We all love soft tops, right? OK, not all of us, but many do even though the things rattle, sometimes leak and especially have problems with pesky zippers.
Well, if you are considering one of the new Wrangler JL soft top models, at least you will be able to eliminate one of those things when you roll it home from the dealership.
Zippers.
While not officially confirmed yet, new pictures out of a mostly exposed two-door JL during testing, show off what appears to be its production soft top. The shots, first displayed on JL Wrangler Forums, advertise a top with clean lines and side panels that should slide into tracks on the tub, doors and on hardware pieces above the tailgate. Its rear window should also pop out of tracks in the back hardware system.
We first heard last year during the Specialty Equipment Market Association event, that the JL would most likely not have any zippers on its soft tops. While just a rumor at the time, it is one everyone took seriously as soft top manufacturer Bestop was showing off its new Trektop NX Glide zipperless top. In fact, most of us took a hard look at the Glide as a precursor to the JL soft top.
Bestop's JK Glide Trektop (pictured below) uses a racerback design, and not a full extension, but it does employ a hardware system with these types of tracks on the sides and back - allowing the rear window to lock into place. It also utilizes a full-time bar at the bottom of the rear window to seal out moisture and clips to the body at the left and right of the tailgate. Side windows also attach to the doors and body with tracks.
Based on what we've seen and heard, we expect the new JL soft top to have a similar latching method.
Unfortunately, the JL soft top will not be available right at launch as Fiat Chrysler is rolling out the four-door hardtop vehicles first. Four door soft top JLs will follow around the middle of December, while two-door soft top vehicles should become available in March 2018. In addition, FCA will also unveil a powered soft top for the JL sometime later in May 2018.
