Earlier this year, we introduced you to the Jeep Grand Cherokee L. Jeep promised that the five-seat Grand Cherokee sharing the L’s new platform was soon to come.
And now it’s here. Imagine that. Funny how that works.
This marks the fifth generation of Grand Cherokee. Not only is the platform and the exterior styling new, so too is the addition of a plug-in hybrid. The interior is also completely redone.
There will, of course, be a Trailhawk version for off-roaders.
Speaking of off-roading, there are three four-wheel-drive systems: Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II, and Quadra-Drive II.
An available air suspension will have electronic semi-active damping. Jeep promises a max ground clearance of 11.3 inches and up to 24 inches of water fording. There’s also an available sway bar disconnect.
Towing capacity is up to 7,200 pounds with the available 5.7-liter V8.
Unsurprisingly, the Grand Cherokee gets Stellantis’ Uconnect 5 infotainment system. Screens abound: A 10.1-inch infotainment screen, available 10.25-inch for the driver, and available 10.1-inch screens with Amazon Fire TV for the kiddos in the rear.
Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe models promise up to 25 miles of all-electric range, a 57 MPGe number, and a range of up to 440 miles. That goes along with 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. 4xe models will get the Quadra-Trac II 4×4 system with a two-speed transfer case and 2.72:1 low-range gear ratio. The crawl ratio is 47.4:1, and the towing capacity for the 4xe is 6,000 pounds.
The 4xe system combines two electric motors and a 2.0-liter turbo-four, along with a 400-volt battery pack and an eight-speed automatic transmission. You’ll be able to get the 4xe on Limited, Trailhawk, Overland, Summit, and Summit Reserve trims.
Gas engines on hand include the standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, making 293 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque and offering a towing capacity of 6,200 lbs.
Those who desire more grunt can snag the 5.7-liter V8, with its 357 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque. Both gas engines mate to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Four-wheel-drive Grand Cherokees now get a front-axle disconnect — when the vehicle senses it doesn’t need to be using four-wheel drive, the front axle disconnects, and the vehicles shifts to two-wheel drive in order to reduce driveline drag and increase fuel economy.
The unibody Grand Cherokee will come in these trims: Laredo, Altitude, Limited, Overland, Trailhawk, Summit, and Summit Reserve. The V6 is standard across the board, with the V8 available on Overland, Trailhawk, Summit, and Summit Reserve.
The exterior changes but keeps Jeep’s seven-slot grille. Active grille shutters are part of a series of aero bits meant to help with fuel economy, and a gloss-black roof is available.
This new Grand Cherokee gets a wider track than before (1.4 inches wider), and wheel-size options up to 21-inches.
Other interior changes not previously mentioned include the availability of ambient lighting and customizable LED lighting with day/night settings. Storage space is increased and a wireless phone charger is available.
There’s the usual suite of driver-aid and safety tech, but Jeep has also added some new wrinkles such as night vision, drowsy driver detection, and an available automated-driving system that requires one to have hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.
Other available features include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital rearview mirror, head-up display, navigation, and Wi-Fi hotspot.
Jeep’s next Grand Cherokee will be built at Detroit’s new Mack Plant and go on sale in the fourth quarter, with the 4xe following early in 2022.
[Images: Jeep]
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Jeep loves their paywalls.
“drowsy driver detection”
This would be a useful feature.
This will print money for Jeep. This is how you properly redesign a popular product. And these won’t have to be fixed immediately after being built.
Only down side is the hybrid. Towing shouldn’t drop for the most powerful model. If you want people to adapt to all this “green”, polar bear growing BS you need to make it cheaper and it needs to exceed what you can get with a proper ICE only vehicle. Give people incentive to buy it.
Joe will give you a $7500 incentive. /s
But it took them 12 yrs to redesign it
“But it took them 12 yrs to redesign it”
Alfa and Mazer had a priority.
The first three generations of the Grand Cherokee lasted for six models years but this one lasted for 11. It seems like FiatChrysler (now Stelantis) treated their American brands like afterthoughts when you consider this is one of their top selling, most recognized models.
Jeep did an impressive job with regular, fairly heavy refreshes of the W2K JGC during its 11 year run. I’d argue that the outgoing model still looks fresh and handsome today with the interior materials being the parts that really date it.
We’re on our 3rd W2K lease and I’ve grown to really love it. No doubt, we’ll be one of those families willing to plunk down the premium for the 4XE drivetrain Overland in a few more years.
Hope you like Black/White/Silver and one dark red. No blues, no greens, no beige, no browns, nothing.
Ahh yes, hope you also enjoy tons of gross black gloss interior with an idiotic transmission shift knob.
This is a step back for Jeep from current generation.
Jeep had a nice, premium shifter in the Grand Cherokee. But because the general public is as dumb as a box of rocks they had to change it.
I hate the color thing too. But there is a reason for it, zero demand for anything else. My wife works for a wholesale auto action the dealers tell her all the demand for higher end SUV’s is for white ones some black and silver, but they say over 80% of their buyers want white. The white ones usually average a bit more on the used market because of this.
On the shift knob wait until you see the new genesis rotating crystal ball thing.
I agree with the disappointing color choices. Same with the Wagoneer. I like the trans shift knob. Takes up less room.
At least it has a shifter of some sort: See Tesla.
No TrackHawk?
No SRT?
Not mentioned, but I assume this also has the IRS that was introduced in the “L” model? My daughter recently purchased an “L” Limited model (she has 2 kids). So far, she’s happy.
I wish there was more choice of colors. Unless its a supplier issue, I can’t understand why this and the GCL only get 5 colors. And that Red has been on just about everything Chrysler has made since they were, well, Chrysler.
I have a 90 mile RT commute and pushed that Flex twin turbo to about 24.5 mpg. I still was burning through $16 in Dino fuel a day. The S.O.’s Edge Sport smokes it’s tranny and so we decided to trade off when discovering the long wait for parts would sideline it for 2 months. So off it went, replaced by a stripper Mach E AWD powered by Salmon water. Last week the S.O. says, “your monthly credit card statement dropped by $300 plus”. Now I commute serenely smug as I look down my nose at the rabble lining up, wrestling vaporous hoses at those convenient dens of inequity as I glide by, having lined my pockets with free money and made the planet better. So sad too bad trolls.
Looks better than the three row version.
I sat in the L at a dealership while getting my wife’s Cherokee serviced. Really impressive interior. Makes the Explorer look even worse. The transmission knob seemed weird like its electronic without physical indents like in the Ford – you could spin it?
Jeep will sell a ton of these.
Curious if they managed to package this one any better than the last one. The last one looked nice and drove reasonably well for something so heavy, but it had tiny interior space compared with other vehicles in its class.
What’s missing? The Ecodiesel engine option of course. I pull a 6200lb trailer with my WK2 diesel, which would be too much for the pentastar V6, and too much gas consumption from the V8. I also use my Ecodiesel for commuting, where the 1000km range and 30+ mpg are fantastic.