2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5-seat review: First Australian drive

Jeep’s new five-seat Grand Cherokee has hit the Australian market, promising a big step up in premium materials, tech and equipment – in return for a not-insignificant price jump.

The new Grand Cherokee is a V6 petrol-only affair, unlike previous generations which offered both petrol and diesel mills, in eight- and six-cylinder configurations.

A plug-in hybrid, badged 4xe, is also expected to join the local Grand Cherokee range later this year.

For our first local taste, however, we dig into the Grand Cherokee Overland, representing the flagship five-seat offering, positioned underneath the seven-seat Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve.

Does Jeep’s new premium direction come together materially, or does the brand’s Fiat-Chrysler reputation precede it? Let’s dig in, and find out.

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How much is it, and what do you get?

The Grand Cherokee Overland represents the flagship five-seat offering among three available five-seaters at launch, priced from $98,450.

Overland sits above the entry-level Grand Cherokee Night Eagle ($77,950) and Limited five-seat ($83,950), topped by only the flagship seven-seat Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve ($115,950).

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All Grand Cherokees are powered by Jeep's long-servicing 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine producing 210kW and 344Nm, driving all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Jeep’s new premium positioning sees even the entry-level Night Eagle come equipped with niceties such as 20-inch alloy wheels, auto LED headlights, heated front seats with eight-way power adjustment, heated steering wheel, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and 10.1-inch infotainment screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, power tailgate and wireless phone charger.

Stepping over the Limited to the flagship Overland adds air suspension, a two-speed active transfer case with low-range gearing, 20-inch polished alloy wheels, black Nappa leather upholstery, ventilated front seats, dual-pane panoramic sunroof, premium nine-speaker stereo and multi-colour ambient lighting.

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Options

Overland options include premium paint ($1750) plus two option packages: the Luxury Tech Group ($4500) and the Off-Road Group ($2750).

The Luxury Tech Group package adds 12-way power front seats with memory and massage functions, four-zone climate control, ventilated second-row outboard seats, digital rearview mirror and second-row sunshades.

Going for the Off-Road Group package adds a 230mm rear axle, electronic limited-slip differential, Jeep’s signature ‘Trail Rated’ exterior badging, 18-inch polished/painted wheels with 265/60 Goodyear all-terrain tyres, and a skid plate shield for the fuel tank, transfer case and front suspension.

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How do rivals compare on value?

Rivals include rugged large SUVs including the Nissan Patrol (asking from $82,160 to $95,115) and Toyota LandCruiser Prado (from $60,830 to $86,998).

Depending on the brief to fill, however, as a road-going large SUV, buyers could also feasibly cross-shop with a number of European large unibody SUVs, including the Volkswagen Touareg (from $87,990 to $116,290), Audi Q7 (from $110,000) and Land Rover Defender 110 (from $104,000).

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Interior comfort, space and storage

As you should expect from the uptick in price, the interior of the new-platform Grand Cherokee is a massive step up over its predecessor.

Even the new-for-Australia five-seater, with a shortened wheelbase compared to the Grand Cherokee L seven-seater, is a roomy proposition for all involved.

Mind you, it ought to be given its sizeable footprint but, look closer still, and you’ll find that the new Grand Cherokee hasn’t just made strides dimensionally, but also materially.

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The seats are comfy yet supportive, with a wide base and good under-thigh support.

Broad steering column adjustment, in both reach and tilt, combined with the power-adjustable seat, cater for those who like the ‘looking above’ high-riding SUV position, as well as taller folk who need a low base. The rotary drive controller is a milled metal piece with tactile weight to it, while the dash is adorned with leather-look and mostly soft-touch materials.

In our test car, fitted with the $4500 Luxury Tech Group option pack, the second row comes well-equipped with sunshades, ventilated outboard seats and four-zone climate control.

The second row splits 40:20:40 and slides fore and aft, allowing you to prioritise passenger or cargo space behind. It’s easily capable of transporting adults in the outboard seats on long drives in comfort, even more so thanks to the added Luxury Tech appointments. The middle seat is agreeably wide for a third body, but a jutting console from the front armrest, along with an elevated transmission tunnel, impinge on leg space.

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Boot space hasn’t been officially quoted in litres but compared to the long wheelbase seven seater’s two-row figure of 1328L, the five-seat will be down on cubic volume given its total length is reduced by 289mmm.

Converting US measurements to litres suggests the Grand Cherokee five-seat boasts approximately 1067L behind the second row, although US vehicle measurements often measure to the ceiling, while Australia commonly measures to the window line.

Anecdotally, the five-seat Grand Cherokee will easily swallow a large grocery shop, or a child’s pram and all requisite early-age carry-on gear.

The Overland’s air suspension, with a configurable and dedicated entry/exit mode, along with a power tailgate button, are welcome, functional, features.

