A ‘magnificent seven’ is on its way

The Jeep flagship large SUV is about to elbow its way into a new part of the market. Coming this year is a seven-seat version of the Grand Cherokee, and New Zealand is likely to get it at the same time as Australia.
The seven-seater SUV market has been heating up over the past couple of years, thanks to offerings from Ford, Toyota and even Hyundai and KIA. Now it’s Jeep’s turn to wow the big-family 4WD market as it celebrates its 80th year.
Revealed in Australia last month, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is described by the company as an “entirely new premium three-row variant” and will be on sale mid-year (Covid willing). Offering a seven-seat configuration for the first time in its history, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L will “break new ground by delivering exceptional levels of luxury, comfort, space and functionality while continuing its legacy as the most awarded SUV ever.”
The all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee L will be available in three variants, starting with the ‘Night Eagle’ moving up to a more comprehensive Limited specification and on to the flagship Summit Reserve.
Australian pricing indications suggest it will be under $90,000 here. Expect to pay rather more for that premium Summit Reserve version, which has Palermo leather-trimmed seats, open-pore Waxed Walnut wood finishes, an exclusive high-performance McIntosh audio system, and 21-inch wheels and tyres. Jeep is currently the only automotive brand in the world to incorporate a McIntosh audio sound system into its vehicles.
Jeep says the ‘L’ range delivers capacious legroom in the second row, unrivalled third-row capacity and increased cargo carrying capacity of up to 2,395 litres. It will offer “unsurpassed third-row space and increased cargo carrying capacity, exceptional legroom in the second row and improved entry and exit thanks to larger door openings”.
Standard equipment across the range includes seat heating, Uconnect 5 navigation with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, leather-trimmed and powered front seats with power lumbar adjustment, height adjustable powered tailgate, automatic LED headlamps, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-path detection, adaptive cruise control with ‘stop and go’, active lane management, pedestrian automatic emergency braking with cyclist detection (a must-have for a five star safety rating), drowsy driver detection and traffic sign recognition.
Unlike some rivals, Jeep has built a reputation for large SUVs with proper offroad capabilities. More importantly for those who will use the new SUV in the manner intended is the drivetrain – based around Jeep’s acclaimed Quadra-Trac transmission and a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine producing 210kW and 344Nm of torque. Depending on which of three spec levels is chosen the new ‘L’ is equipped with the available Quadra-Trac I and Quadra-Trac II 4x4 setups, Quadra-Lift air suspension and Jeep’s electronic Selec-Terrain traction management system.
Underneath the contemporary body styling is a new unibody construction which increases rigidity by using lightweight, high-strength aluminium and steel. The chassis incorporates a number of enhancements designed to improve ride quality, handling and comfort, while increasing efficiency and reducing noise and weight.
Fully equipped with an array of advanced safety and security features that assist the driver by enhancing their field of vision, making instrumentation easier to see and enabling collision-avoidance capabilities, on-board operating speeds are now five times faster when compared to the previous generation, courtesy of the latest Uconnect 5 system – the most advanced Jeep connectivity platform yet.
Australia remains an important resource for testing new 4WDs. The new L has been tested extensively in the harshest, most remote outback environments in Australia, logging more than 60,000-kilometres during its development.
The ‘L’ range will initially be available in Bright White, Velvet Red, Diamond Black, Silver Zenith, or Baltic Grey.
A Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in-hybrid electrified version is also scheduled to debut this year.