2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Review: Luxurious, Solid on Any Road Surface

2020 Jeep Chiliad Cherokee Review: Luxurious, Solid on Any Road Surface

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The 2020 Jeep 1000 Cherokee is almost a decade old, and still information technology's currently the acknowledged midsize SUV on the market: 242,969 sold terminal yr, 200,000-plus nearly for much of the past two decades. The electric current body design has been around since 2011, there are 13 trim lines (model variants), multiple drivetrains, and varying levels of commuter assistance technology.

Both despite its historic period and considering of it – when the factory builds the same car twelvemonth later year, reliability tends to improve – the Yard Cherokee has skilful fit and finish, a nicely controlled ride, a very nice interior on well-nigh trims, comfortable seats, and a solid infotainment organization. Other than standard blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic warning, commuter-assist features are optional or crave higher-end trim lines. The two rows of seats are both roomy, simply no third-row seat is offered.

If one owner says their Grand Cherokee does fine off-route simply the interior looks simply okay and the eye stack display is small, a 2d possessor says it'south pretty luxe and the display is nice, and a 3rd says the cockpit looks great and did you lot know it goes 0-threescore in 3.5 seconds, that'due south because, with all those trim lines, there'south one that costs $33,000, a couple that run effectually $50,000-$60,000, and one that runs $88,000 with a 707-hp engine. (No, that's non a typo.) You decide how much off-road capability, acceleration, and rear-seat entertainment yous want, and you pay accordingly.

On the Road

I test drove the Jeep K Cherokee Summit. It is the premier Grand Cherokee for people who don't feel the need to accept a stiff Dodge Viper season to their SUV, in which instance there'due south the performance-oriented Grand Cherokee V8 SRT and the high-functioning Trackhawk. My test car totaled $62,775 with a four-bike-drive system – non just all-wheel-drive – that added $3,000, a V8 engine that added $3,795, an 8-speed automatic, telematics, onboard Wi-Fi, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an AC socket and plenty of USB jacks, and a $one,995 rear amusement system. At this point, yous're pushing into Audi-BMW-Mercedes territory.

My time in the Thousand Cherokee Summit included a late-winter see the New York State Adirondacks area around Lake Placid. A detour through hilly, rutted dirt roads covered with about eight inches of snowfall proved no problem at all.

The ride up and back into the northwoods, on interstate highways, was pleasurable, with a comfortable driving position, decent audio, and very little road noise. The Grand Cherokee Acme is enough comfy for four adults and a weekend'southward worth of luggage. Even with cupholders front and back and bins in the doors, in-motel storage for fiddling items was defective.

Good Navi, but Sound Could Be Ameliorate

The UConnect 4 infotainment system on my auto was quite easy to apply. But note that not all M Cherokees get UConnect iv and 8-inch middle stack screens. For years, Chrysler-Dodge-Ram products have had very good navigation and infotainment. It doesn't hurt that when you press the NAV button, the screen asks you, "Where to?" The only people who don't get that are grade-schoolhouse teachers looking for a verb and a consummate sentence.

This was the beginning Harman Kardon premium audio system I've driven that wasn't breathtaking. Information technology had 19 speakers and the issue – to me – was the woofer in the commuter'south kick console area. It was so heavily boosted that with the volume up and listening to my workout playlist (yous know: the songs you're besides embarrassed to share), the sound pressure level made my pant legs flap. So much so information technology felt like a Rockford Fosgate system, a brand happy to exist known for heavy – distressing, deep – bass. It was much improved by turning the bass setting below the midpoint.

Non Enough Driver Assists

The advanced driver-aid systems (ADAS) are not all land-of-the-art and too many are extra-toll. Nothing wrong with blind-spot detection (standard) or lane keep aid (included on some trim lines). The optional ParkSense backup system auto-stops the car if you become likewise shut to a stopped object. That'southward all good. Adaptive prowl control goes downwards to zippo but you have to manually resume frontward travel, and if you're stopped more than than three seconds, ACC disengages.

Forrard collision warning, a engineering that requires a low-toll front-facing photographic camera, is optional. Of the 18 midsize, two-row SUVs on the market place, the only non-Jeep production lacking FCW is the revived Chevrolet Blazer, which, despite its heritage, is not a hard-cadre off-roader. Automatic emergency braking for highway and for urban center situations are also optional, and pedestrian AEB is not offered.

