Jeep’s Sky One-Touch Power-Top Roof Is The Ideal Convertible Design

We have just wrapped up a week of testing with the 2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392. This vehicle is amazing in so many ways it is hard to know where to begin. We will cover the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392 in a detailed review but wanted to dive a bit more deeply than space would allow on the subject of the Jeep Sky One-Touch roof optional on some Wrangler trims.

Related Story: 2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392 Review - The Best Jeep Ever Made

Jeep Sky One-Touch Roof - What Is It?
The Jeep Sky One-Touch roof is a soft-top roof that retracts automagically with the touch of a button. It is the full width of the vehicle and retracts from the windshield header all the way to the cargo area in the Wrangler. Technically, the Sky One-Touch may be a sunroof, but as the owner of both a hard and soft-top convertible and a frequent tester of other vehicles with roofs called “targas” and “retractable hard-tops,” I feel like I have a broad appreciation for what a convertible is and isn’t. In my book, the Sky One-Touch is a convertible roof. It provides all the benefits of a convertible with fewer downsides.

Jeep Sky One-Touch Roof - How Does It Work?
The Sky One-Touch roof opens with the touch of a button located on the upper part of the windshield header on the driver’s side. Tap and hold a second and it will retract the roof fully or you can hold it and stop the roof wherever you like. That is very helpful and handy. To close it, you tap the close button.

Here is where some of the upsides start to reveal themselves. The top can be operated up to 60 MPH. This feature makes it far more practical than a manual top or one that limits the speeds to below highway pace. We found we used the top a lot more due to its wide range of operating speeds.

Jeep Sky One-Touch Roof - Is the Cabin Windy With It Open?
The Sky One-Touch roof can be enjoyed without wind buffering inside the cabin in multiple ways. With the side glass up, the cabin is very calm up to about 60 MPH. By moving the roof’s position a bit one can reduce the wind buffering based on speed. Best of all, there are no “wubba-wubba-wubba” pressure vibrations when you use the roof or open and close it. Some sunroofs can be brutal that way.

With the side glass down, there is a lot of wind, but again, by experimenting with the number of windows you open, and how far down you roll them, the cabin can be a very pleasant place at around-town speeds or on backcountry roads.

Jeep Sky One-Touch Roof- Is It a Quality Product?
The soft textile that Jeep uses in the Sky One-Touch roof is made by Haartz Corporation in Massachusetts. We have toured this 100-year old company’s plant and found it to be an impressive mix of modern technical efficiency and custom build capability. The plant is large enough to manufacture materials for roofs in high volume, but can also accommodate some relatively low-volume custom jobs. One of the great things about Jeep’s Wrangler is its made-in-America heritage. Having the roof material be locally sourced is an added benefit to our mind.

Jeep Sky One-Touch Roof - Is It Noisy?
Let’s keep it real; The Wrangler is not exactly a fortress of solitude. Wranglers like our Rubicon test Jeep have huge off-road tires and the shape of the Wrangler is, well the shape of a Jeep. The vehicle comes complete with a fair bit of noise and we think Jeep owners expect it.

With the roof closed, we heard more tire noise and wind noise from the glass than the roof. Jeep also installed two clever solutions to any cabin noise you may find bothersome. The first is a round rubberized knob labeled “Volume.” Turn that knob, select your favorite tunes, and let the Jeep’s outstanding audio system eliminate any cabin noise. The second solution is the “Performance Exhaust” enabler button. Touch and hold that button and the 392 V8 engine will sing you a song that your right foot can make louder or softer.

Jeep Sky One-Touch Roof - Conclusion
The Jeep Sky One-Touch roof is an amazing way to bring the outside into your Jeep. It feels like any other convertible roof when open fully, or you can open it just a smidge to let in a bit of air and sun above your head. The ease of use is among the best of all open-air tops we’ve tried, and we feel the Jeep Wrangler is made better by having this style of roof. We would suggest that any Wrangler shopper give the Sky One-Touch roof serious consideration. The Sky One-touch Power Top had an additional cost of $2,000 on our top-trim Wrangler Rubicon 392 tester. Well worth the cost in our opinion.

John Goreham is a long-time New England Motor Press Association member and recovering engineer. Following his engineering program, John also completed a marketing program at Northeastern University and worked with automotive component manufacturers. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin