Jeep Cherokee Sport 3.7 2008 Review

Overall Rating: 2.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 2.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 3.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 2.5/5.0
X-factor: 3.0/5.0

About our ratings

Introduced in March this year, the newest Jeep Cherokee has a lot to live up to. There's the 67-year heritage of the Jeep name and the brand's iconic seven-bar grille, and then there's the responsibility of replacing the model that makes up about a third of all Jeep sales in Australia.

To face a growing and increasingly competent phalanx of rivals, Jeep have upgraded and enlarged the KK model, within the confines of what Jeep's traditional owners expect -- and will accept.

These expectations constitute both prompts and restrictions for Jeep's designers; existing owners expect high levels of rugged offroad performance and machismo, whereas winning new converts to the world of Jeep means weaning drivers away from the millimetre-perfect Japanese competitors.

Thus the new Jeep is slightly larger, better equipped and features modernised driver-aids and safety features.

This isn't as radical as it might sound -- rather than creating all-new underpinnings, the new Cherokee is built on the floor-pan of its city-dwelling sibling, the Dodge Nitro. Carry-overs include the marginally more powerful (151kW/314Nm) petrol engine from the previous Cherokee (which also powers the new Wrangler) and the underpinnings of the Nitro.

Cherokee is offered with two engine/transmission combinations -- 3.7-litre V6 petrol with a four-speed automatic, or 2.7-litre turbodiesel with a five-speed auto -- and in two trim levels -- Sport or Limited. Under review is the basic model -- the 3.7 V6 Sport.

The languid four-speed auto box comes with switchable 2WD High, 4WD Auto and 4WD Low modes, and a Tow/Haul function. The Selec-Trac II transmission and all-wheel-drive system is new and includes a two-second duration Hill-start Assist and Descent Control.

The 4WD Auto mode monitors wheelslip and shifts power between front and rear axles as required. There's traction control that rolls off the electronic throttle if wheelspin occurs, and a somewhat tardy stability control system that eventually wakes up enough to retrieve the vehicle from the ditch -- assuming the driver hasn't already done so.

Part of our regular daily drive can involve one of two routes up a bank between two converging dirt roads; the Cherokee accomplished the milder one in 4WD Auto but failed in 2WD High, while the more severe test defeated it in 4WD Auto but was finally conquered -- with considerable histrionics from the electronic driver aids -- in 4WD Low.

Wheel articulation and approach and departure angles are generous enough for fairly radical off-road use.

The all-new (to Jeep, at least) independent front suspension and similarly new five-link rear suspension transposed from the Dodge Nitro are the Cherokee's worst features. Sadly the system feels woefully over-sprung and under-damped, with dirt-road corrugations rattling the body and all within it.

And if these corrugations happen to be in a corner, the rear of the Cherokee will skitter sideways -- sometimes enough to get the ESP light blinking. If the vehicle's in two-wheel drive, it can break traction as the wheels lose grip at even moderate speeds.

Indeed, even in a straight line, the Cherokee feels loose and floaty on dirt roads; on sandy stretches it's not too bad (Check out our Fraser Island launch review of the vehicle here) but Victoria's extended dry spell meant there was precious little mud around to try it in.

Similarly, on asphalt the harsh ride and lack of fine suspension calibration harkens back to vehicles of two decades ago. It pains us to say it but the ride and handling could be likened to an unladen one-ton ute from the 1980s: coarse, unrefined and unpredictable when pushed into bumpy corners. As a result, sustaining a chosen line over rough paved surfaces was sometimes not easy. [Ed: the Cherokee's Nitro twin-under-the-skin exhibited the same problems -- more here).

Despite this, the rack-and-pinion steering offers good feel, despite being a little too generously power-assisted. On-road noise levels are also well-damped, making the cabin comfortably quiet.

What is new on the Cherokee is the interior -- freshened, modernised, but sadly not really on par with the opposition. The squared-edge front-of-cabin design consists of at least six different tactile or coloured surfaces, but most of the practical shortfalls are down to a less-than-successful transition from left to right-hand-drive. For example, the driver's foot-space is cramped, without the real estate for a left foot rest, and the handbrake is on the far left edge of the console, close to the passenger's right hand. It is therefore not easy to pull up the last bit to hold the 1935kg vehicle on a slope.

