The new version of the Grand Cherokee now with a focus on premium feel, design an tech, but true to Jeep offroad capabilities.
An American Icon
The Jeep Grand Cherokee has been for the longest time, one of the names synonymous with the SUV vehicle type. It stretches back to the days of the Wagoneer in the 60s and 70s which is where this new grand Cherokee draws its design inspiration from. In this instance, instead of going for raw offroad ability like it’s Gladiator sibling, the Grand Cherokee L seeks to be a more premium feeling, class-leading vehicle with the off-road capabilities you’d come to expect from Jeep but deliver more, elegantly.
This is quite important, considering the fact that when looking at the Grand Cherokee L’s competitor based on price point and vehicle purpose, Land Rover comes to mind. You then have an interesting rivalry at hand. Now available in South Africa, we set out to launch to see what the American SUV Icon is like for first impressions. On drive here is the Overland trim spec.
Styling
Looking at the exterior, the Grand Cherokee L maintains signature Jeep design cues. Apart from being large and imposing, you get the 7 pillar grille and box-shaped wheel arches. The exterior design here borrows design cues from the original Wagoneer such as a long bonnet, long roof and a ‘shark-nose’ front fascia but implements them in a more modern sense to not compromise on space and visibility. Speaking of which, outward visibility was key here with the large glass expanse. The LED headlights and taillights are slim and understated considering that LED lights are a first and standard across the range for this vehicle. On the Overland trim spec, you get 20-inch polished split-spoke wheels. Slim, horizontal shapes are the order of the day when it comes to the Jeep’s styling, to emulate a sleek concept car look to it.
Interior and Technology
Continuing on with the theme of ‘slim horizontal shapes’, that’s evident in the interior of the Grand Cherokee L. There’s a horizontal flow to the dash and centre console, which compared to the outgoing Grand Cherokee, is a much more appealing look to the eyes and is more cohesive. Quality is also quite prevalent here with top-class materials flowing across the cabin. In the Overland trim on drive, the steering wheel, seats and door cards were finished with Nappa leather. What was most impressive was the wooden trim and the texture it had to it. On the Summit Reserve trim, there was polished Walnut. Certainly a luxury feel to add.
For the first time in the Grand Cherokee, a third row of seats is now available across the range. Totalling 7 seats (6 in the Summit Reserve). In Overland and Summit Reserve trim, these 3rd row rear seats electronically fold. Adding to convenience tech, you get a powered tailgate, and electric seats with lumbar support including easy entry and exit functions. In Overland trim, you’ll find Three-Zone Climate Control with heated and cooled seats. The heating and cooling seats were up to the task considering the erratic weather of the day.
In Overland and Summit Reserve trim, there came the return of an audio brand we haven’t heard of in a while, McIntosh, who provided a 19-speaker sound system rated at 950 watts just for the Grand Cherokee L. The performance of the system is a treat for the ears and with plenty of settings to play around with to suit your listening profile. The steering wheel audio control placement is quite odd as the controls are behind the wheel near the shift paddles. However, you get the Uconnect infotainment centre with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, with the 12 USB-A and Type C ports for your disposal within the 3 rows. If you’re not keen on cable charging, there’s wireless charging too in Limited and Overland trim. Not only that, there’s a segment-exclusive 10.25-inch touch screen (Overland and Summit Reserve trim) on the front passenger dash to interact with, be it navigation or yoyur passenger’s isolated entertainment with an HDMI input port.
Rear cargo values range from 436-litres (behind the 3rd row), 1328-litres (behind the second row, 3rd-row seats folded), 2396-litres (behind the first row, both 3rd and 2nd row folded.)
The interior is well put together and even with the pumping McIntosh sound system and rough offroad, the cabin remains a rattle less luxury lounge.
