Popular Cherokee leads the way for image and capability
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- Published on Thursday, February 25, 2016
Photo by Ben Castle. In the mango tango pearl of our test model, the styling is both distinctive and attractive.
By Ben Castle
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The original compact Cherokee SUV of 1984 was a pioneer in being one of the first SUVs to combine a genuinely good and refined on-road driving experience with legendary off-road ability, thanks to its unibody construction. It enjoyed a 17 year production run with minimal changes.
Amid the Jeep lineup, next to the iconic Wrangler, luxurious Grand Cherokee and funky new subcompact Renegade, it鈥檚 easy to overlook the compact Cherokee, but since the introduction of a fifth generation Cherokee for the 2014 model year, along with rivals from Ford, Toyota, Honda and Nissan, it has consistently been amongst the top five best-selling SUVs/crossovers in Canada. It is Jeep鈥檚 best-selling model, accounting for 40 per cent of Jeep鈥檚 total sales and in 2015, more than 30,000 new Cherokees found homes in Canada.
Cherokee is available in four trim levels: Sport, North, Trailhawk and Limited. All trims are available with either four cylinder or V6 power, both with a nine-speed auto transmission and 2WD or 4WD (Trailhawks are 4WD only). Sport starts at $25,995 before taxes and comes standard with air conditioning, mats, 5鈥� touchscreen, Bluetooth, power windows, doors and locks, cruise control and projector headlamps. For $3,700 more, North gains 17 inch aluminum wheels, auto headlamps, body-coloured door handles and mirrors, roof rails, privacy glass, fog lamps, fold flat front passenger seat, leather-trimmed steering wheel and XM radio. An extra $3,500 will get you the fully-loaded Limited with 18 inch aluminum wheels, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, mirrors and steering wheel, push-button and remote start, backup camera, leather trimmed seats and shifter, nav-ready 8.4 inch touchscreen and windshield wiper de-icer. The Trail-rated Trailhawk is $2,300 more than North 4WD and comes with the more sophisticated 4WD system, part leather interior, all-season floor mats, off-road suspension, backup camera, off-road skid plates and a full-size spare wheel.
The standard engine is the 2.4 litre 鈥淭igershark鈥� 4 cylinder with 184 horsepower and 171 pound foot of torque. The Cherokee is also unique in the compact crossover class in having a V6 option. The 3.2 V6 Pentastar engine, with 271 horsepower and 239 pound foot of torque, has class-leading power and is available on all models for a $1,595 premium. So, you can have the extra capability of the V6 without having to have all the bells and whistles. When equipped with the trailer tow group package, they are rated best in class for towing capacity at 2,000 and 4,500 pounds respectively.
Cherokee is also unique in its class by having the availability of three different 4WD systems. The cheapest, Active Drive I system, disconnects the rear axle fully when not required, to maximise fuel economy and comes with Selec-Terrain Traction Management offering Automatic, Snow, Sport and Sand or Mud settings. If you regularly need to tow, off-road or climb steep hills, then you can specify Active Drive II on your Cherokee North or Limited. This has a 4WD low setting, a crawl ratio, a neutral position for flat towing and a 1 inch higher ride height. Trailhawk models feature Active Drive II with Active drive lock, which adds a mechanical locking rear differential, a rock mode and hill descent control for really serious off-roading. These are by far the most sophisticated 4WD systems in their class and mean that in tricky conditions, Cherokee will keep going when its rivals have long since given up. However, it does make Cherokee heavier than its rivals and means that fuel economy is slightly off pace. Nevertheless, the four cylinder engine and V6 are rated at a still respectable 8.3 litres per 100 kilometres and 9 litres per 100 kilometres highway respectively. The class-exclusive 9-speed automatic transmission should also help achieve good real-life highway fuel economy figures.
Jeep recommends service intervals of 8,000 km; warranty is the standard three years 60,000 kilometres bumper-to-bumper and five years, 100,000 kilometres powertrain.
The test model supplied by Brandon Chrysler Dodge Jeep was the V6 Trailhawk 4WD model and featured over $7,000 worth of options, weighing in at an eye-watering $41,470 before taxes. Cherokee鈥檚 styling is unmistakably Jeep and includes the signature seven bar radiator grille, but with a modern twist. The frontal aspect with those slitty headlights will divide opinion the most. However, in the mango tango pearl of our test model, I think it is both distinctive and attractive - a refreshing contrast to the rather generic styling of some of its rivals.
Inside, you are presented with a well-laid out, high quality dashboard with comfortable seats and plenty of storage. Most functions can be controlled from the large 8.4 inch touchscreen and the heated seats/steering wheel where equipped will automatically turn on when you start up if the external temperature is below 4潞 C. You do sit noticeably higher than in other compact crossovers and the driving position feels more truck-like compared to the jacked-up compact car feel of many of its competitors. Cherokee is also wider and has a longer wheelbase than most, so space in the rear cabin is very good, but the large centre console does reduce rear legroom for the middle seat passenger.
At 697 litres, the load area is a practical shape with minimal intrusions but is small for the class. However, a nice feature is that if all the rear legroom is not required (i.e. children in the back), the rear seat will slide forward six inches in a 60/40 split to increase this to a more respectable 824 litres.
In some motoring publications, the new 9-speed transmission has come in for some criticism but in this application, its behaviour was exemplary. My only criticism was that it was a bit slow to respond in manual mode, but this is true of most auto transmissions; with nine ratios, it was hard to keep track, so best to leave it in the excellent automatic mode! The V6 also features stop-start, which should help save fuel and reduce emissions, but you can disable this function if you wish. The handling on twistier roads was tidy and confidence-inspiring, although there was a bit more body roll and the ride wasn鈥檛 quite as smooth as in some of its rivals. I expect that this was due to the higher ride height and off-road suspension on the Trailhawk and if you spend most of your time on the blacktop, one of the other models may be more suitable.
Personally, I think the North 4WD offers the best combination of value and features for a modest premium over the Sport. I would specify the V6 engine, as it鈥檚 a heavy vehicle. It鈥檚 a lovely engine with loads of power and works well with the transmission and the price to upgrade and minimal drop in fuel economy is very reasonable. If you regularly use the full towing capability on slippery surfaces, then the upgraded 4WD system would also be worth seeking out. I would also option the cold weather pack (all-season floor mats, heated front seats, steering wheel and door mirrors, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, remote start and windshield wiper de-icer) for a very reasonable $895.
On paper, Cherokee is more expensive than most of its rivals (by $3,000 on average spec-for-spec), is less efficient, has a smaller load area and average warranty and running costs. However, Jeep have been making SUVs for over 70 years and as a result, it has an image, credibility, capability and attention to detail that the competition struggle to match and with the V6, a cracking powertrain too. If these qualities appeal to you, then go and try out a new Jeep Cherokee, you won鈥檛 regret it!
