At the 46th Annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari, Jeep® Blog learned what “capability” really means. A stock, manual transmission 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport crawled and navigated some of the toughest events that Moab has to offer. Tall ledges? Big ridges? No problem. The stock Sport performed like a champion.

While handily maneuvering all types of rugged terrain in Moab, Jim Repp, Jeep Brand engineer, explained to Jeep Blog what makes the stock Jeep Wrangler Sport off-road ready.

“Having a car with lockers and a 4:1 [low-gear ratio] makes the driving experience a little different, but the reality is that the basic stuff is in the Wrangler Sport,” Repp explained. “The capability is there – the ground clearance, the approach and departure angles, and the articulation – it’s all there.”

“We joke in engineering that the Wrangler is the cake and a vehicle like the Rubicon is the icing on the cake,” said Repp. In a Jeep Wrangler Sport, “the cake is there – all the ingredients are baked in.”

So, what ingredients are baked into this off-road cake? “The suspension articulation is basically the same [as the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon]. The ground clearance is a little less, but your approach, departure, and brake over angles – when we design those we make them the lowest they can be to meet our general parameters. It still maneuvers, it still steers, it’s got traction, and the brake traction control is very effective even when you use a street tire.”

Ready to Go Anywhere, Do Anything™ in a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport? Head over to Jeep.com for more.