The Drive and Handling
Powering the Grand Cherokee L range is the 3.6-litre V6 Pentastar engine. Producing 210kW of power and 440Nm of torque, paired to an 8-speed conventional automatic sending power to all four wheels. Admittedly, the Pentastar is a bit thirsty on fuel. The manufacturer claimed fuel consumption combined cycle is 10.6l/100km, with a highway cycle claim of 8.7l/100km. The best we could achieve on this first drive was 10.1l/100km with a majority of the driving being on open roads. That being said, there is engine stop-start across the range to assist with fuel saving. The Pentastar in the Grand Cherokee L is smoother than what butter aspires to be. It’s responsive but has an elegant stride to get the Grand Cherokee L up to speed and keep it there. Gearbox changes are smooth and kick downs aren’t jolty. The engine and gearbox combo makes for a very nice highway cruiser combination.
Now where the Grand Cherokee L sells itself is its onroad refinement as well as 4×4 capability. It aims to be a Swiss Army knife in its application. There are three 4×4 systems working here, being Quadra-Trac I (Limited trim), Quadra-Trac II (Overland and Summit Reserve only) and Quadra-Drive II with rear electronic limited slip-differential with all 3 systems being equipped with an active transfer case to give torque to the wheel with the most grip to improve traction. Complementing all this, a first for the Grand Cherokee L, you get Quadra-Lift Air Suspension (Overland and Summit Reserve only) with electronically adaptive dampening. Controlling all of this is the Selec-Terrain traction management system allowing you to select 5 available terrain settings optimised to provide the best approach to what path you throw at the Grand Cherokee L. Hill descent control comes standard on the range.
The kit on hand for onroad is like riding on air. On the open road, the Grand Cherokee L is composed and glides over the coarser tarmac. Offroad, the ride is firmer than you’d expect but still comfortable and controllable at speed. Some more feedback to the steering wheel in offroad settings would be welcome, but for the most part, the Grand Cherokee remains quite capable on the rough stuff with the 4×4 tech doing its duties. It looks like this vehicle can handle the rougher 4×4 obstacles without breaking a sweat and doing it with elegance.
Safety
A whole host of safety, security and driver assistance systems are available for the Grand Cherokee L. Standout features include:
- Adaptive Cruise Control.
- Active Lane Management with LaneSense lane departure warning and lane keep assist.
- Advanced brake assist. Works with the Adaptive Cruise Control as well.
- Full-Speed Collision Warning for the front including Active Braking and Pedestrian/Cyclist Detection and rear cross path detection.
- Parallel and Perpendicular Park and Unpark Assist with stop function.
- Front, passenger, side, rear, curtain and knee airbags.
- 360 roundview camera
- ISOFIX childseat mounts with upper tether anchorages
Verdict
The new Grand Cherokee L is a more compelling premium offering compared to the outgoing model. Refinements from drive to the exterior and interior design are quite evident here. It feels like a premium product and is quite capable offroad as well. The Pentastar engine although smooth could be better with fuel consumption if it were perchance a turbodiesel powerplant. The feature set is delightful and nice to see in this segment. The 3rd seat row is quite helpful and doesn’t seem like an afterthought in practice. The Grand Cherokee L will make for a lovely long road tourer with some offroad proficiency to boot. Curiously, the Jeep is geared for adventure, this would make for quite a competent camping vehicle considering the accoutrement on hand. It’s a more affluent vehicle definitely but it’s quite capable in that respect, Surely you’ll see them at a camping site soon. We will be keen to see how the Grand Cherokee L competes in the local space.
Pricing
| Grand Cherokee L Limited | from R1 299 900 |
| Grand Cherokee L Overland | from R1 479 900 |
| Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve | from R1 679 900 |
*The Grand Cherokee L range comes with 5-years/100 000km maintenance plan, 5-years/120 000km warranty and roadside assistance
Tayedza MbiriStarting his petrol-infused passion at a ripe young age playing a plethora of racing video games, Taye has been into the motoring industry for years. During his university years studying Law, he dipped his toes into motoring photography, videography, and exploring what Southern Africa has to offer for the motoring scene at large. Most recently, he presented a YouTube series for a famous Japanese manufacturer and now finds himself fresh on the AutoTrader content creation team. He hopes to own a 90s Subaru one day soon. View News & Reviews
Keyword: Jeep Grand Cherokee L (2022) - First Drive Review