Jeep Wrangler
It's from 1986, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- TJ (1997–2006, round headlights return)
- Origin
- USA (descended from the WWII Jeep)
- Layout
- Body-on-frame 4x4, solid axles
- Engine
- 4.0L inline-six (TJ)
- Power
- ~190 hp (4.0L)
- Signature
- Round headlights, 7-slot grille, removable doors and top
- Suspension
- Coil springs (new for TJ)
About
As of 2026, it's 40 years old.
The Jeep Wrangler is the direct descendant of the WWII Jeep, which makes it one of the few vehicles you can drive to brunch that also helped win a world war. When the Wrangler name arrived in 1986 with the YJ, Jeep made one wildly controversial decision: square headlights.
Purists lost their minds. Round headlights had been Jeep gospel since the 1940s, and the YJ's rectangular eyes felt like heresy, even if the truck underneath was a genuine improvement with a wider stance and better road manners. Jeep heard the outrage loud and clear.
So in 1997 the TJ generation brought the round headlights back, restored the classic face, and added coil-spring suspension for a far better ride. It was Jeep admitting the customers were right and quietly fixing it, the rare case of a company successfully un-ringing a bell.
Through every generation the Wrangler has stayed defiantly itself: removable doors, a folding windshield, solid axles, and an unkillable off-road reputation. It's a rolling middle finger to aerodynamics and a love letter to going where roads don't, and people adore it for exactly that.
Jeep Wrangler through the years
YJ debuts
The first Wrangler arrives and outrages purists with square headlights.
YJ bows out
The square-headlight generation ends its run after a decade.
TJ returns the round lights
Jeep restores the classic face and adds coil-spring suspension.
Rubicon arrives
The hardcore Rubicon trim makes the Wrangler even more capable off-road.
JK and four doors
The JK introduces the game-changing four-door Unlimited.
