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In our Moab off-roading guidebook is an entry for the Cliffhanger Trail. Under the “Trail Difficulty” section, it reads, “Trail not suitable for most stock vehicles.” The key word there is “most,” because they clearly weren’t talking about the stock 2012 Jeep® Wrangler Sport.

At the 46th Annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari, Jeep Blog spent a day navigating Cliffhanger, one of the toughest (but most rewarding) trails in Moab. Among several modified Jeep Wranglers in our group was the unquestioned champion of the day:  a stock, manual transmission 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport. With just a few add-ons for protection from the harsh ledges (a stock Jeep Wrangler Rubicon rock rail and bumpers for testing), the entry level Jeep Wrangler performed just as capably as the rest of the group – and won some people over in the process.

Jeep Brand engineer Jim Repp drove the stock 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport all week in Moab, taking on some of the better known trails including Poison Spider, Gold Bar, Golden Spike, Hell’s Revenge, Elephant Hill, and Dump Bump. The goal was to try a variety of events and the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport was fit for the challenge.

The ground clearance, articulation and brake traction control that give the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport its unique trail capability were on full display on Cliffhanger. Two miles up the 4.3 mile ascent, our group lined up to take on the Z-Turn. We watched as a few other Jeep vehicles with lockers took different lines to really show off their crawling aptitude.

The obstacle zig-zags on a relatively steep incline. The Wrangler Sport had no problem on the first leg. The sharp turn that makes up the second leg was more daunting. When the vehicle’s wheels started spinning, the activated traction control forced the car up with little difficulty – no lockers needed.