Explore America’s frontier with family-friendly Jeep Wagoneer L
BRIDGER, Montana — Out here in big sky country, the only things larger than the bison are pickup trucks and three-row SUVs. I pulled my 6,326pound, 6-foot-6-inch Jeep Wagoner L off Route 86 next to a herd of bison grazing on the golden landscape behind a wire fence.
I’ve been to the corner of Montana/ Wyoming many times, but my family visit to this stunning landscape in 2001 will always be the most memorable. We saw bison, elk, grizzlies, bald eagles, you name it. But we didn’t see any Wagoneers.
Jeep’s famed SUV brand had been extinct since 1991, only to return last year. For its encore in 2023, Jeep has introduced the long-wheelbase version.
Along with its rich heritage (the Jeep brand is a global icon, which Wagoneer embraces with American flags tattooed on its flanks), Wagoneer is based on the Ram 1500, already acclaimed as the best-riding pickup in its class, courtesy of its independent rear suspension.
The Wagoneer embraces this advantage by carving out a substantial third-row bench seat. Pack up your family of four rugrats for a drive to Yellowstone and they’ll have plenty of real estate in back.
The second-row thrones offer Amazon Fire TV screens with all their favorite shows. The third row lacks screens, but it’s hardly the basement. Each seat get its own USB port, a cubby that can hold small computer devices and its own sunroof.
With this airline cabin of space, the cargo space in the standard Wagoneer could get tight. Thus the 2023 Wagoneer L — L for loooooong.
My tester added 7 inches
of wheelbase and a foot of length to claim best-inclass, 44 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row.
Wagoneer L is supersized — but with its coveted seven-slot grille, sculpted bod and new, black-trimmed Carbide model, it has instant cred. That cred attracts both mainstream and luxury buyers alike.
For the lux buyer, Jeep offers the Grand Wagoneer. Wagoneer swaggers into the mainstream class with standard leather seats. With up to three all-digital dash screens, head-up display, best-in-class Uconnect 5 infotainment, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, handsome switchgear (including jewellike rotary shifter and push-button starter) and
optional air suspension, the Jeep is a joy to captain.
For all its upscale tech, however, the Wagoneer Looong can come up short.
My $87K Wagoneer sported no semi-autonomous systems, its average, adaptive-cruise system offering only forward detection for a long highway journey.
Though when you get to your hotel, Wagoneer offers parallel-and perpendicular self-park. Modern applications are fully autonomous, meticulously braking and steering backwards into your designated parking space.
Wagoneer bought the bargain system off the shelf. Parallel parking in Bozeman, the steering wheel spun around in front of me, but I had to closely monitor the rearview camera while backing into the parking spot.
Wagoneer L makes a bigger investment in its all-new, twin-turbo, 3.0-liter, inline-6 Hurricane engine. Hurricane complements off-road capability that is the brand’s signature.
Determined to play with its Wrangler and Trailhawk kin, L comes with multiple drive modes like ROCK and a transfer case so you can shift into four-low, hike the floor to 10 inches off the ground, and keep going when the asphalt ends.