On the day that Frankston Pier washed away, I was treated to a visit from the good folk at FCA Australia who dropped off a new Jeep Cherokee Limited for testing. Hot on the heels of our most recent article on the popularity of SUVs, the timing couldn’t have been better.

As a Chrysler purist—heck, my trip home from the hospital after coming into this world, was in a VH Valiant Ranger—my emotions were mixed. I was naturally biased, but this beauty still had to earn its stripes. I enlisted the assistance of some discerning critics; my family. Shoehorning a teenager into a back seat between two child seats was the first test.

Test 1 – occupant comfort

Child seats add a degree of difficulty to accessing seat belts, so we spent some time pre-trip working out which seat each toosh would sit in. As it turned out, the teenager found most comfort and belt room behind the driver and beside the two boosters. Luckily, the height of the SUV makes it easy to reach in and help 4-year-olds with seatbelts; however, the depth of the buckles and rigidity of the middle stalk proved a little tricky.

Test 2 – feeding the family

Friday night in our house is ‘pizza night’, and we take pizza very seriously. We trek across three suburbs and past five other pizza shops to get our fix, so delivery is not an option. With every seat occupied, the only room to place the evening’s feast was in the boot. With plenty of room for luggage and shopping, the Cherokee Limited had no problem.

Cherokee Sport comes standard with 2.4 litres of 4-cylinder goodness, but our Limited was fitted with the 3.2 litre V6. Its 200 Pentastar kilowatts were more than enough to haul the family around and a 9-speed gearbox sipped fuel rather than guzzled. Auto – Stop/Start, operates almost seamlessly and no doubt assists in keeping fuel use down when stuck in traffic. A comfortable seating position and vehicle stance offers great visibility. Its well-balanced steering keeps alloy-wheel anxiety to a minimum and at 18-inches (std 17’) they are far from bling.

We loved the optional Panoramic Sunroof which kept the occupants in touch with the outside world. The uconnect entertainment system belted out some family favourites and integrated AppleCarPlay, Android Auto and Navigation with the vehicle’s environment control system.

Test 3 – saying goodbye

The time came to hand the keys back and if I’m being honest, it earns a spot in this Chryslerphile’s garage. My assistant critics even asked when Daddy was “bringing the Jeep home again”, which is always a good sign. It is quiet, safe, not too bad on the juice and although the only type of Weber it will ever see is a BBQ, as a Mopar Tragic I could happily haul the family around in one until our friends from Chrysler toss me the keys to a Dodge Challenger.

Jeep Cherokee Limited 2019 Price and Specifications

Price: From $46,950 (plus on-road costs)

Engine: 3.2-litre V6 petrol

Power: 200kW at 6500rpm

Torque: 315Nm at 4300rpm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic, AWD

Fuel use: 9.8L/100km (combined)

Comfort & Ride: 

Economy: 

Performance: 

AUTHOR

Nick Kotsonis | National Business Development Manager, Eziway Leasing

T +61 484 001 565

E nickk@eziway.net.au