Jeep Wrangler, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee L receive new year updates

The 2022 Jeep Wrangler and the closely-related Gladiator ute have been updated in the US for the new year, along with the Grand Cherokee L which has yet to be launched in Australia.

While the Wrangler and Gladiator updates mainly bring entry-level variants into line with specifications already offered in Australia, Jeep has introduced a 100:1 crawl ratio for the five-door Wrangler Rubicon – up from an already-impressive 77.2:1 offered across the range.

The change is thanks to a shorter 4.88 axle ratio, helping to improve the model’s off-road capability. The change will be applied to vehicles fitted with manual transmissions initially, with automatic cars to follow.

Both the Wrangler and Gladiator have also received a new cabin filter for the US market, which is said to remove 95 per cent of particulates in the air.

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There’s no word yet on when the Grand Cherokee L will be arriving, with the all-new model originally slated for an Australian launch in late 2021 – but the SUV has already received an update in North America, with a passenger-side touchscreen being added to its options list, while second-row passengers will now enjoy dual 10.1-inch displays.

In late December, leaked information showed Jeep is preparing to drop both the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 and 5.4-litre Hemi V8 in favour of a new 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline-six engine, though the carmaker hasn’t officially announced anything at this stage.

Jeep has made some changes to the exterior colour palettes across its range, but no timeline has been given for Australian-delivered cars to receive the minor updates.