Jeep Wrangler 392 vs. 4xe: Is a V8 or Plug-in Hybrid Better on the Rubicon Trail?

Even though both these rigs have the same amount of torque, the off-road driving experience is very different

2025 Jeep Wrangler on the Rubicon Trail

written by Emme Hall
edited by Clint Simone
7/25/2025
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The Rubicon Trail is the ultimate proving ground for the Wrangler’s capabilities.
We dig into the math to determine the crawl ratios of each Wrangler trim.
In the end, one Wrangler proved to be the best at going as slow as possible, as fast as necessary.

Most people think horsepower is the arbitrator of a powerful vehicle. While important, horsepower is not the complete picture. Torque is the real key. It’s the actual measurement of force that rotates the engine on its axis, thus rotating your tires. Torque is often celebrated in quick 0-60 mph times, but a high torque number also means incredible capability when the driving gets slow.

We wanted to see how two of the torqueiest Jeep Wranglers compared to each other when the pavement turned to dirt, so we hit the Rubicon Trail with the plug-in hybrid Wrangler 4xe and the stonking V8-powered Wrangler 392. Although they both have 470 lb-ft of torque, the driving experience is very different.

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Crossing the Rubicon

The first thing you need to know about the Rubicon Trail is that it is difficult. I’m talking 10-out-of-10 difficult. As such, you drive it very, very slowly. In fact, you can walk the trail quicker than you can drive it. This beautiful stretch of trail is Jeep's personal proving ground, and only the vehicles that can conquer it get to wear the name Rubicon.

Regardless of what's under the hood, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon gets front and rear locking differentials, a disconnecting sway bar and a two-speed transfer case. While it's possible to run this trail on the standard 33-inch tires, I recommend adding the optional 35-inch BFGoodrich all-terrain rubber. Bigger tires make the huge rock ledges easier to navigate.

Crawling along

In off-roading, torque doesn't mean anything without crawl ratio, which is the number of times the torque is multiplied through the driveline before it gets to the ground. The higher the crawl ratio, the easier it will be to navigate steep and rocky slopes. The 392 with its 6.4-liter V8 uses the Selec-Trac transfer case with a low range of 2.73:1. The axle ratio, or differential gears, is 4.56:1, while first gear is 4.71:1. The point of all this gearing is to gain mechanical advantage when it comes to getting the torque to the ground. We multiply those three numbers together to get the crawl ratio of the Wrangler 392: 58.4:1. Not too shabby.

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2025 Jeep Wrangler on the Rubicon Trail

But when you look at the 4xe with its electric power, you can see that it has a little bit of an advantage over the 392, even though it produces the same amount of torque. The 4.0:1 low range in the Rock-Trac 4x4 system lets you drive slower but with more power and even though the axle ratio isn’t quite as good, 4.1:1, first gear is the same 4.71:1. When it's all multiplied together, the crawl ratio here is 77.2:1.

All this math means that even though both rigs have the same torque spec, the 4xe has a better crawl ratio and thus a mechanical advantage when it comes to putting that torque to the ground.

The price gap

At the beginning of the trail, I thought the $100,000-plus Rubicon 392 with its lower crawl ratio would pale in comparison to the 4xe, which starts in the mid-$60,000s. However, over two days of rock crawling, I discovered that the 4xe has a few quirks when forced to toddle along at literally 2 mph. As for the 392, I expected the rumbly V8 with its higher torque curve and lower crawl ratio to be a bit of a letdown. Oh boy, was I wrong.

What exactly went down on the Rubicon Trail? Watch the video above to find out.

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Emme Hall is an award-winning automotive journalist who has been testing and evaluating vehicles since 2009. During that time she's written for the likes of Car and Driver, MotorTrend, TechCrunch, The Verge, Jalopnik, Motor1 and SAE Automotive. You may have also seen her on video with CNET Roadshow, TFL Car, The Hoonigans and Top Gear: American Tuned. Emme is an accomplished off-road racer, having won her class in the Mint 400 in her 2001 lifted and supercharged Miata named Buddy. She also won the Rebelle Rally twice and was the and was the first to campaign an EV in the competition. Emme enjoys adventure travel and hopes to one day explore the Himalayas in a tuk tuk.

edited by Clint Simone

Clint Simone has worked in the automotive industry since 2015. He has tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the course of his career. Before joining Edmunds as a senior features editor, Clint contributed to Motor1.com and InsideEVs, evaluating mostly electric cars. Clint loves hot hatchbacks more than any other type of vehicle but secretly enjoys driving big trucks when he gets the chance. He would never admit to that.

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