JEEP WRANGLER | Starting price: $26,000

The Wrangler has been and continues to be a useful appliance. The difference between this new model and the previous one is that the new one has gone to finishing school. The world-famous off-roader now delivers a more real-world friendly passenger experience.

The new Wrangler, the JL model, includes many welcome and worthwhile advancements. It retains its off-road creds and realistically is still the one to beat when it comes to getting really dirty. The vehicle was born driving off landing craft onto battle-scarred beaches during World War II. That basic ethos has not faded. In fact, current models can go a lot of places that the original couldn’t, but that connection and common heritage with the past is constant.

The Wrangler still comes in both 2-door and 4-door models. The 2-door is available in Sport, Sport S and Rubicon trims. The 4-door has the same three plus the Sahara model. The ability to remove body and roof panels and have an open-air SUV experience while retaining a solid frame around you is still there. The significant changes to the 2018 model don’t diminish the vehicle’s capabilities at all. Rather, they add a level of refinement and equipment that makes the driving experience better.

The new body styling adds some definition and detail that is subtle but universally liked. It’s still profoundly Jeep-ish yet bespeaks detail and finish that finally delivers some creature comforts that the creatures will really appreciate. In other words, you’re not capitulating or going soft by having a smoother and quieter Wrangler. It still retains its off-road capabilities but is now civilized enough to actually be used as a daily driver vehicle.

While the interior on some models is comparatively minimalistic and metallic, on others the instrument and door panels are fully upholstered like a “normal” vehicle. More options and electronics are available and the passenger compartment is much quieter. Entry and exit is now easier, seating positions are better, outward visibility has improved and yes, you can still wash out the interior with a hose.

The standard power on the JL is a 3.6 V6 engine. A new turbo 2.0 should arrive soon and a super-efficient turbo diesel will also be an excellent fit for this type of vehicle. Though you can still get a 6-speed manual transmission, most will be powered by a new and very smooth 8-speed automatic. Concerning 4-wheel-drive systems, they are too numerous to detail in this article but it’s sufficient to say they range from fully automatic systems to having manual floor shifters that will let you go almost anywhere.

The new Wrangler has not missed the boat on some of the latest safety features. It has, for example, a rear-view camera, a rear parking sensor that beeps when you’re getting too close to unseen objects, plus blind spot monitoring and even rear cross-traffic alert!

The new Wrangler is still an iron fist, but now it’s in a soft velvet glove.

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MERCEDES E CLASS | Starting price: $52,000

The E Class is the midsize luxury sedan from Mercedes. Because of the never-ending technology wars that go on between Mercedes, BMW and Audi, the E is festooned with newness.

Though the interior and exterior styling evolves with each new iteration of the car, some things always seem to remain. The long hood and short rear deck motif was born in a time when Mercedes cars were largely powered with long inline engines. Those are long gone, yet the layout serves as a legacy visual cue to the model.

The rounded shape looks suitably Mercedes-like and provides aerodynamic benefits. Truth is that Mercedes E Class has presence and gravitas regardless of the styling trends of the day. The current E offers a huge array of buyer choices, including a very large palette of 12 exterior colors.

The interior has gone mega-modern. The style is sweeping, bold and entertaining. The huge flat panel display houses engine readouts, audio, climate, plus a large variety of other user-definable information. Sweeping wood grain, swaths of padded and stitched leather with few buttons and switches create a fresh new feel. The shape and comfort of the seating has also evolved.

Mercedes, like most automakers, has embraced turbocharged smaller displacement engines in its vehicles. Accordingly, the E Class is offered in the E300, E400 and the AMG performance models, which are the E43 or the E63 S. The E300 is powered by a turbocharged 2.0 liter engine making 241 horsepower. The E400 has a turbocharged V6 with 329 horsepower. The AMG performance models have either a twin turbo V6 producing 396 horsepower in the E43, or the E63 with a twin turbo 4.0 V8 and 603 horsepower. This model can bolt to 60 miles an hour in only 3.2 seconds! All have ultra-smooth 9-speed automatic transmissions, and Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel-drive system is available on the E300 and E400 models.

E Class cars are typically thought of as 4- door sedans. Mercedes has, however, morphed this basic design into a variety of different body styles. There is now an E Class Coupe for 2-door lovers, an E Class Wagon harkening back to an earlier day, and an E Class Cabroilet (French for convertible) for the wind-in-your-hair crowd. All of these are available in “normal” models as well as the AMG high performance variants. So many choices, so little time.

The E boasts what Mercedes calls aerocoustics, technology designed to make it one of the quietest cars on the road. Its pedestrian safety technology can actually help protect people outside the car. Drive Pilot is a vehicle control system that employs more automatic systems, gradually moving towards an autonomous driving experience. Then there is Remote Parking Pilot, Car-to-X communications, PRE-SAFE, Parktronic and even Beltbags, which are seatbelts with an airbags built into the straps.

The E Class is a highly refined and developed vehicle designed to engage, protect and please its owner.

For more information on these and other vehicles, visit MyCarData.com.