The All New Jeep Grand Cherokee L arrives in SA with a third row of seats, the first of it’s kind for a Jeep SUV. This generation also comes with almost 98% new cabin features, which presented itself as premium, with loads of space and comfort.

It features it’s legendary 4×4 off-road ability, but with it’s styling, it wouldn’t be out of place in a Sandton driveway. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L comes in two variants, namely the Overland & The Summit Reserve, of which we got to drive the Overland.

Exterior Styling.

The All-New Grand Cherokee L is a large SUV, and the  vehicle’s 3,091mm (121.7-inch) wheelbase creates generous interior room and gives passengers expansive, class-leading legroom in the second row. It’s looks were inspired by the Wagoneer, and the wide bonnet with iconoic grille, give a serious presence to the SUV. A lowered, tapered roof improves aerodynamic performance and efficiency without sacrificing its cargo spaciousness and utility.

For the first time, a premium, full suite of LED lighting is standard on all Jeep Grand Cherokee trim levels, which allowed for design flexibility and helped to shape the identity of the vehicle. Ultra slim headlamps with unique signature lighting set into Gloss Black bezels, along with slim horizontal fog lamps.

Additional elements include approach-lit door handles and puddle lighting projected from the rearview mirror, which are standard on the Summit Reserve. The boot area is cavernous, and offers a whopping 1338 litres.

Interior Design.

The interior has been almost totally redeveloped, and it is a really premium cabin. Beautiful leather seats which is Nappa in the Overland. It has a spatial dash area with three screens across the dash area. A 10.1-inch display for the new Uconnect 5 system.

Also new is a 10.25-inch frameless digital gauge cluster with nearly two dozen different menus from which the user can select, including driver-assist technologies such as adaptive cruise control, highway assist, night vision (*Summit Reserve) and drowsy driver detection. To control the digital cluster, the Grand Cherokee L features an All-New multifunction steering wheel with paddle shifters.

A segment-exclusive 10.25-inch front passenger screen offers co-pilot assistance with navigation, camera viewing and visual entertainment 

An all-new Jeep seating architecture has been introduced on the Grand Cherokee L, featuring a length-adjustable cushion for the front row in the Summit Reserve, which is a Stellantis first. First-row seats with power 16-way adjustable position with memory and lumbar are standard on Summit Reserve. Seat back massage that includes five customizable profiles with three levels of pressure intensity is on Summit Reserve.

Available first in the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Stellantis is currently the only automotive manufacturer in the world to carry a McIntosh audio sound system, which comes standard with the Overland and Summit Reserve. The advanced, high-performance audio system features a 17-channel amplifier with a maximum output of 950 watts and 19 speakers, including a 10-inch subwoofer, to envelope vehicle occupants in high-definition sound.

The Grand Cherokee L is the first Jeep vehicle to feature an electronic remote release in the rear cargo area to quickly and effortlessly fold the second row bench seats flat. The feature is standard on Summit Reserve. The Apple CarPlay & Android Auto connectivity is available of course. Functionality is enhanced for front-row passengers with an available wireless charging pad, plus standard dual USB Type C ports that allow devices to charge up to four times faster. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L delivers a class-leading total of 12 USB Type A and Type C ports for all three rows.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L is also the first production Jeep vehicle to offer a fully digital rearview mirror. The digital rearview mirror displays video in real time from a rear-facing camera, offering an image that is unobstructed by the D-pillars or rear seats. It also reverts back to a traditional reflective mirror. All of this could lead to a sensory overload, but we enjoyed it immensely.

Engine.

Standard is the all-aluminum 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine, rated at 210 kW and 344 Nm of torque. This engine offers smooth acceleration and good power. The fuel economy that we got is around 12l/100km.

Legendary off-road capability begins courtesy of three 4×4 systems – Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Drive II with rear electronic limited slip-differential (eLSD). All three systems are equipped with an active transfer case to improve traction by moving torque to work with the wheel with the most grip. The Grand Cherokee L’s class-leading Selec-Terrain traction management system lets customers choose the on- and off-road setting for optimum 4×4 performance with five available terrain modes (Auto, Sport, Rock, Snow, Mud/Sand) to provide optimized calibrations for any given driving scenario.

Additional to the three 4×4 systems, for the first time in the history of the model, the Grand Cherokee L offers a class-exclusive Quadra-Lift Air Suspension, featuring electronic adaptive damping.

We didn’t get to use much of this tech as we had a small off-road section which was a doddle for the Jeep.

The All-New Jeep Grand Cherokee L offers more than 110 safety and security features, including innovative applications of technologies that refine the connection between driver, vehicle and the road.

Among the safety features available across the Grand Cherokee L lineup are:

• Full-Speed Collision Warning with Active Braking and Pedestrian/Cyclist Detection
• Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist with 360-degree surround view camera system with built-in washers on both front and rear camera lenses.
• Night Vision Camera with pedestrian and animal detection (*Summit Reserve)
• Rear Cross Path detection  
• Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go
• Active Lane Management
• LaneSense Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist
• Advanced Brake Assist
• Blind-spot Monitoring
• ParkView rear back-up camera
• ParkSense rear park assist sensors with stop
• Switch-activated electric park brake
• Tyre-pressure monitoring
• Drowsy Driver Detection system

In summation, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is a premium SUV, that offers beautiful styling, inside and outside. It is very well specced, has legendary off-road ability, and has a good engine offering excellent power and torque.

It has a  standard Five years/120,000km warranty and Roadside Assistance. Maintenance intervals are every 12 months or 12,000km but Five years/100 000 km maintenance   plan.

Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited:                                    R 1 299 900

Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland:                                 R 1 479 900

Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve:                    R 1 679 900