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Technology in the cabin

The 12.1-inch central infotainment screen interfaces with Jeep’s latest UConnect system well, delivering a fairly digestible layout and menu tree, and good haptic and visual responses.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, however, bring out the screen’s best – and there’s a wireless charging pad, along with a 12-volt power outlet, two USB-A and two USB-C ports located centrally in the bottom of the centre stack for all charging needs.

There’s even an auxiliary input, I can only assume, for those against wireless technology. Which reminds me, Jeep’s latest UConnect 5 operating system is capable of over-the-air updates.

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A large digital instrument cluster provides clearly legible – and not overly crowded – information. There’s decent configurability with both analogue and digital dial layouts, along with the ability to change what is displayed on the central multi-function display — media, navigation, driver settings, etc.

One unusual quirk is how easy it is to toggle between metric and imperial units on the cluster. All you have to do is hit the ‘OK’ button on the left-hand steering wheel spoke. That’s all; not even hold it down. Just hit it.

It brings to mind funny hypothetical scenarios at the best of times (‘sorry officer’), but also feels like something that shouldn’t so easily be done.

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What is it like to drive?

Underpinned by the Stelantis Giorgio platform, Jeep’s Grand Cherokee drives distinctly from the pointy-nosed Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio with which it shares an architecture.

There’s a much more relaxed nature to the way it goes about travelling down the road. The air suspension, by default, is cushiony with large amounts of compression and a nice waft, so the 2.2-tonne American floats down a potholed road. The air suspension has several different height settings and will vary on its own between drive modes.

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While it lacks the detached recirculating-ball feeling of a ladder-frame Jeep Gladiator or Wrangler, the Grand Cherokee's steering still has a slight on-centre delay to its calibration and quite a large amount of weight to it. The ratio itself feels nicely linear, and, despite the vehicle's big footprint, it quickly becomes second nature to tiller this family wagon through a neighbourhood.

The carryover 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 returns for another tour of duty in this Grand Cherokee generation, producing 210kW and 344Nm, driving all four wheels through a eight-speed automatic.

Although ageing, this mill does the job, feeling nicely refined in most circumstances, operating mostly silently – except under hard load, that is.

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It won’t blaze many cars off the traffic lights, but it won’t lag behind either.

By way of modest outputs and a hefty kerb mass, Jeep’s Grand Cherokee always feels heavy – in steering, in pace, and in brake feel. On the subject of the latter, while effective, the pedal takes a little more leaning on than expected when initially getting accustomed to this stately American family hauler.

This is a car that works best when unhurried, leaning lazily on its modest torque output but meshing well overall with the slick eight-speed. The 0-100km/h dash takes around nine seconds but really, why the hurry?

Overall, body control is clearly geared for comfort but manages the lumbering Grand Cherokee's weight to a high degree. Discomfort only emerges with moments of head toss when hustling over bigger bumps.

Towing ability wasn’t tested this time, but the shorter wheelbase Grand Cherokee’s towing capacity is 2813kg for the 3.6-litre V6.

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How much fuel does it use?

Jeep’s claimed fuel consumption for the V6 Grand Cherokee is 10.6L/100km.

Over our week of testing, however, our Grand Cherokee Overland returned a slightly higher 12.4/100km – which seems about right, as it’s certainly not the worst we’ve seen from this very familiar powerplant.

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How safe is it?

Jeep’s latest-generation Grand Cherokee, on its new-for-the-model platform, is yet to be assessed by ANCAP and is currently classified as unrated.

The Grand Cherokee is equipped with a suite of eight airbags, comprising dual front, side, and curtain plus driver and front passenger knee cushions — standard across the range.

Active safety features include:

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Warranty and running costs

Somewhat increasingly out of step with the rest of the industry, Jeep covers its vehicles with a five-year, 100,000km warranty. Most manufacturers have committed to unlimited kilometre coverage.

Jeep’s friendly-sounding ‘two-finger wave guarantee’ pledges cheaper replacement parts and roadside assistance to owners.

Capped-price servicing is pegged at $399 per visit for those first five years although, again, Jeep’s service intervals run shorter than many rivals at 12 months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first.

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VERDICT

The latest five-seat iteration of Jeep’s enduring Grand Cherokee makes decisive steps in repositioning itself as a more premium, fancier product.

Materially, it all works; the cabin is a wonderful place to be, in an old money Americana sort of way. The exterior, even, I think looks quite handsome – and I usually abhor silver cars.

There’s something stately and graceful about the new Grand Cherokee, especially this fetching Overland variant with air suspension, polished alloy wheels and a feature set that makes rear passengers feel as cosseted as those up front.

Some blemishes on the aftersales support front are reasonable causes for doubt, however, but the car itself feels impressively solid and has been far more likeable than this writer expected.

One thing is clear; if the strides that this latest Grand Cherokee has made are signs of things to come, Jeep is on the up when it comes to its family-focused road cars.

Specifications