Jeep Grand Cherokee test drive

Make and model: Jeep Grand Cherokee
Description: Large SUV, petrol/electric plug-in hybrid
Price range: £75,915 (plus options)

Jeep says: “The all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee breaks new ground with exceptional performance, comfort and functionality and has been designed and engineered to deliver even more of what has made this Jeep SUV a true global icon in the premium SUV segment.”

We say: The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a fantastic all-rounder that will cope with any job you throw at it while you remain perfectly comfortable inside. But it has formidable opposition in this price bracket.

• Jeep Grand Cherokee (2023 onwards) – Expert Rating
• More Jeep new car reviews, Expert Ratings, news and features

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Introduction

It may not be that well known here in Europe, but the Jeep Grand Cherokee has always had a large and loyal following in America. The model shown here is the fifth-generation version, which launched three years ago but has taken some time to find its way over here.

In the UK, the Grand Cherokee is only available as a plug-in hybrid, with a choice of trim levels. All versions have an automatically controlled 4×4 system with five terrain modes for different conditions.

What is it?

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a large luxury 4×4 model, and is currently the flagship of the Jeep range here in the UK.

In terms of size and price, the Grand Cherokee is in the same ballpark as the Audi Q7, BMW X5 Land Rover Discovery or Mercedes-Benz GLE. Unlike those models, however, the Jeep is only available with five seats rather than seven.

Who is this car aimed at?

There are plenty of luxury SUVs that look tough on the local school run or in the supermarket car park. But if you want a luxury 4×4 that also delivers genuine off-road ability, your options are relatively few. And if you (understandably) don’t want the nagging feeling in the back of your mind that your car could break down at any point – that will be familiar to many Land Rover Discovery drivers, or Discovery Sport drivers, or Defender drivers, or Range Rover Sport drivers, or Range Rover drivers – the Jeep Grand Cherokee may just fit the bill.

Who won’t like it?

If you’re only going to spend your driving time on regular tarmac, there are several luxury SUVs that are more comfortable and cheaper to run. If you want off-road performance but don’t need the luxury, there are cheaper alternatives.

First impressions

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but we think the Grand Cherokee is a good-looking car. It avoids the general wackiness of BMW styling, the enormous grille of most Audis, or Land Rover’s Russian Doll approach to having different size versions of the same car design.

If you’re familiar with previous generations of Grand Cherokee, the latest model is an evolutionary design. It’s conservative rather than cutting-edge, but it will certainly be rare as Jeep doesn’t expect to sell this car in vast numbers.

Inside, Jeep deserves a medal for refusing to lump every single control onto an oversized touchscreen. Most major vehicle controls still have traditional knobs, switches or buttons that you can comfortably use on the move. There is still – inevitably – a large touchscreen, but it is mostly used for controlling sound and sat-nav settings.

There’s plenty of space for both front and rear passengers, while the boot is also roomy enough for most needs.

What do you get for your money?

Officially, the Jeep Grand Cherokee will be available in four trim levels, but you can currently only order two – ‘Overland’ (starting at £76K) and ‘Summit Reserve’ (starting at £86K). Eventually, the range will be joined by the entry-level ‘Limited’ (£70K) and ‘Trailhawk’ (£73K).

All four models use the same plug-in hybrid drivetrain, consisting of a 2.0-litre petrol engine and an electric motor. An eight-speed automatic transmission takes power to all four wheels when it’s needed, or just to the rear wheels when it’s not.

Standard equipment levels are good across all four trim levels, and importantly all the key safety kit is standard on every model. We drove the top-spec Summit Reserve model, but you could save yourself £10K and still be well pampered in the Overland model. Even the entry-level Limited version has a decent level of standard kit, and the three lower levels also allow you to choose extra-cost equipment packs that step up the tech and luxury for less than the cost of the Summit Reserve model.

The Trailhawk specification is tailored more towards off-road capability, with smaller wheels, skid plates and other adventure kit that’s more functional and less showy.

We’d suggest the Overland specification is likely to be the sweet spot for most buyers. Even if you add the additional luxury and tech option packs, you’re still £4K below the price of the Summit Reserve and unlikely to miss any of the additional kit that it gets.

We like: All the key safety kit is included as standard, sensible price and spec structure
We don’t like: Top-spec Summit Reserve is pricey compared to the rest of the range

What’s the Jeep Grand Cherokee like inside?

If you’ve been looking around at other £70K-ish luxury SUVs, stepping into the Jeep’s cabin will feel like you’ve gone back in time by about a decade. But while it doesn’t look or feel as fresh as a Range Rover Sport or a BMW X5, you quickly discover that having plenty of real buttons and knobs is an improvement on the minimalist, touchscreen-obsessed interior designs that dominate the new car market today.

In practical terms, it’s much easier (and almost certainly safer) to have dedicated controls for the air-conditioning and other core functions that you often adjust while driving. While the Grand Cherokee’s layout isn’t the neatest we’ve ever seen (some of the buttons are arranged and positioned awkwardly), it’s still far better to use on the move than any system where you have to swipe a screen for absolutely everything.

There’s still a central ten-inch touchscreen for stereo controls and sat-nav, which is fine and works responsively. The Summit Reserve model also gets another ten-inch touchscreen for the front passenger, specially polarised so that the driver can’t see it. This can be used for watching movies or as a secondary navigation screen, but we found it difficult to see in bright sunshine.

Higher-spec Overland and Summit Reserve models get a 19-speaker McIntosh sound system, which sounds fantastic even at loud volumes. The lower-spec Limited and Trailhawk models make do with a nine-speaker Alpine system, but we didn’t have those on hand so I can’t tell you how they sound.

