I asked a question regarding off road capability of a stock Sahara unlimited. This is an interesting review of a stock Wrangler sport. So the answer is 'extremely capable'.

I am sure most of you have seen this but here it is..
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/17/2...-sport-review/

This does raise a question for me. Is the 2 door better than 4 door for off-road performance?

Ordered my Sahara 18 days ago. No word yet from the dealer.

Cheers,
P.S.

 

That is a tough question.
Depends on the terrain, some people prefer the longer wheel base for climbing of rocks because the smaller wheelbase could cause end over end flipping, but then again the shorter wheelbase would have a better break-over. So it's completely dependent on preference and terrain.
As for Sport vs. Sahara vs. Rubicon on capability, they are all pretty much just as capable as the other.
The Sport and Sahara should be exactly the same except maybe rim or tire sire size, and the Rubicon isn't really that different either. The only things that would make the Rubicon any better or more capable are just the inclusion of lockers and the electronic sway bar disconnect...there is more, but those two are the ones that really matter for traction and suspension for off-roading.
The Rubicon does however have some things that will protect it better for off-roading eg. rock rails, Dana 44, but there's really no reason a Sport couldn't go anywhere a Rubicon could.
This is just my opinion, I am in no way any sort of authority on the matter, nor do I really have any real experience with off-roading. I'm just a guy who occasionally drives off road.

 

I read the same article a couple days ago. It is very interesting and informative on the question. I my goal would be to modify a Jeep offroad purpose only, I would probably go for a Sport and invest the price difference in mods. I know I would come up with a very capable machine!

 

I did not read any article, but I'm glad my opinion isn't that far off from people who know a lot better.
I also think if someone had the plan to "really" build up their Jeep that it would make more sense to buy a sport model. I on the other hand doubt I will ever do any hard core 4x4ing on a regular basis so I went with a Rubicon, which I still do not have, but should be here in 2 weeks. YAY!