Jeep Cherokee Can Italian tech put this once-rugged off-roader ahead of the pack?

The Jeep Cherokee hasn’t been big news in the UK for a long time. From 2010, there wasn’t one at all as parent company Chrysler’s bankruptcy and contraction meant the car was pulled altogether while a solution to the company’s financial woes was found. But even prior to that, the model was a lowly also-ran.

To find one worthy of recall, you need to return to the mid-1990s and the stacked-haybale silhouette of the XJ one of the very few idiosyncratically American designs that doesn’t look inadequate on British roads. The subsequent efforts all based on the US-badged Liberty were perennial underperformers.

Now the nameplate is back (it’s reappearing in the US, too) and no one can accuse the brand of repeating the same old formula with this fifth generation incarnation. For the most part, that’s because it can’t, because Chrysler is now a division of Fiat, and the architecture underneath the new Cherokee is fundamentally Italian. On top, it’s raked back and cleaved flat in a way no Cherokee has been before. Could this be the sight of a leaf being turned under new management? Let’s find out.

You wouldn’t know from looking at the new Cherokee that it comes from very traditional 4x4 stock. The brusque, boxy styling of old has been jettisoned, however, in favour of something far less utilitarian and far more aerodynamic. For those with long memories, there are styling nods to past generations in the prominent seven-slot grille and trapezoidal wheel arches, but otherwise the new model is every bit the modern crossover to behold. Which is fitting, because the architecture beneath it is hardly military grade. The Cherokee is now built on what Chrysler calls the Compact US Wide platform, a modular piece of hot-stamped, high strength steel which, in a different configuration, also underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

Unsurprisingly, adopting Fiat’s hatchback-purposed underpinnings fundamentally changes the nature of the car. Engines are now mounted transversely and a more heavy-duty 4WD system is relegated to the ‘seen but not heard’ end of the options list. At entry level, the Cherokee is front-wheel drive and has less ground clearance than a Nissan Qashqai.

The engine is also Fiat-sourced, with the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder MultiJet diesel unit offered in 138bhp (as tested) or 168bhp outputs and mated as standard to a six-speed manual gearbox although it’s possible to pair a new nine-speed automatic with the latter (see ‘Under the Skin’).

There’s also a 3.2-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine, but you’ll need to special-order one of the very few Trailhawk editions to experience it.

All Cherokees come with MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link set-up at the back, and electric power replaces hydraulic in the steering department. Our test car also came equipped with Jeep’s Active Drive I four-wheel drive set up. It’s an on-demand system that uses a wet clutch to send power to the rear wheels. The brand’s SelecTerrain traction control system comes attached. The slightly more potent Active Drive II which offers a two-speed power transfer unit for lowrange flexibility won’t be available until later in the year.

Interior 

Given that the hardware that lies beneath the Cherokee is all new, you’ll be unsurprised to find that what’s within the cabin is a also complete change for the Cherokee. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but what is notable is that, other than the badging, there’s nothing in hereto suggest that you’re in a Jeep, as opposed to any other make of car.

If this is a new start, fair enough, but given that Jeep has a premium mindset, it’s a pity that the brand’s lineage and there have been plenty of high spots over the years hasn’t been more clearly acknowledged. If you climbed into any modern Land Rover, BMW or Mercedes-Benz, even without badges you’d know in an instant which brand of car you were sitting in. Given a similar test in the Cherokee, you might guess at half a dozen manufacturers before you alighted on this being a Jeep.

Still, fit, finish and the overall design are better than in any Cherokee before. For the most part, the controls are laid out sensibly, and the central TFT touchscreen  is recognisable from that found in  the Maserati Ghibli, with a few  Jeep-specific bits.The driving position is pretty upright. The Cherokee may be a relative of the Giulietta, but if you’re moving up from a conventional hatch, don’t expect to be able to retain a similar posture, or to find the steering wheel as widely adjustable as that in a Range Rover Evoque.

Don’t expect the same standard of materials, either. Fit, finish and surfaces are improved over Jeeps of old, but there’s not much in here that will keep Land Rover or BMW awake at night. Some soft surfaces aren’t soft enough, some dull ones are too shiny.What’s more impressive is interior volume. The rear bench slides and, with it folded, there’s up to 1.6 metres of load length.

