Growing up, Jeep Cherokees were big rectangles that my friends and I used to crawl up mountains and plow through whatever nature threw our way. And we looked cool doing it--the SUVs' appearance was Spartan and gruff. Even its no-nonsense, functional interior gave off the same badass vibe. In the back we could throw camping gear and firewood, skis and boards, fish we'd caught and ducks we'd shot, and the nicks and dings those items created only served to make the car that much cooler. Battle scars. We'd mostly trick these Jeeps out, adding lift kits and oversized tires, winches and unscratchable paint jobs.
A Cherokee was the anti-luxury SUVs.
So when I approached and entered the new 2014 Jeep Cherokee--a replacement for the now-retired Liberty--I was a bit shocked. What's with those sleek lines and cat-like headlights? Where are the 90-degree angles? Is that mahogany on the dash? Why does this interior have to smell l ike rich people?
Indeed, the design of the new Cherokee is about as far from rugged as you can get--it would look way more in place cruising Madison Avenue than atop the Wasatch Mountains. The SUV's interior follows suit: Wood and leather everywhere, Bluetooth, GPS, heated and cooled seats, a backup camera--the works. It's as nice, comfortable, and functional as any we've tested. Hell, I'd run this interior up against those in your average Benz or Audi any day. And the sleek lines of the Jeep's exterior seem pretty on par with those makers, too.
Indeed, this was the epitome of a luxury SUV. Was it nice? God yes. Was it a Cherokee? I was leaning towards no. It was as if a good friend I'd grown up getting wild with had been shipped off to boarding school and returned in a suit and tie, behaving like an English butler.
It took a bit of a freak occurrence to convince me that this whip still has the spirit of the Cherokees of old: a 6-hour drive in a brutal blizzard.
The snow started falling about an hour in, and it was no match for the Jeep, nor most other cars on the road. Four hours later, I-78 West was completely snowed over. Cars were doing 10 to 15 mph--if they hadn't spun off the road, that is--and your average family SUV trudged it out at 30. The Cherokee, in 4X4 snow mode (it offers three other 4x4 modes), did a very comfortable 45 miles an hour. Listen, there are few experiences like bombing down a dark, lonely, snow covered highway while blasting Pearl Jam Radio on XM. No question, this dolled-up Cherokee could still take a run at nature like its forefathers.
Another funny thing happened on that drive: I noticed that I wasn't dumping as much cash into the gas tank of this Cherokee as I did the older models. In fact, the new model gets a shocking 31 mpg, thanks to its aerodynamic design, 9-speed transmission--it's the first SUV in the world with a 9-speed tranny--and 2.4-liter engine. You find us a rectangle with a straight-6 that gets that MPG and we'll eat our virtual hat.
What's more, that six-hour drive was actually comfortable. Long drives in the old Cherokees always felt more like a death march than a road trip: quiet comfort was absolutely not their forte. They'd rattle and sway, the seats made your back feel 30 years older, and the noise level made it seem like the engine was sitting on your lap. This new Cherokee is a dream liner, with it's overstuff leather seats, lack of road noise, and XM radio, Pandora, and Bluetooth.
It was always fun to have a stripped-down rock-crawling Cherokee, but it wasn't that practical for daily driving. As you get older, you realize there really is something to lu xury.
Here's what you need to know: the new Jeep Cherokee is basically a smaller Grand Cherokee, which has always been Jeep's luxury liner. So if you're looking for rough-and-tumble style that harkens back to the boxy, glory days of the SUVs from the 70s and 80s, look somewhere else. But if you want a well-priced (starting at $22,900) luxury SUV that's insanely comfortable, capable, and economical, this guy should be at the top of your list.
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