These guys have been around since 1941 so there's not much you can teach Jeep about off-road vehicles. They've climbed the highest mountains, tackled the boggiest terrain and surged through swollen rivers worldwide.
They've taken armies, both official and ragtag, into battle, been first choice for rescue missions in inaccessible destinations and, of course, become a common sight as urban warriors trawl through the 'burbs with them and trundle around the malls.
You can walk into a Jeep store and buy any number of shirts, outdoor jackets, hats - even watches - all sporting the legendary Jeep logo. And very nice they all are too.
I'm a fan of big vehicles so I immediately loved the look of the big Jeep Wrangler Sahara (2.8 CRD) Unlimited that arrived at my gate. Macho and muscular, with fat 17" aluminium rims and huge fender flares, it squatted there like a huge sentinel waiting for action.
Sadly, I had neither time nor terrain to try it on serious dirt, which is a pity because that's where it shines. In the city, I found it - sorry Jeep! - ungainly, cumbersome, and inclined, at times, to vague handling.
Height wise, you're in the pound seats and you feel pretty invincible. However, it took some time to find the auto window buttons and more time to locate an auto mirror folder-inner: there isn't one. You have to fold them by hand.
I was driving the 2.8 diesel-powered auto version, for which Jeep quotes 130kW at 3800rpm and 410Nm from 2000-2600rpm. It was a blast flat-out on the downhills and on a straight but I realised that it's in the rough stuff, when torque and ground clearance are your prime necessities, that the Jeep would come into its own.
It wasn't the easiest vehicle to park in the city and I had a couple of sweaty four-point turning moments. There's also an idiosyncrasy I've experienced before in auto Jeeps which comes into play only when the vehicle is in Park mode.
That's when you're supposed to be able to turn the vehicle off and remove the ignition key. Twice, at least, I had to fiddle with the gear, jiggling it in and around the P spot because the engine wouldn't stop and I couldn't remove the key.
A CAR FOR PURISTS
I seldom say this but the Sahara, and Wrangler generally, is a boy's car. A nifty feature is that you can take off the doors and roof and go topless and sideless.
However the removal of said parts requires thought and effort and you need somewhere to stash them. I would imagine that in California, home of the free etc, you remove them the minute you buy the car and leave them off for ever.
It's a car for purists, for those who buy it with one thing in mind: serious bundu bashing for which, after all, it was designed. City slickers with no off-road experience or inclination who buy one to enhance their image are taking on more than they bargained for.
I still love the brand, though, and the branded clothes. I just don't think I'd spend R394 900 on one - unless I lived in the bush.