2019 CHEROKEE LATITUDE
Refreshed 2019 Cherokee Latitude mellows its edgy looks
The Jeep Cherokee for 2019 is refreshed and its looks are less dramatic.
It looks better to most people than the first edition. I personally prefer the original. It was more dynamic – and somewhat revolutionary to Jeep fans who are historically conservative.
What Jeep designers did was to smooth and mellow the car’s lines. It still looks like it is a Cherokee, but it’s got a bit more of the Grand Cherokee in it. That can’t be a bad idea, because I can’t imagine there’s anyone driving a Cherokee who wouldn’t be happy to trade it in on a Grand Cherokee.
This is the least expensive model of the Cherokee, but there’s nothing wrong with it. It drives well when compared to any of the other vehicles in its segment. Having said that quality driving isn’t really a serious consideration with people considering small crossover utes.
It is the ultimate familycar category so there are many more important things, such as the ability to hook up child seats easily, second-row access and nifty places to store things. There are cloth seats, a smaller and somewhat dated-looking center screen on the dashboard. But the infotainment and connectivity are as good as on any Fiat Chrysler product, and that’s as good as any.
This Cherokee gives a good indication of what an entrylevel vehicle needs to be. This is the version of the Cherokee for the buyer who is moving up and is willing to sacrifice to do so. With a starting price of $23,995 it is priced a bit under the top of the smaller crossovers, so it is possible for a buyer to decide they’d rather have fewer features and for vehicle for the same money.
The Latitude is also a new trim level this year. It comes with 17-inch aluminum wheels, fog lamps and high-intensity discharge headlamps, roof rails, as well as body-color mirrors and door handles.
Then they add standard cloth seats, a split-folding rear seat, air conditioning, rearview camera, rear parking sensors, a seven-inch touch screen, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, a sixspeaker audio system, and a USB port. If you want it, there is an option to upgrade to an 8.4inch touch screen, navigation and satellite radio.
You can add Active Drive I – Jeeps basic all-wheel drive system – for $1,500 and a V6 engine for $1,745. If you want a bit more on your Latitude, there are two packages: The $695 Popular Appearance package adds aluminum wheels, and the $795 Cold Weather package gets you more features such as heated front seats and steering wheel as well as remote start.
The Cherokee comes with a 180-horsepower 2.4-liter fourcylinder engine and a ninespeed automatic transmission. On this base model you can’t get the new-for-2019 turbocharged engine, but you can add the optional 271-hp. 3.2-liter V-6. With it the Cherokee can tow up to 4,500 pounds. The base fourcylinder has an EPA-rated fuel efficiency of 22 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. The V6 engine gets a slightly lower rating of 20 mpg city and 29 mpg on the road.
The Cherokee’s biggest problem is that it is in the most competitive segment within the automotive market. It is competing against the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV-4, Honda CRV, Nissan Rouge just to mention a few, since pretty much every major manufacturer has at lease one competitor in this segment. Even Fiat Chrysler competes with itself here.
Luckily the segment is also so big that everybody can sell enough to make a profit in this segment. Cherokee sits right in the middle of the segment when it comes to price, sales, capability and reliability.
The one place it does succeed beyond anything else in the segment is in off-road transportation. It is simply head and shoulders above any vehicle with which it competes. That’s what you would expect of a Jeep, and that is what you get. Granted you probably wouldn’t be smart to follow a Wrangler off into the wilderness, but there aren’t many other vehicles that you couldn’t hang with.
That’s a statement for the base model of this car. You can get more capability in other models of the Cherokee, in particular the Trailhawk model, which is focused on off-road capability. But for the all-wheel drive safety considerations, the Cherokee Latitude takes care of its own. It’s on sale now. If you have any questions, comments or ideas, please send them to comment@ AutoWritersInk.com.