My Grand Cherokee Pinnacle 4X4 was rated at 14 mpg metropolis, 22 mpg highway, and 17 mpg overall. I averaged xx mpg in a week of primarily highway driving.

Then Many Models to Cull From

The 2020 Grand Cherokee comes in a dazzling array of trim lines, or model variants. Currently, there are 13. These prices include $ane,495 shipping.

Laredo, $33,735 rear drive / $35,735 four-cycle drive
Laredo E, $35,390 / $37,390
Upland, $37,685 / $39,685
Altitude, $39,830 / $41,830
Due north Edition, $forty,285 4WD standard
Limited, $41,545 / $43,545
Limited X, $46,640 / $48,640
Trailhawk $46,645 4WD standard
Overland, $47,985 / $fifty,985
High Distance, $fifty,730 / $53,730
Pinnacle, $54,085 / $57,085
SRT, $70,085 4WD standard
Trackhawk, $88,590 4WD standard

Information technology'southward hard to describe each model other than to notation the Laredo Due east is a nicer Laredo, not a hybrid; Northward Edition and Trailhawk target wintry off-roading and off-roading; and SRT and Trackhawk are high-performance SUVs that likewise go off-road and tow boats.

Should You Buy?

The Grand Cherokee is the all-time of the seven Jeep models you can buy in terms of modern-mean solar day amenities and reliability without sacrificing heavy snow / off-route driving. It's also the best-selling, with 26 percent of Jeep'southward 923,2981 2019 sales. By our count, there are nearly 25 midsize, mainstream-toll SUVs, and well-nigh as many premium midsize SUVs. The top sellers, mainstream or premium, are:

SUV	2019 Sales	Change
Jeep Chiliad Cherokee	242,969	+viii%
Toyota Highlander	239,437	-ii%
Jeep Wrangler	228,042	-five%
Ford Explorer	187,061	-28%
Subaru Outback	181,178	+1%

(Note: The big falloff for the Ford Explorer came in the wake of quality-command problems while getting the 6th-generation Explorer and the sibling Lincoln Aviator into production at Ford'due south Chicago assembly plant.)

The Jeep Cherokee is not an entry edition of the Grand Cherokee but a carve up model 8 inches shorter than Thou Cherokee's 190 inches, with a base four-cylinder engine and non quite as refined.

The Grand Cherokee is your best choice among midsize SUVs if you want an one that goes off-road, non just negotiate a lightly plowed gravel road most the ski slope, and does it with a reasonable amount of passenger comfort. As a bonus, some 1000 Cherokees can tow up to 7,200 pounds; the rest tow at least 3,500 pounds. If yous have little kids (two), the dual rear entertainment system may be worth the good for you price. The V6 engines are skilful and the V8s are better but gas mileage suffers.

The mainstream trim lines fare well against the Chevrolet Blazer and Ford Border. The roomier, longer, three-row Ford Explorer is besides a competitor for those who value towing capacity. The Toyota 4Runner is very practiced off-road but non as smooth otherwise. If you want a competent accommodating vehicle, expect also at the Subaru Ascent, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, and Hyundai Santa Fe. The Contrivance Durango is a cousin to the Grand Cherokee, is longer, and has iii rows of seats, but isn't every bit skilled off-roading.

The Grand Cherokee upper trim lines compete nicely against premium brands. But it'due south hard to match the NVH and highway manners of say, a BMW X5, when you lot go into battle in a design released the same year Ke$ha debuted We R Who We R.

Other top midsize SUVs don't map to G Cherokee'south off-roader ethic. The Lexus RX is accommodating excellent just is not what you want going off-route or hauling a trailer. The Mazda CX-nine is the sportiest and nigh fun to drive, merely without the cargo capacity.

Jeep's other sales advantage is that Grand Cherokee buyers are predisposed toward The states vehicles. According to JD Power research, 76 pct of K Cherokee owners say they prefer buying from a domestic visitor versus 58 percent for the midsize SUV segment as a whole. That ways Grand Cherokee owners may not cross-shop the sporty Korean-flagged Kia Telluride (three rows just still midsize), even information technology's built in Alabama, and the similar Hyundai Palisade. The Grand Cherokee would win on off-route driving. Only in other areas, Kia and Hyundai are extremely competitive, particularly NVH and commuter assists.

A new G Cherokee should be introduced this yr equally a 2021 model. Given how well Jeep has done to keep the existing fourth-generation model competitive, the new model should be impressive.

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