Originator of the SUV launches new PHEV-only Land Rover rival
Jeep takes a curiously small portion of the British SUV market, given that it’s the world’s biggest 4×4 company.Selling only a few thousand cars here per year, Jeep CEO Christian Meunier refers to its 0.3% share as “virtually non-existent”. However, it’s seeking to change that, with the super little Jeep Avenger electric crossover being followed by another all-new Jeep, albeit a more old-school one, in the shape of this fifth-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee – a full-sized, premium off-roader.It’s 4.91m long and 1.97m wide, so about the same size as the Land Rover Discovery. There’s an even longer, seven-seat version in the US, badged the L, but the UK won’t get that so it’s five seats only for us. The Grand Cherokee lands in the UK with only one engine option, a 2.0-litre plug-in hybrid badged 4xe, and only one trim level for now, Summit Reserve, which sits at the top of the tree in its homeland – as well it might, given that it costs £85,615.The Grand Cherokee’s monocoque construction is derived from Alfa Romeo’s (now Stellantis’s) Giorgio platform, as used by the Alfa Romeo’s Giulia and Stelvio and new Maserati Grecale. Versatile things, modern car platforms: the Giulia is a small, sporting executive saloon, whereas the Grand Cherokee is a massive, air-suspended, off-road-capable SUV that can tow 2.7 tonnes and wade through 610mm of water. Bagsy not trying that in a Giulia.
