-drive system, virtually everything about the Sahara is designed for those whose definition of off-road is more than just the grassy knoll parking lot at that popular Bywater brunch den. Add to this a set of “next generation” Dana heavy-duty front and rear axles and pair of protective undercarriage shields for

Tags: Jeep, is-featured

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JEEP TRICK: Off-road veterans teach newbie to tackle 4x4 thrills was originally published by New Orleans Auto Reviews: Jeep. Read the full story by clicking here.