I test drove a 2012 sport auto 4dr...and loved the new power.......but then I test drove 2012 Sahara and it felt like a Slug I will have to test drive Sport again....

 

2 questions(assuming both were 2012 4-door autos) ....

What were the axle ratios?

Was it a Sport S or a Sport?

 

Sport S not sure about the axles.......The Sahara was 3.21 I believe....I would push the pedal all the way down and wouldn't do much.

 

If they were both autos then they should both be 3.73 gearing regardless of options(only rubi has 4.10). If stick ten could be 3.21 or 3.73 and that would explain the difference.

 

The difference is in the wheel diameter. I think stock sports are 30" and skinnier than the 32" Sahara tires. It is essentially a gearing change.

 

To clear up some things...
For 2012...
The Sport and Sahara (in AUTO) come with 3.21's. The Rubi (AUTO only) comes with 3.73's (The Rubi manual comes with 4.10's). 3.73's are optional for auto Sports and Saharas.

The Sport S (not the standard Sport) 4 door comes with the 17 inch (rims) wheels. They are the same overall size (32.06 inches) as the Sahara 18 inch (rims) wheels (255/75/17 vs 255/70/18). The Sport S comes on Rubi rims that are simply painted a different color. The standard Sport comes with 16 inch rims and are much smaller overall.

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OP, I'm assuming both had hardtops....and since it was a Sport S 4-door, it should have had power windows and locks and all of that good stuff.

The only thing I can think off is the final axle gear, the weight of the side steps, and maybe the unsprung weight of the slightly heavier wheels since the Sahara does run 18 inch rims which have a bit more metal (ok, alloy). Also...maybe one of the engines was a bit more broken in?

 

Yup, 3.73s are optional on Sport and Sahara auto or manual. For $50 its a cheap upgrade. The Sahara is slightly heavier too. The 3.21 gears actually make the pentastar feel weaker.

 

on the jeep site for the 2011's... there's almost a 200lb difference between the sport s and sahara 4 door... that may be the same with the 2012's and could be the difference in feel as far as power goes...

 

Actually, an automatic sport s comes with 3.73 standard. The standard sport comes with the 3.73 optional.

 

Nope the only model with 3.73 standard is the Rubi for 2012.