What Is the Jeep Wrangler Arctic Edition?

If you end up taking your daily driver into the Arctic circle, your life is either much more extreme than most of our readers or you’ve taken a horribly long series of wrong turns. It’s tough to prepare for those kinds of frigid conditions, and enduring the snow, ice, and wind of the utmost North requires careful preparation.

A Wrangler That's Cool, But Hardly Ready for the Cold

Unfortunately, this Jeep Wrangler Arctic Edition isn’t quite going to cut it. Although it comes in a chilled-out ice blue and features an angry Yeti stitched into the front seats, the upgrades applied to this special run of the 4x4 are just barely going to add some cold-weather competence to your ride.

Available only for the 2012 model year, most reports seem to indicate that only 1,113 were produced. This Wrangler stands in stark contrast to the usual warm-weather locales that give Jeep special editions their names. Think of the Moab, Rubicon, Mojave, and especially the Sahara. Ironically, the Sahara serves as the platform that this Jeep is built from.

Jeep Wrangler on the Rocks

This Jeep could be had in either a 2-door or 4-door variant that sits on 17-inch black wheels, with big ol’ 32-inch tires borrowed from the Rubicon. Under the hood, you’ll find the standard V6 engine that was used in the JK Wrangler. The roof and fender flares match the body color, increasing the overall street presence, while the black fuel door, hood strip, and tail light guards add some nice pops of contrast. The rear windows come with a factory tint.

Apart from the blue color here, called Winter Chill, this Wrangler sticks to the wintery theme by only offering two other snowy color options: Bright Silver and Bright White. The interior contrasts these light shades by being all-black, save for some contrasting accents like the light blue gauges and white trim on parts of the dashboard and grab handles, plus orange and white stitching in the seats. The interior roof is white which helps to add an airy feel to the cabin.

The Arctic Edition is capped off with an embossed patch on the front seats, with the words “Jeep Arctic” and the coordinates 90°N, 0°W. A globe is shown with an orange marker at the North Pole, as a yeti/abominable snowman peers menacingly from behind the emblem. It’s pretty neat, but unfortunately, this small touch is one of the coolest things about this Wrangler. This design is also prominently displayed on the spare tire cover and fender badges. The yeti’s presence is also felt with another cartoonish image of the creature looking over the tachometer as well, and by a footprint decal left on one of the front fenders and the hood.

Let it Snow?

By now, you’re probably wondering if this cold-pressed Wrangler actually offers any cold-weather benefits at all! Well, it’s not just for show. You do get heated front seats and all-weather slush mats on the floor, which feature a cool tire tread design. Sadly, this is the extent of the cold-weather prepping.

For the same year, you could also select a Jeep Liberty Arctic Edition, which added some similar features, but it still didn’t do nearly enough to make it as appealing as a proper Wrangler, of any sort.

When all is said and done, the Wrangler Arctic Edition is a seriously cool ride (pardon the pun here). But it’s important to note that there are very few tangible, practical benefits over other Wranglers and that the collectibility of these special editions is not particularly high. If you like the sweet blue paint and interior trim though, this might be the best way to find a Yeti. Just keep in mind that at the end of the day, this is essentially a dressed-up Wrangler Sahara in a cool color that features Rubicon wheels and tires...which isn’t a bad way to go!

Image Credit: Motor Trend