Doors to the rear seats have made the king of off-roading a more family-oriented vehicle.

Last year the Jeep Wrangler was finally - after decades as a two-door - stretched into a four-door sport utility. Better to compete against the Hummer H3 and Nissan Xterra. The extra doors and the extra length have done little to detract from the truck's well-documented off-road prowess. It can still go anywhere that any motorized vehicle can go.

But now it can comfortably haul a family and their things accomplishing every day chores or taking a family vacation to the world of Disney.

Unfortunately, the Wrangler has never been a very comfortable vehicle from the aspects of ride, handling, interior noise levels and performance.

Many upgrades were made in a 2007 redesign that carry over into the 2008 model year. The highway ride has been smoothed, a new V-6 engine gives the rugged SUV a little more forward momentum and the steering is generally accurate. Wind and road noise have also been taken down a notch or two.

But if you never take your vehicle from the roads to the rocks than we suggest you look at numerous other choices. It comes close to being all things to all people. But something this adept at leaving the beaten path, doesn't supply the car-like characteristics of the modern crossover or even the more sophisticated body-on-frame

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sport utilities.

The Jeep remains the king of boulder brawlers, the champ at fording streams and the top dog at climbing mountains. The fact that it now comes in a version more accommodating to passengers makes it even more enticing to the weekend wilderness warrior.

That being said, Jeep has had no problem selling the four-door Wrangler Unlimited. For several months during 2007, many dealers had no inventory, immediately selling every vehicle they could get their hands on. 2007 Jeep sales rose nearly 49 percent from 80,271 in 2006 to 119,243, entirely on the popularity of the Unlimited.

Why did it take a half century for the Wrangler to get the four-door treatment? Perhaps the Jeep folks were concerned with diluting the gene pool with a vehicle that has a foot-and-a-half longer wheelbase than the traditional Wrangler.

Jeep is marketing the Unlimited for the pavement pounders as well as the off-roaders - covering all bases perhaps - because it can be purchased with rear-wheel drive only. And that dear soccer mom might be all you need for normal driving. It comes with electronic stability control and traction control for bad-road peace of mind.

But a majority of the Unlimited Wranglers are leaving dealer lots in Sahara 4X4 or Rubicon 4X4 trim levels with all the off-road goodies found in the standard Wrangler including short front and rear overhangs, underbody protection provided by three skid plates, an electronic-disconnecting front stabilizer bar, which delivers additional wheel travel for off-road terrain, and low-range gear ratios.

The Rubicon comes equipped with a "Rock-Trac" transfer case with unusually low gears that allow for crawling up and over rocks and descending in a slow and steady manner.

Perhaps the only problem with the longer wheelbase is a greater possibility of getting high centered. The turning radius is also slightly longer than the standard Wrangler.

The Wrangler has a lot of attractive attributes including removable soft or hard roofs making it the only four-door SUV convertible available. Our Sahara test vehicle came with the hard top, which can be removed in two front sections and a third section over the rear seats.

Neat stuff!

But the Wrangler slips a bit in performance, gas mileage and braking when compared to more genteel offerings. New to the Jeep since 2007 is a 3.8-liter V-6 generating 205 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque.

The Wrangler is lively around town in stop-and-go situations. But out on the highway it's adequate at best, the smallish V-6 asked to pull more than two tons of truck. It left us constantly wishing for a little more muscle, especially when accelerating to gain highway speed.

Zero to 60 has been measured in a leisurely 10 seconds.

The mushy feeling brakes are just barely acceptable as well. We were forced into a near-panic stop early into our test week when a signal-deprived driver in front of us decided to slam on his brakes preparing to turn. We got the truck stopped, but it was a hair-raising experience that would have been a non-event in most other vehicles.

On the plus side, we found the ride satisfactory and the steering fairly accurate. We had no problem herding the Wrangler down the road.

And when at highway speed, wind and road noise levels are maintained at an acceptable level.

The seats up front are comfortable and the driving position is good. Climbing in and out is a bit iffy if you have some extra years or a bad back. It's tolerable.

You will also be looking at a lot of hard dashboard plastics.

Rear-seat passengers have stretch-out room, but long-haul comfort might be compromised by seatbacks that sit fairly upright and don't have a recline feature.

Cargo space behind the rear seats is generous at 46 cubic feet and expands to a large 87 cubic feet with the second row folded. Second-row head rests fold with the seatbacks so that they don't have to be removed.

Our Sahara trim level was outfitted with some things that were unheard of in a Wrangler just a few years ago including a DVD-based navigation system with hard drive and Sirius satellite radio.

The rather spartan X edition starts at $21,240 in rear-wheel drive and $23,240 in four-wheel drive. The Sahara, with a long list of standard features, begins at $26,150 in rear-wheel and $27,565 in four-wheel drive. The top Rubicon begins at $30,195.

Safety equipment on all Wranglers includes antilock brakes and stability control with rollover sensor. Note that the traditional Wrangler removal doors provide very little crash protection.

Our 4X4 Sahara test truck carried a base price of $27,565 and a bottom line of $31,875 with options including navigation, front-seat side airbags and the three-piece removable top.

If you are part of the off-road fraternity and need the room to carry a family during the week, the new Wrangler Unlimited should be high on your shopping list. If you stay on hard pavement, there are better choices.

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DATA BOX 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

Essentials

Base price, $21,240; as driven, $31,875

Engine: 3-8-liter V-6

Horsepower: 205 @ 5,200 rpm

Torque: 240 foot-pounds @ 4,000 rpm

Drive: four-wheel

Seating: 2/3

Wheelbase: 116 inches

Length: 173.4 inches

Curb weight: 4,294 pounds

Turning circle: 41.2 feet

Towing capacity: 3,500 pounds

Luggage capacity: 46.4 cubic feet

Cargo capacity: 87 cubic feet

Fuel capacity: 21.6 gallons

EPA rating: 19 highway, 16 city (regular)

0-60: 9.7 seconds (Car and Driver)

Also consider: Hummer H3, Nissan Xterra, Toyota FJ Cruiser

The Good

Excellent off-road go anywhere capability

Comfortable room for four adults and luggage

Removable roof offers open-air driving

The Bad

Weak engine and poor brakes hamper on-road driving

Difficult ingress

The Ugly

Anemic gas mileage