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The 2007 Jeep Wrangler two-door is a lot roomier inside than pre-2007 models, thanks to its increased width. The comfortable new high-back front seats, using a handsome stain-resistant gray or khaki-colored fabric in the Sahara and Rubicon, offer 5.1 inches more shoulder room and 4.6 inches more hip room. The removable rear seat provides 3.9 inches more shoulder room, 1.6 inches more hip room and 1 inch more leg room for each of the two passengers. There's also 2 more inches behind the rear seat, which now folds to provide nearly twice the cargo capacity as before.The cabin is 20 percent quieter, thanks to better isolation from new body mounts, extensive use of something called PCL (polymer constraint layer), and new seals at the doors, along the A-pillar, and at the top of the windshield. As for the larger Unlimited, Jeep claims that its 86.7 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seat folded flat (the headrests flip back, so they don't need to be removed) is more than the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Hummer H3 or Nissan Xterra. In the rear seat, the Unlimited offers 1.6 more inches of leg room and a whopping 12 inches more hip room. That huge difference is because in the regular Wrangler, the rear passengers sit directly over the axle and between the wheel wells; in the Unlimited, the axle is located behind them. Think about how much that improves the ride for those passengers. The layout of the clean instrument panel is excellent, against a background of dull (neither flat nor gloss) black plastic. The instruments, including the optional compass and temperature gauges, are easy to read, and the controls are soothingly simple. The solid square buttons look good and are easy to understand and operate. There's a nice leather-wrapped four-spoke steering wheel, with a short cruise-control stalk that's out of the way on the right side. Our Sahara was equipped with the 368-watt Infinity sound system with Sirius Satellite Radio, and we bought a couple new CDs for the occasion, happily blasting ourselves with the new Bob Dylan. Seven speakers, including subwoofer, is a whole lot of speakers for the cabin of a Jeep, and we think this is a good thing. Located under the sound system controls are big climate control knobs, with buttons for the new power windows above that. (Power windows in a Jeep!) Between the seats are the shift lever and short four-wheel-drive lever, two cupholders and emergency brake, and a console that's wide and deep, if not long. The locking glove box is about one-third larger than before, and there's a convenient grab handle above it. This is a Jeep, after all, so the grab handle will be used in the bouncy bits. Our Sahara had the modular Freedom Top, and we tried out all its positions on a gorgeous drive all around Lake Tahoe on a cloudless day, and then for a couple days in San Francisco. The vinyl pieces above each passenger easily lift off after twisting a fastener, and a larger section over the rear seat can also be removed although not stored in the vehicle. The only problem was that we couldn't store anything else behind the rear seat, with the two roof panels there. Actually, we couldn't get four carry-on-sized bags behind the rear seat, even without the panels. And watch out for the rear glass; it rises on its own, and will whack you on the chin (or forehead, or nose) if you forget to step back.
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