Don’t call it a Jeep: New Wagoneer a brand of its own, starts at $$57,995
Jeep has created its own premium brand for 2022, reviving the name of a long-revered large Jeep sport-utility known as the Wagoneer.
But you won’t find the “Jeep” name on it anywhere, because in much the same way that Toyota created Lexus, Jeep has created the new Wagoneer line as its own, separate luxury nameplate.
It’s not quite the same as the former Chrysler Corp.’s separation of the Ram pickup line from Dodge about 10 years ago, but you get the picture. Rams are no longer considered Dodge vehicles, and these new Wagoneers are not officially considered Jeeps.
The Wagoneer was long a staple of the Jeep lineup, originally introduced in 1962 as a full-size Jeep station wagon. It was a new name for the Willys Jeep station wagon that had been in production since just after World War II.
That essentially was the first full-size sport-utility vehicle, or SUV, although that designation for this genre of vehicles didn’t appear until the 1990s.
American Motors and then the former Chrysler Corp. continued to feature a Wagoneer in the Jeep lineup until 1994, when, in its last year, it was the top model of the then nearly new Jeep Grand Cherokee line.
But the name has been gone since then, until this current revival. This time, instead of it
being on the unibody chassis of the Grand Cherokee, the Wagoneer returns to its roots as a body-on-frame vehicle, based on the Ram 1500 pickup.
My first Jeep was a Wagoneer, a 1965 model that I bought in the mid-70s to explore the mountains of Appalachia, where I was living at the time. It was a rugged and dependable vehicle, but a bit too large for many of the so-called Jeep trails of the day. Mine had a Buick V-8 engine.
For 2022, there are two versions of this new seven- or eightpassenger SUV: the Wagoneer, starting at $57,995 (plus $2,000 freight) for the Series I entry-level model with rear-wheel drive; and $86,995 for the Grand Wagoneer Series I with four-wheel drive.
These big family haulers are being promoted as “a premium extension of the Jeep brand,” but
because they do not have the Jeep name on them, they are not listed on the Jeep.com consumer website. You can find and order them at wagoneer.com.
The least-expensive four-wheeldrive Wagoneer is the Series II model at $70,995 (which is available with just rear-wheel drive for $67,995). The (base) Series I model is offered in two-wheel drive only.
There is a Wagoneer Series III model that begins at $72,995 for the rear-drive model, and $75,995 for the four-wheel drive.
Stepping up to more luxury, there is the Grand Wagoneer, which comes only with four-wheel drive.
The Series II model begins at $93,995, and the Series III at $103,995. Between the Series II and III models is the Grand Wagoneer Obsidian, starting at
$98,995.
Our tester for this report was the Grand Wagoneer Series II, which had a few options that ran the total price to $101,580, including freight.
Prices this high put the Wagoneer and especially the Grand Wagoneer in the stratosphere occupied by luxurybrand SUVS from makers such as Cadillac (Escalade), Land Rover, BMW, Mercedes-benz, Lexus, Audi and Infiniti. Parent company Stellantis (formerly Fiat-chrysler) says the Wagoneer is competing in the “large SUV segment,” while the Grand Wagoneer falls in the “premium” SUV segment.
Because of its Ram 1500 roots, the Wagoneer comes with a 5.7-liter V-8 with 392 horsepower and 404 foot-pounds of torque, and the Grand Wagoneer with a 6.4-liter V-8 engine delivering 471