Similarly, the audio system's power and volume buttons are on the left side, a long reach from the driver -- a minor point perhaps, but the dangers of taking your eyes off the road has been highlighted in recent road safety campaigns.

Finally, the bonnet release is, inconveniently, also on the left of the cabin -- setting free one of the heaviest bonnets in the known universe. Happily, under-bonnet maintenance items are obvious and accessible.

The rake-only adjustable steering wheel has, in the basic Sport configuration, no audio-system controls, but the cruise-control operates on a column-mounted stalk.

There are front and side airbags, but in the Sport not curtains, dual illuminated vanity mirrors and a cigarette lighter socket, but no other power socket.

The Bluetooth-enabled audio system accepts six in-dash CDs and is MP3 and WMA compatible.

The front seats are good and supportive, both on the flat-top and off the beaten track. Some might prefer a variable lumbar support for the really long drives, but otherwise, the front seats are both firm and comfortable. The rear 60/40 split-fold seat is less so. It's adequate and firm, but flat and less supportive during cornering.

All upholstery comes with Chrysler's clever spill-resistant, anti-stain, anti-static YES Essential seat fabric.

Interestingly, the backs of the front seats differ. One has a map-pocket, the other is hard backed and recessed to function as a fold forward workstation (and allow long loads) or to allow an extra 10mm of knee-room -- which is generous, unlike the rear-seat passenger's foot-space under the front seats. Rear seat access isn't brilliant through the stubby rear doors, but there is, however, excellent headroom throughout the vehicle.

There are but two cupholders, front and rear, so someone in a full-house back seat is going to be left holding their own. There are no rear-seat heating or ventilation controls and no rear-seat power socket.

The acceptable, but not overly generous, luggage space features a low-slung bin for wet objects -- though quite what exactly, escapes us… It's too small for all but the thinnest skimpy wetsuit and raises the luggage compartment's floor too high for easy stowing of heavy objects. It does, however, hold the second of two power sockets in the entire vehicle -- vertically, in the floor of a tray apparently intended to hold wet things. Hmmm...

There are no convenient shopping hooks in the load-bed -- perhaps real SUV drivers don't buy groceries?

One improvement over the previous Cherokee is the lifting rear tailgate -- the older version hinged to the side, potentially forcing the user to step into traffic.

The latest Cherokee mimics current American paranoia by insisting that all doors remain locked once the vehicle moves off -- happily there is an over-ride button in the driver's door panel. That said, it is often necessary to return to the door-mounted switch when trying to open the tailgate. This is an irritating, unnecessary feature and one which this tester would insist be disconnected in a privately-owned vehicle.

On the subject of locks, the Cherokee has a quaint, old-fashioned locking fuel filler cap that needs the key (no listening to the radio while we refuel, kiddies) -- ie, there is no remote release. The filler cap is also not tethered to the vehicle, so it can be put down or dropped anywhere; but needing the key, at least you can't drive off without refitting it, as you can on some Toyotas…

At the back of the vehicle, the broad rear bumper-bar quickly collects dust -- as does the openable rear window, thereby completely obscuring the eye-level brake-light within 10 or 15km on moderately dusty roads.

Driver's forward visibility is good and the rear-view mirrors are excellent; headlamps are very good -- and unusually, both high and low beams are briefly lit when switching from one to the other.

The new Cherokee comes into a much more crowded market segment than did its predecessor. While the high-performance Mazda CX7 might not be as hard-core, the Korean-built Holden Captiva and Toyota RAV4 run the Cherokee close for off-road capability and leave it skittering in their wake for driveability.

Jeep fans will clutch the new Cherokee to their breasts, no doubt. Whether the vehicle can attract enough newcomers to the brand to reach the sales volumes that Chrysler Jeep needs, however, is a much tougher question to answer.

» Watch the Carsales Network's video on the Jeep Cherokee

To comment on this article click