In 2021 came a complete redesign of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the addition of a new three row variant in the Grand Cherokee L. The first was aforementioned long version and the two-row Grand Cherokee joined us in the 2022 model year.
Now offering up to seven-passenger seating, the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee rides atop an all-new uni-body vehicle architecture. The look is a blending of existing Jeep styling and the facial DNA features of the also new Jeep Wagoneer.
Slim LED headlights bookmark the trademark seven-slot grille are more upright than before. The Grand Cherokee L’s wheelbase of 121-inches and overall length of 205-inches gives it a more formal and upscale silhouette. Wheel size on our Summit tester are 20-inches in a beautiful satin polished finish.
The interior is flat out amazing. Getting a major boost in upscale design as well as major gains in available technologies. The dash for instance gets standard 10-inch display screens including the instrument panel and here a UConnect 5 McIntosh audio touchscreen infotainment system with 19-speakers and 950 watts. Woof. Rich materials and craftsmanship abound with beautiful woods, leather seating and upscale trims
With its all-new chassis architecture, track is wider by a littler over an inch and ground clearance starts at 8.3-inches. With various grades of the electronically adaptive damping Jeep Quadra-Lift air suspension which can be raised, ground clearance can be increased to up to 10.9-inches with water fording of up to 24-inches.
Suspension is fully independent front and rear on the Grand Cherokee L which was equipped here with the Quadra-Drive II 4WD system with a rear electronic limited slip-differential and a crawl ratio of up to 44:1.
The new body structure contains up to 60-percent high strength steel with aluminum hood and rear hatch. Cast aluminum is used for the front engine cross member, engine mounts, shock towers and other chassis components.
While light-weighted we did find the new body structure to be more flexible and less solid feeling than we would like. Driving into parking lots, over speed bumps and any other undulation at an angle brings about visible and audible twist and flex. Creaking and squeaking can be heard from interior trims.
When it comes to powertrain the front axle assembly is attached to the engine and new active/electronic motor mounts help to manage vibrations – especially when engine auto-start-stop engages. Standard is the venerable 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine with 290 horsepower and 257 pound-feet of of torque. Power is delivered through an 8-speed automatic transmission.
In spite of its lengths to reduce noise vibration and harshness we found this powertrain to be quite noisy and thrashy. The EPA rates it at 18 city, 25 highway and 21 mpg combined. In our week with it a combined rating of 17 was achieved. Well below expectations.
Built at the all-new Mack Avenue assembly plant in Detroit our tester rang in at $63,185 with a few options. On one hand we feel the value is there for all of the equipment, features and comforts the Grand Cherokee offers but concerns of long term quality and structural resilience would make us look at other options before buying.
