America is getting a torquey diesel-powered Jeep Wrangler

If you want to scale a sheer rock face, tow a train or plough through a boggy field, you don’t necessarily need infinite levels of power. What you really want is torque, and the best place to find that is in a whopping great diesel engine.

And so we say a warm welcome to the new (not-quite-whopping, but still rather large) 3.0-litre turbocharged EcoDiesel V6 that’s going in the Jeep Wrangler. Or at least we would, if it was coming to the UK...

Yep, this is a US-only powertrain. Shame. Anyway, the headline figure is 442lb ft of torque, which is fed to all four wheels (along with 260bhp) through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Said gearbox has apparently been given more than 40 individual shift maps that can optimise changes for fuel economy, on-road performance or off-road capabilities. Impressive.

Jeep says the new power unit is both the most fuel-efficient and the highest torque-rated engine that has ever been fitted to a Wrangler. There are no mpg figures as of yet, but it also reckons that the EcoDiesel will provide more range on a single tank than any other Wrangler, so you’ll be able to get even more lost in the wilderness than ever before. Plus, there are some clever engineering solutions to reduce emissions too. 

This is now the FCA group’s third generation of EcoDiesel V6, and the engine will continue to be built at its facility in Ferrara, Italy. It’ll apparently be available in the US before the end of this year and can be specced with the Sport, Sahara or Rubicon trim levels.

So, calling all Americans that enjoy a spot of off-roading – are you excited by a diesel-powered Wrangler?