THE SUV TO BEAT
2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee puts category’s wannabes in their place
MOAB, Utah — “Don’t get cocky, kid.” Those were Han Solo’s words when newbie Luke Skywalker celebrated shooting down his first Imperial warship in “Star Wars,” and they could have been Jeep executive Jim Morrison’s when he recently chided automakers for SUVs that add a skid plate here, a Torsen differential there, and claim to be serious off-roaders.
Implicitly: “Nice try for a beginner, but don’t celebrate. The Death Star is still out there.”
The Death Star just arrived.
I recently drove the a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk up a 30% incline of loose sand and shifting rock and over boulders that would stop nearly every would-be competitor dead, and around intimidating mountain switchbacks that challenged my nerve and the Grand Cherokee’s on-road performance.
Don’t get cocky, kids. Other brands can give their SUVs painstakingly researched outdoorsy names, throwback boxy looks and commercials showing them adjacent to all-terrain vehicles, but the Grand Cherokee is the OG, and it remains the vehicle to beat.
More room and features, lighter weight:
The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee is in production now. Sales begin later this year. It’s a five-seat midsize SUV that competes with vehicles like the Ford Edge and Explorer, Nissan Murano and Pathfinder and Toyota Venza and Highlander. Those SUVs have a mix of two or three rows of seats and carry five to seven people. Midsize SUVs cover both groups of buyers. Five-seaters like the Grand Cherokee account for about 40% of sales in the extremely popular segment. The rest go to more family-oriented three-row models. Jeep added the three-row Grand Cherokee L to get into that market earlier this year.
It shares its architecture, basic engineering and many features with the 2022 Grand Cherokee. The L’s a Jeep, so it prioritizes off-road ability, but the five-seat Grand Cherokee is more capable, largely because its shorter length allows it to squeeze around boulders and through gaps too tight for the L.
The 2022 Grand Cherokee is 193.5 inches long — 3.4 inches longer than the outgoing model, but 10.5 ins shorter than the threerow Grand Cherokee L.
The Grand Cherokee’s wheelbase increased 2 inches from the outgoing model. Those changes, along with clever design and engineering, increase interior room 6 cubic feet. More noteworthy, bigger rear door openings improve entry. Narrower A- and C-pillars improve visibility notably.
A new electrical architecture enables new and upcoming features.
An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard, as is rear-wheel drive. Three four-wheel-drive systems with rising levels of capability are available. The most capable model is the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, available only with 4WD.
“The electronics went up in weight. The body and everything else went down,” chief engineer David Partlow told me.
Driving impressions:
I drove a pair of V6-powered 4WD Grand Cherokee Overlands on a variety of roads and a challenging off-road course.
The Grand Cherokee is exceptionally quiet and smooth on paved surfaces. The steering is direct, with good on-center feel. The air suspension cushioned bumps and held the SUV steady on a long mountain road with numerous 15-mph switchbacks.
Passenger space is good, with plenty of storage in door pockets and the center console. The seats are comfortable.
A thoughtful combination of a 10.25-inch touch screen and dials/switches for the frequently used climate and audio functions makes it easy to use the Grand Cherokee’s many
features.
The optional 950-watt McIntosh audio system delivered outstanding sound. Speakers with lighted “McIntosh” labels in the audio specialist’s signature blue-gauge lighting complemented interior design that featured openpore wood, real metal and soft leather.
The cargo compartment, with its big opening and dimensions, has plenty of room for shopping, luggage, even golf bags loaded crosswise — a Grand Cherokee first.
The optional rear-seat entertainment system featured a pair of screens that can stream content independently and are compatible with home service from Amazon Fire TV. A cleverly disguised touch screen in front of
the front passenger allows control of rear entertainment, can add stops to navigation routes and more.
Off-road mastery, even electrically:
The Grand Cherokee offers three four-wheel-drive systems: Quadra-Trac I, QuadraTrac II and Quadra-Drive II.
I drove a Trailhawk, the most off-road capable model, equipped with Quadra-Drive II on a course that included steep inclines, loose scree and potentially axle breaking rock climbing.
It came through with flying colors, thanks to features that include a disconnecting sway bar for leaving one wheel dangling in the air, active transfer cases to direct torque front and rear and an electronic
locking rear differential that can send full torque to the right or left wheel. Jeep knows full well that most owners will never take a $60,000 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk over a course like the one I surmounted. A handful will, though, and the brand’s credibility and reputation rest on their success.
Off-roading consumes much more power, so I expect Jeep engineers brought a portable generator in a support vehicle. Not at all the environmentally beneficent behavior the plug-in hybrid’s owners will engage in, but Jeep needs to demonstrate that its transition to electric power is consistent with the brand’s historic capability.
Behaving otherwise would be a cocky mistake.