The Jeep Wrangler is one of the most well-known cars on the market, and the 2021 Wrangler is no exception. With that being said, the Wrangler also has plenty of trims and configurations, and it can be hard to know how to pick between them all. Here’s a look at how to find the best 2021 Jeep Wrangler trim for you.

What 2021 Jeep Wrangler trim levels are there?

While some automakers have decided to reduce the number of trims and options on their cars, Jeep hasn’t done that, especially for the 2021 Jeep Wrangler. Indeed, as Edmunds wrote, while there are a handful of trim levels for the Wrangler, there are in fact another handful of sub-trims for a few of those trim levels.

It can get confusing pretty quickly, but the long and short of it is that the cheapest option for the 2021 Wrangler is the Sport trim, which costs almost $35,000 MSRP, while the most expensive option is the Unlimited Rubicon 392, which costs almost $78,000 MSRP. But of course, there are also over 20 different configurations in between those two price points.

For example, there’s the Islander, which costs $41,000 MSRP, the Unlimited Willys, which costs $46,000 MSRP, and the Rubicon, which costs $50,000 MSRP, just to name a few. Rather than try to compare and contrast all of those trims, it can be helpful to just look at what trims other people love already.

The Sport S model

According to Car and Driver, the best trim to buy may be the Sport S trim. It’s one of the more affordable trims, as it’s also one of the more basic ones. Edmunds wrote that the Sport S trim should cost about $39,000 MSRP, which is a roughly $4,000 premium on the standard Wrangler. The affordability of the Sport S trim is one reason why Car and Driver picked this trim, but there’s more.

Car and Driver wanted to stay close to the Jeep Wrangler’s “simple roots,” but without being too cheap and bare-bones. That’s exactly where the Sport S excels, as it’s as simple as Car and Driver wanted, but it also had a few creature comforts that made it a car that’s actually comfortable to drive in.

For example, the Sport S trim adds power windows and a leather steering wheel, just to name a few things. Car and Driver also recommended choosing the slightly more powerful turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, as well as getting the Technology package.

The 2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

Another great pick, based on what people are actually buying, is the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon trim, which costs about $58,000 MSRP. This trim is a good choice because it’s actually the most popular trim option right now, according to Edmunds. While it’s not going to be an affordable trim, it’s certainly going to be a powerful and practical trim. 

The Unlimited Rubicon is simply the Rubicon trim but with four doors instead of two doors. This size increase is a big deal for multiple reasons, but one of them is the fact that several engine options are only available for the four-door version of the Wrangler.

On top of that, the Rubicon is already one of the most capable trims for off-roading, so adding on an exclusive engine to it will make it excel at its job even more.

In particular, Edmunds said that the Rubicon trim adds things like heavy-duty front and rear axles, electronic locking front and rear differentials, rock rails, and more. That being said, all of these great additions will end up slowing the Rubicon down a bit, according to Car and Driver.