The front seats are comfortable and supportive, and are both heated and ventilated on all models. The Summit Reserve model gets beautifully soft Palermo leather, while the Overland has Nappa leather (still good), and the lower models get vinyl. Space is pretty good in both front and back, as you’d expect from an SUV this size. Five adults will be able to ride in comfort, while still having enough boot space for a reasonable amount of luggage.

There has been quite a bit of grumbling from some of the UK motoring media that the Grand Cherokee is only available as a five-seater model, whereas some of its key rivals offer seven seats (as does the Jeep in its American home market). But we see this as a welcome point of difference. Most large SUVs that are capable of carrying seven rarely do, and the rear two seats are usually a terrible compromise – a pair of uncomfortable seats only usable for small children, and dramatically reduced boot space if you do use them. By not bothering with the extra two foldaway seats, the Grand Cherokee reduces weight and increases usable boot space.

We like: Physical controls for major car functions, rather than relying on the touchscreen for everything
We don’t like: Dashboard layout could be better, passenger screen on Summit Reserve unnecessary

What’s the Jeep Grand Cherokee like to drive?

Our drive expedition spent more time off-road than on it, traversing some fairly harsh Yorkshire trails. Our party consisted of a mix of Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Wrangler models as part of the press event, so we could all drive both cars in conditions where you wouldn’t dream of taking most SUVs.

While we expected the Tonka-tough Wranglers to revel in the rough stuff, it was a surprise to see how easily the Grand Cherokees swept imperiously across rutted tracks, river crossings and rocky hill climbs. And we were in top-spec Summit Reserve models with 21-inch alloy wheels and road-biased tyres, not Trailhawk-spec models with the extra off-road kit.

During the last climb to our final lookout, I found myself apologising to the car’s tyres for the pain I was surely afflicting upon them as I bounced across jagged rocks and boulders like a monster mountain goat. Well, a monster mountain goat enjoying ventilated and massaging seats…

The Grand Cherokee has a selectable terrain management system, which optimises the drive systems and electronic controls for your conditions. Aside from the default ‘Auto’ setting, you can choose from Sport, Rock, Snow or Mud/Sand. All models other than base-spec Limited also get air-lift suspension, so you can lift the car for fording streams or broken terrain, then lower it again for on-road driving.

Our on-road driving loop was relatively limited, but the Grand Cherokee proved to be perfectly capable, if not as enjoyable to drive as the likes of a BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne. The steering is light and has almost no feel, and the suspension is very much geared towards comfort rather than handling, so there’s little enjoyment in trying to push the Jeep hard. Rather than trying to hustle along, it’s best to relax and let the car cruise along at a more comfortable pace.

The plug-in hybrid powertrain is acceptable rather than delightful. If your battery is fully charged, you can get about 30 miles of gentle driving on the electric motor, but in reality the petrol engine will wake up if you prod the accelerator more than about halfway down.

When both the petrol and electric motors work together for maximum acceleration, you get 380hp and plenty of low-down torque so the Grand Cherokee can accelerate very well – great for pulling onto a motorway or similar. But when the battery runs out, you’re left with a 270hp petrol engine that feels underpowered for lugging two-and-a-half tonnes of Jeep around.

Much the same can be said for any large plug-in hybrid SUV, so the Jeep certainly isn’t alone here. But others like the BMW X5 and Range Rover Sport do it better.

We like: Outstanding off-road capability for a luxury SUV on 21-inch wheels and normal tyres
We don’t like: On-road performance can’t match best in class; plug-in hybrid system a bit underwhelming

How safe is the Jeep Grand Cherokee?

The Jeep Grand Cherokee scores top marks from us for its safety kit. It was tested by Euro NCAP in late 2022 and achieved a top five-star grade, with strong scores across all four categories (adult protection, child protection, vulnerable road user protection and accident avoidance technology).

Summit Reserve gets some additional features – optional on the rest of the range – that can help for safety, like a head-up display to project speed and key information onto the windscreen in front of you. Another such feature is a night vision system that can detect pedestrians or animals hundreds of metres ahead in the darkness, long before your headlights could pick them up.

We didn’t get a chance to spend much time with the automated driving assist system, that allows the car to steer within its lane and match speeds of traffic without exceeding your cruise control limit, but it seemed to work faithfully as you’d expect rather than getting lost as soon as road markings get faint. Again, it’s standard on the Summit Reserve and optional on others.

Verdict

Within the luxury SUV market, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is an all-rounder that is capable in any situation but doesn’t excel in most (apart from off-road ability). That’s both a strength and a limitation.

If you need seven seats, it’s obviously a non-starter. If you want on-road driving enjoyment, there are better options at a similar price point. If you want a cabin that looks and feels like it’s at the very cutting edge of car design, you’re in the wrong place. Fuel economy and performance? Not really. Bang-for-buck in terms of standard equipment? Nope.

And yet…

The Grand Cherokee will cope with any job you can throw at it. Drive down to the south of France with four passengers on board? Easy. Climb to the top of a mountain? No sweat. EV mode around town? Yep. A functional interior with controls you can actually use safely while travelling at 70mph? Absolutely.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is the sort of car that plenty of motoring journos will turn their noses up at, but which real-world owners love. It’s the reason why Jeep has such a strong brand loyalty around the world. This is a car that will do pretty much whatever you want, every day, whatever the weather and conditions, and in comfort. Jeep may not sell that many Grand Cherokees here in the UK, but those who do buy one will almost certainly be very happy with their choice.

Similar cars

Audi Q7 | BMW X5 | Land Rover Defender | Land Rover Discovery | Lexus RX | Maserati Levante | Mercedes-Benz GLE | Porsche Cayenne | Range Rover Sport | Volkswagen Touareg | Volvo XC90

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