Topic: Preview: 2014 Jeep Cherokee

[bombastic]

What a crappy design!!!! From the front it looks like and old iteration of Lexus RX from the back looks like first version of Subbie Tribeca...

[JRM]

Does anyone remember the Buick Rendezvous, cousin to the Aztec?  The front end of the Cherokee is more like the latter and the back is very reminiscent of the former, neither of which were know for their good looks.

I hope this drives better than the old Cherokee, which was difficult to keep in a straight line, the steering was so poor as to be dangerous.

[Fobroader]

Does anyone remember the Buick Rendezvous, cousin to the Aztec?  The front end of the Cherokee is more like the latter and the back is very reminiscent of the former, neither of which were know for their good looks.

I hope this drives better than the old Cherokee, which was difficult to keep in a straight line, the steering was so poor as to be dangerous.

I had 2 of them, never found the steering to be loose unless I damaged something offroad.

[sailor723]

Does anyone remember the Buick Rendezvous, cousin to the Aztec?  The front end of the Cherokee is more like the latter and the back is very reminiscent of the former, neither of which were know for their good looks.

I hope this drives better than the old Cherokee, which was difficult to keep in a straight line, the steering was so poor as to be dangerous.

I had 2 of them, never found the steering to be loose unless I damaged something offroad.

Yes but being blind to any faults or issues is a well known side effect to drinking "Jeep Kool-aid" 

[tooscoops]

the new cherokee is replacing the liberty... which was the cherokee in many other places in the world... which had replaced, the cherokee back in 2002...

confusing eh?  simple thing would have been to call it cherokee all the way through its timeline in all countries.

anywho, no fear of the Grand Cherokee changing into this guy. (speaking of which, just got a 2014 SRT grand cherokee in... kick ass!)

so yeah, i've heard that this thing looks a lot better in person. hope so. also, fog lights probably won't be standard, so maybe the base units will look better, light wise.

overall, i don't hate it... kind of a jeep take on the escape style. back end seems a little sparse though.

[Fobroader]

Does anyone remember the Buick Rendezvous, cousin to the Aztec?  The front end of the Cherokee is more like the latter and the back is very reminiscent of the former, neither of which were know for their good looks.

I hope this drives better than the old Cherokee, which was difficult to keep in a straight line, the steering was so poor as to be dangerous.

I had 2 of them, never found the steering to be loose unless I damaged something offroad.

Yes but being blind to any faults or issues is a well known side effect to drinking "Jeep Kool-aid" 

I can say when it comes to some things, yes, I drank the kool aid, but mostly, I will admit their faults. Steering, most people never never changed the balljoints or tie rod ends, so yeah, it was sloppy, hell, it sometimes caused death wobble, but I spent a lot of time with my 94 making sure it was as good as it could be because you dont want to be the ass hat that breaks before you get to the trail.

[Benhaze]

I liked my '01 Cherokee better .  Not sure about the front end.  Front end styling has turned me off a number of recent Jeeps - including the outgoing Liberty.

As bad as the front end styling is, the back is worse... So weird with the very high black plastic bumper, although I imagine that practically, it's probably cheaper to replace.

 

I saw pics from the NY Auto Show, but never saw the rear till today.  Jeep is going to have the same problem that GM had with the Avalanche, the plastic on the bumper, it fades after awhile, and looks like crap.

I have to say I like the powertrains.  Not sure about the 9 speed auto, guess it's one of those wait and see kinda things.  Wonder if this can tow 3500lbs? 

So Dodge has the Dart problem, and Jeep will have the Cherokee problem.  We can look at in 3 years, so how a mid cycle refresh changes the front and rear bumpers.....

It can tow 4500 lbs apparently.

[jaari]

omg I had to squint , I actually thought I was seeing double looking at that back end.
Looks like a Sportage back end on a trip ...

[paul246]

Looks like it was designed by a committee of women.

[sailor723]

It would be interesting to revisit this thread in a year or so to see if Jeep does a (very) early mid cycle refresh a la Honda Civic.

[safristi]

Dumb da da DUMB da dum da dee..............

[PJ]

I think it looks fine but I'm disappointed (but not surprised) it's now just a tall AWD car.  Jeep knows people who want to look like they go off road far out number those that do so that's where they went.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I think it looks fine but I'm disappointed (but not surprised) it's now just a tall AWD car.  Jeep knows people who want to look like they go off road far out number those that do so that's where they went.

You can get it with a two speed transfer case (well planetary gearset at the diffs, same effect), limited slip diffs and a 4500lb tow capacity. So it's not just an AWD car.

