Despite navigating a tough corporate road, Chrysler managed to produce a significant cosmetic freshening for the 2011 Jeep Wrangler, updating the off-road icon inside and out. For 2012, the Wrangler completes its two-year makeover with a new engine and transmission.

Among the updates Chrysler was able to make last year across many vehicles was propagating a new corporate V6 engine dubbed Pentastar. This year, Wrangler sees its overtaxed 202-hp, 3.8-liter V6 swapped out for a 285-hp, 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. The Wrangler also benefits from a five-speed automatic transmission shared with the Grand Cherokee, and it becomes the first vehicle to have a manual transmission paired with the Pentastar, in this case, a six-speed unit. Jeep claims this powertrain improves fuel economy to 21 mpg highway. The current Wrangler is EPA-rated at 15 mpg city, 19 mpg highway. Further, Jeep claims 0-60 mph acceleration has improved by 25 percent. (Our last 0-60 mph test resulted in a tepid 10.7 seconds.)

The Jeep Wrangler has changed considerably since we tested a 2007 Wrangler Unlimited. While that four-door model performed much better than the previous-generation Wrangler in our tests, it scored just 17 points overall out of 100 earning the unfortunate distinction of being the lowest-scoring vehicle in our ratings. By a mile.

We are in the process of buying a new Wrangler Unlimited to determine how much it has improved since our last full review. Stay tuned.

Related:
Jeep prices Wrangler Unlimited pickup truck kit - $5,499
2011 Jeep Wrangler - Updated inside and out
Video: How we test off-road capability