PERFORMANCE

When Jeep describes the acceleration of the 168bhp turbodiesel, which wants a claimed 10.7sec to reach 60mph from rest, as “lively”, you know not to expect too much from this 138bhp Cherokee. And so it proves. At our test track, we managed to coax this 1950kg car to 60mph in 12.3sec. Okay, outright acceleration is not what these cars are about, but for £33,000 BMW can sell you an X3 that has a 3.0-litre diesel capable of covering the same benchmark in less than half that time, while emitting only 9g/km more CO2.

Things would look better for the Cherokee if its engine were comparable with the X3’s 30d unit in terms of refinement, but that’s not the case, either. We’ve recently thought BMW’s 2.0-litre diesel a bit grumbly, but even so, it’s not as outspoken as the Cherokee’s Fiat sourced common-rail unit. It’s not the overall volume that’s the problem (a 47dB idle and 64dB volume at 70mph are both respectable); it’s just that the noises that are allowed through are those of top-end diesel clatter rather
than general gruffness.

The engine drives here through a six-speed manual gearbox that, despite having pleasingly spaced ratios, has too much bump and notch between shifts to be a pleasure to use.The Cherokee brakes well enough,though, at least in the dry, where it hauls itself down from 60mph in 2.66sec. Under 2.8sec is good going for a car of this kind.

RiDE AND HANDliNG

When we last had a Cherokee in the UK, it was accepted that the way a 4x4 drove was a fairly hefty compromise over the way a conventional hatchback drove. Today, with the advent of crossovers and a general blurring of market lines which the Cherokee itself embraces by employing lighter-duty architecture than it once did the differences are less excusable. It’s a shame, then, that this Cherokee is less pleasing to drive than most of its immediate rivals be they from the mainstream manufacturers or premium ones.

Once, Jeep’s people would have shrugged their shoulders and accepted that this was a price to pay for the go-anywhere capability. But if the Land Rover Freelander has taught us anything, it’s that, today, that’s no longer an excuse.Compared with its rivals, the Jeep rides too choppily, yet at the same time fails to keep sufficient control of its body movements over more undulating roads. Despite the newness and car-derived nature of its architecture, it still fees like an old-school 4x4 in the way it
moves. The electrically assisted steering is accurate but retains a heft that’s uncommon in modern cars.

Moreover, there’s no great benefit as a result, because it gives no greater indication than that of any other SUV as to what the wheels are up to. To that extent, the Jeep DNA has been retained. Unfortunately, in this case, we don’t mean it as a compliment.

Buying and Owning

Prices that start at £25,500 and rise by almost five figures from there position the Cherokee at the expensive end of the non premium brand ranks for compact crossovers.

It’s a position that Jeep clearly thinks is justified by the brand’s authenticity, backed up as it is by fairly generous standard kit levels. Entry-level Longitude-spec cars get keyless entry, cruise control, 17in alloys, DAB radio and parking sensors.

But the market has got its reservations about the Cherokee and that’s putting it mildly. Our sources predict that our test model will retain just 30.05 per cent of its original showroom price after three years and 36,000 miles, while cheaper rivals retain 16 per cent more. Rarely do we see such alarming figures for a new car and they’ll have a crippling effect on contract hire rates as well as on the case to buy for private individuals.

Insurance ratings are also five groups higher for the Jeep than they are for some of its competition, while CO2 emissions, though competitive, are far from outstanding.Our fuel economy test results for the car suggest that it occupies a place in the middle of the class in terms of efficiency. A 43.2mpg result in our touring test is acceptable enough, but there are now more  than a handful of similar family  4x4s that can better it.

 
-With the previous Jeep Cherokee, there was something to hang on to. No, it was not the quietest, fastest, most comfortable or best-appointed car in the class. But it was nonetheless a Jeep and, as such, it had its charms and it would go places that cars from the makers of other 4x4s would not. Besides, all SUVs felt a bit sloppy back then.

Today, however, they don’t, and while the Jeep has joined them in using softer architecture- underneath the Cherokee, what it hasn’t done is significantly improve the driving experience or, to a strong enough extent, the interior ambience. In fact, interior space aside, it’s tough to think of an area in which the Cherokee gives its rivals a hard time. And our residual value experts think that customers will twig this, too.

l Price  £33,195 
l Power  138bhp 
l Torque  258lb ft 
l 0-60mph  12.3sec 
l Fuel economy  38.7mpg 
l CO2 emissions  147g/km 
l 70-0mph  49.4m 
l Skidpan  0.87g