2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L new car review

This SUV has gone through a monumental change adding features that it has never had before, but there is one big catch.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee has been a mainstay for Aussie families with a sense of adventure, but the latest version moves the big SUV in a new direction.

Here’s five things you need to know about the Jeep Grand Cherokee L.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee now comes as a seven-seater.

It’s a big deal

This Jeep Grand Cherokee L is the first of a new generation of large cars from the American manufacturer, and the first seven-seater to wear the Grand Cherokee badge.

It looks smart, with a butch and broad appearance fitting its place at the top of the range.

Like all of Jeep’s best efforts, it is a proper off-roader. The Grand Cherokee L has low-range four-wheel drive, a clever assortment of drive modes linked to different environments, and active air suspension that can raise or lower the car to suit its territory.

We put it to the test at launch events and were pleasantly surprised by its raw capability.

It can still handle some of the rough stuff.

And it has loads of stuff

The big Jeep is available with luxury equipment including 16-way electrically adjustable massage seats trimmed in quilted leather, plus multi-colour ambient lighting, a 19-speaker McIntosh stereo, head-up display and much more.

You get a customisable digital dash, and 10.1-inch central touchscreen has sat nav, wireless smartphone mirroring, and a 360-degree camera.

Other luxuries include a powered tailgate, four-zone climate control and a dual-pane panoramic sunroof.

And it’s more luxurious than ever.

But this Jeep isn’t cheap

The Grand Cherokee L starts at $89,900 drive-away for the entry-level Night Eagle model, climbing to almost $125,000 drive-away for the Summit Reserve.

That’s serious coin – you could get hold of a Mercedes-Benz GLE or Land Rover Defender for similar money to the dearest Jeep.

On the plus side, servicing is cheaper than before at $1995 for five years, and Jeep’s five-year, 100,000 kilometre warranty includes cheaper parts and lifetime roadside assistance for folks who get servicing done through official dealerships.

It’s also more expensive than ever before.

There’s a focus on the family

This a huge car, with a sliding back seat that offers access to a surprisingly spacious third row, and clever tumbling seats return an enormous 2395 litres of cargo space if you fold them flat.

A longer wheelbase and bigger doors improve passenger access, and air vents and USB ports in every row add to its practical appeal.

Passengers can connect a second phone to the Bluetooth system to broadcast tunes from the back seat, and a clever infra-red “FamCam” mounted in the roof allows parents to keep an eye on kids – even in the dark.

The old V6 petrol engine is thirsty and unrefined.

But it falls short in a key area

The big flaw in the latest Jeep is a carry-over petrol engine. The 3.6-litre V6 uses a claimed 10.6L/100km of petrol to make 210kW and 344Nm, but that’s a best-case scenario – you’ll use more in the real world. Thirsty, noisy and not-all-that-grunty, the petrol V6 won’t win over customers used to thrifty diesel power or sledgehammer “Hemi” V8 punch of the previous-generation Grand Cherokee.

The good news is that a plug-in hybrid version is on the way to reduce fuel bills, but you shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for a follow-up to the supercharged, V8-powered “Trackhawk”.

Originally published as 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L new car review