Jeep is reinstating the availability of its TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic and V-6 pairing with the 2025 Wrangler after discontinuing the option a few months ago. Back in September, Jeep dropped the optional eight-speed automatic from its mating with the Wrangler’s top-selling and most popular engine, making the six-speed manual the only transmission available. Following this major change to the Wrangler lineup, the Jeep community apparently expressed their displeasure at the decision and demanded its return.
With Jeep being known as one of the few automakers that’s very in tune with its buyers and fans, the company obliged and thus, brought the eight-speed auto option back for all Pentastar V-6-powered models. Rumor has it that former Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, is responsible for the TorqueFlite auto’s discontinuation. The decision to drop the automatic cog swapper was apparently a part of his strategy that also supposedly disrupted a number of products within Stellantis’ 14-brand portfolio. But after Tavares suddenly resigned on December 1, Jeep, reversed those changes.
The Jeep’s “Freedom of Choice” Campaign Means Giving Customer Options
Earlier this year, Stellantis enacted a new “freedom of choice” campaign for all of its Mopar-based brands, including Jeep, Chrysler, RAM, and Dodge. The premise being that the company seeks to provide its prospective customers with a wide variety of options with its vehicles, rather than forcing them to adopt specific product changes with limited availability. Part of this mandate includes providing Jeep Wrangler buyers with choices of powertrains and transmission pairings and without the availability of the ZF-sourced TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic, Jeep wouldn’t exactly be living up to its own promises.
But with Jeep being an automaker known for being well-connected with its fan base and community, the company clearly heard the feedback and backtracked on the decision to omit the eight-speed auto from the Wrangler’s options list.
“In response to enthusiastic requests, we’re reintroducing the eight-speed automatic transmission for V6 Wrangler models, underscoring our commitment to freedom of choice, performance, and versatility for every adventure,” Bob Broderdorf, senior vice president and head of Jeep brand North America, said in his official statement. “We deeply value our community’s passion and input.”
Otherwise, the fourth-generation “JL” Wrangler continues on into the new model year largely unchanged. The Sport remains the base model, followed by the Sport S, Willys Rubicon, and Sahara, and Rubicon X. All are available in either two-door or four-door form, with the choice of either a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four good for 270 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque and the same ZF-sourced TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic.
In the middle of the range is the traditional 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 with 285 horses and 260 torques on tap, a 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 with 470 horses and torques for the Rubicon 392, and the gas-electric hybrid Wrangler 4xe rounds out the range with its 2.0-liter gas turbocharged inline-four-based powertrain. All four-door Wranglers come standard with the V-6 and have the option to be paired with either the TorqueFlite automatic or a six-speed manual, except for the Sahara. The automatic transmission upgrade remains a $4,500 option.
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