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Daily Driver: 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X Edition

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, reviewed by the staffers that drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X Edition, reviewed by Adam Morath. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hi, I'm Adam Morath for Autoblog. Now, undoubtedly, one of the coolest things about this job is that you're in and out of so many different vehicles, but, I'll be honest, there are times where, if you're in very similar vehicles, they can start to run together a little bit. That's why I love getting into a car like this that just snaps you right out of it because it's so unique and so different from anything else on the market. Of course I'm talking about the Jeep Wrangler. I'm in a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. This is the X Edition, which stands for X Games. Jeep is a big title sponsor of the 2015 Aspen X Games and you can see that all over this vehicle. You have white, glossy accent plastic in the interior; mountain graphics throughout the interior and exterior of the vehicle – a nod, obviously, to the winter sports and skiing that you would do out in Aspen. And then in keeping with that mountainous theme, you have an Alpine nine-stereo speaker system. I'll be honest, though, that some of it feels a little overdone to me. For instance, there's a power-bulge in the hood. Credit to Jeep: the vents are actually functional, but this is not the trim I would go for, just personally. It's one of those vehicles that people are always wondering, "I really like the look of it [and] I like the capability, but could I live with a Wrangler?" It's the same sort of question you'll get from people who are looking at a sports car, "could I actually live with this is my daily driver?" And I have to say, Jeep has come a long way – Wrangler, in particular, has come a long way – in terms of driving comfort. Of course, don't expect "Lexus quiet." You can probably hear it's a big noisy in the cabin. It's a bit of a bumpy ride. There are things about this vehicle that I could see being annoying in your day-to-day life. For instance, the door: it's essentially an external hinge on the door, but it doesn't stay open for you. So, if you're on any sort of a tilt, the door will come back in and you have to just prop it open with your leg. Little things like that.

Stellantis not looking for further mergers, including with Renault

MILAN — Stellantis Chairman John Elkann on Monday denied the carmaker was hatching merger plans, responding to press speculation about a possible French-led tie-up with rival Renault. Elkann said that the Peugeot owner, the world's third largest carmaker by sales, was focused on the execution of its long-term business plan. "There is no plan under consideration regarding merger operations with other manufacturers," said Elkann, who also heads Exor, the Agnelli family holding company that is the largest single shareholder in Stellantis. After abandoning the Russian market, at the time its second largest after France, and reducing the scope of its global cooperation with Nissan, Renault has been seen as a potential M&A target. Speculation intensified after an electric vehicle market slowdown forced it last week to cancel IPO plans for its EV and software unit Ampere. Its market cap remains stubbornly low at little over 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) despite a financial recovery over the past few years. Stellantis, the product of a 2021 merger between France's PSA and Fiat Chrysler and one of the most profitable groups in the industry, has a market cap of more than 85 billion euros when unlisted shares are factored in. It has a 14 brand portfolio also including Citroen, Jeep, Opel and Alfa Romeo. NEWSPAPER REPORT Italian daily Il Messaggero had said on Sunday that the French government, which is Renault's largest shareholder and also has a stake in Stellantis, was studying plans for a merger between the two groups. A spokeswoman for Renault said on Monday the group did not comment on rumors. France's Finance Ministry had declined to comment on Sunday. Stellantis has crossed swords with the Italian government, which has accused it of acting against the national interest on occasions. Industry Minister Adolfo Urso last week raised the prospect of the Italian government taking a stake in Stellantis to help to balance the French influence. Renault shares pared gains after Elkann's comments to stand 1.2% higher by 1220 GMT, having initially risen more than 4%. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, a Portuguese-national, last week said in an interview with Bloomberg that the group was "ready for any kind of consolidation" and that its job was to make sure that it would be "one of the winners". Analysts, however, question the rationale of a Stellantis-Renault merger, which would also expand the group's excess capacity in Europe.

Baby Jeep to join Renegade in FCA's plan for new Italian-built models

FCA is boosting its European production, introducing new models that will be built in currently under-utilized manufacturing facilities. Among the new models is a new small Jeep, smaller than the current Renegade, as Automotive News reports. FCA's Mike Manley mentioned the entry-level Jeep model earlier this year, also saying that the vehicle is targeted to European and possibly Latin American customers; in the summer, Autocar placed the launch date in 2022. The new "baby" Jeep would be made in the same factory in Pomigliano, Italy, as the small Fiat Panda, which is a top seller in Italy. The current generation Panda was introduced in 2011; if it gets a replacement in 2022, it could possibly share a platform with the Jeep model — or, the Jeep could be an eventual outright replacement for the Panda. One of Fiat's earlier core products, the Punto hatchback, was canned in August, and that production capacity will be used to make the Jeep Compass instead, at the Renegade-producing Melfi factory in southern Italy. The Compass has not previously been built in Europe. The Fiat model portfolio would be shrunk to just the 500 model family and the Panda — the 500 would also be FCA's key electric vehicle offered in Europe. It is not yet clear whether the electric 500 would be made in Turin, Italy, or in Poland; Turin might also get a Giardiniera-badged wagon version of the refreshed 500. As for the Alfa Romeo brand, it is set to gain an even bigger SUV model than the Stelvio, based on the Maserati Levante's platform. The Levante's sales have suffered recently in China, but Maserati does have light in the horizon: The Alfieri 2+2 grand tourer is still in the cards, with a launch expected for 2020 and both a convertible and an electrified version planned to follow. The Alfieri would be made in Modena, Italy, according to Automotive News' sources. None of these plans namedrop the storied Lancia brand, which has been shrunk to just the Ypsilon hatchback, based on the same platform as the current 500 and Panda. Despite that, the Ypsilon was again the second-bestselling car in Italy after the Panda in October. It is unlikely that FCA will be able to ignore this, but it is just as unlikely that any development money will be afforded to come up with a replacement for the Ypsilon, which is as similarly old as the Panda. Perhaps official announcements expected on Thursday will also clarify what will happen to Lancia.