Nobody does solid axles anymore and the only other difference that I can see compared to the old Cherokee is the transverse vs longitudinal orientation of the engine. That wouldn't affect capability in the least. The body on this will be much more rigid than the wet noodle body of the old Cherokee.

Still an odd duck in the looks department.

[tooscoops]

the extra 1000lbs is tough to handle too... but that's the way cars are now. roll cages, airbags, noise reduction....

blah. i want light. if i'm stupid and crash i'll die. too many people in this world anyway.

[PJ]

I think it looks fine but I'm disappointed (but not surprised) it's now just a tall AWD car.  Jeep knows people who want to look like they go off road far out number those that do so that's where they went.

You can get it with a two speed transfer case (well planetary gearset at the diffs, same effect), limited slip diffs and a 4500lb tow capacity. So it's not just an AWD car.

Nobody does solid axles anymore and the only other difference that I can see compared to the old Cherokee is the transverse vs longitudinal orientation of the engine. That wouldn't affect capability in the least. The body on this will be much more rigid than the wet noodle body of the old Cherokee.

Still an odd duck in the looks department.

Check out the suspension, it's car parts.  Unless your idea of off roading is forest access roads you will hit parts in a stock truck.  And you will be stuck with a stock truck as the only mods available will be bolt on trim bits.

The old Cherokee could take a lot of abuse without damage.  I see no reason this will do any better then a CRV or Rav4, like I said an AWD car.



In short if you can't see any difference between this and the old Cherokee your knowledge of off road driving is very limited.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Check out the suspension, it's car parts.  Unless your idea of off roading is forest access roads you will hit parts in a stock truck.  And you will be stuck with a stock truck as the only mods available will be bolt on trim bits.

The old Cherokee could take a lot of abuse without damage.  I see no reason this will do any better then a CRV or Rav4, like I said an AWD car.

In short if you can't see any difference between this and the old Cherokee your knowledge of off road driving is very limited.

If you only think solid axles can go off road, your knowledge of off roading is very dated. The departed Hummer H1 and Iltis come to mind, all the new Range Rovers and all the Germans except the 30+ year old G-wagen.

I have no idea how this will do off road. Nobody has tested it yet. But it has pretty good approach, breakover and departure angles, high and low ranges and a locking rear diff, all lacking from the cute-utes. And which car exactly has a 4500lb tow rating?

The old XJ had a great deal of design work done by Renault, hardly a bastion of offroading. The only Cherokees that saw heavy off road use were typically bought second or third hand, which didn't exactly flood AMC/Chrysler's coffers. They flexed, creaked and groaned off road, enough that you could jamb the doors closed or opened on two door models. The stock suspensions were pretty hopeless when it came to articulation and most were sold with open diffs. The older they get the better they were, it seems.

[blotter]

Check out the suspension, it's car parts.  Unless your idea of off roading is forest access roads you will hit parts in a stock truck.  And you will be stuck with a stock truck as the only mods available will be bolt on trim bits.

The old Cherokee could take a lot of abuse without damage.  I see no reason this will do any better then a CRV or Rav4, like I said an AWD car.

the higher end models will be "trail rated"
while i admit i've got no offroad experience, i think from videos i've seen this should do slightly better than your CRV, RAV 4, etc...

but at the end of the day, what hardcore offroader is going to buy THIS?
if you want a real offroad jeep you buy a Wraggler or the GRAND Cherokee.

As mentioned before, the other Jeep models help people get that outdoors / offroading image but the vehicle will never see anything worse than a gravel and perhaps muddy forest access road.
99% of people don't need any better than that anyways.

[dirtyjeffer]

This is the 2014 Grand Cherokee, actually a handsome thing.

me like...looks like the perfect vehicle to own when the zombie apocalypse happens.

[Longblades]

Can anyone actually put their hands on the 2014 Cherokee?  If certain measurements don't fit my needs then I can look elsewhere.  Ontario Chrysler has not bothered to respond. 

So, what's the height of the opening at the back liftgate door?  I need to get a dog crate 30" high x 24" wide x 36" long in there.

With the back seats folded down is that area flat?  Like flat as my dining room table?  My current 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee is flat and level.  So was the 2013 Ford Escape parked next to me at the dog park yesterday and it's opening was a generous 37 inches high.

Can anyone provide this information?  Do you know Jeep.ca does not seem to have an email contact box?

[conwelpic]

Can anyone provide this information?  Do you know Jeep.ca does not seem to have an email contact box?

they do but they don't make it easy, http://www.jeep.ca/en/sitemap and click on contact us, where you will find email link and toll free phone number