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Wrangler JK: Pentastar or 3.8L and the Fuel Economy

Hey folks. Work has been good to me as well as my wife. Now I am allowed to get a new Wrangler. There is a couple of option and most likely we are going for a young second hand wrangler as I just can't justify 10 grand or more to loose on a car just by driving out of the dealership. We are looking for a 2-door JK and I am trying to make up my mind whether it to be a MY11 3.8L for 22,000 AUD or a MY12 3.6L VVT for 28,000 AUD. They have basically the same specs and mileage and the only difference are engine and color (gunmetal grey vs black).

Is the fuel economy that much better to justify the 6,000 $$$? Any owners here having a say?
1mak

With careful driving I get about 10.5 L/100km out of a JK Unlimited (4 Door) Pentastar Wrangler on motorways and such. Inner city I'd say it will be around 12 L/100km. There's a bit more involved than just the engine upgrade. The auto gearbox is newer and has 5 gears instead of 4 as well as manual ger selection (tiptronic?!). The whole engine setup is more sophisticated with less parts involved while all critical parts such as the alternator are placed much higher up in the engine bay to protect them. The exhaust is supposed to be better too with a nice roary note. I personal think it's worth spending a few thousand dollars more if you do such a big investment anyway. The resale price will be better too from what I've seen on second hand cars on carsales. But whatever you do, let us know and put your car up. :)

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