Stand Back, Snakeman!
by Ross Finlay (05 Sep 01)

Most people were careful not to breathe the word Jimny at the launch of the all-new Cherokee, but there's no doubt that, although the latest front-end uses Jeep's trademark seven-vertical-slot grille, there's something a little S*z*k* about it. While I'm in this area, if you look at one of the headlamps from an angle, what you see is a snake's eye. Try it.

Is that all there is to say about the first new Jeep since 1999 - mere persiflage, or a lot of damned nonsense? By no means, but it seemed a good idea to get it out of the way immediately.

There is, in any case, a certain optical illusion about the new car. It's far more stylish than its predecessor, with curvier and less rugged lines, and a quite different stance on the road. The latest model is perceptibly taller, and has been eased out in other dimensions as well, but this is, remember, the Cherokee and not the Grand Cherokee.

It's significant that Chrysler people are happy to mention it in the same sentence as the Freelander, which they have in their sights. When you look at the prices, you can see why.

There's plenty of space up front. Rear seat passengers have generous headroom but just enough kneeroom, and the load space over the back is adequate rather than huge.

First-timers have to be careful about the business of opening the tailgate. The spare wheel is externally mounted, with the number plate slung across it, and there's a separate frameless tailgate window. That's the snag, as a notice on the glass points out: "To avoid injury stand back when opening. Glass will rise automatically."

Yes, the top-hinged tailgate window springs open when you unlatch the door. It's all quick and sensible, and if you didn't stand back the first time, you certainly would on subsequent occasions.

Interior Improved Again

The original Cherokee as imported here was a bit too "American diner" in its interior presentation. That was soon altered. The new car is more tasteful again, because a lot of thought has gone into providing neat looking switchgear, door handles and so on. And is there anybody who does slightly retro cream-faced instruments better than Chrysler? Nobody I can think of, in the 4x4 market, or among MPVs, if you remember the top-ranked Voyager.

There is a limit, though. Among the variety of trim materials and textures, the leather-grained hard plastic on the fascia won't win any awards.

But is this a tough off-roader, good tow vehicle and all-weather transport, or something intended for a concours show? It's the first three, of course. Chrysler laid on the nearest thing it could find in Perthshire to a short stretch of the Rubicon Trail, and - yes - the Cherokee may have been prettied up, but it's still a strong and majestically engineered all-terrain affair.

The two engines available from the October 1 on-sale date are very sturdy performers. As part of DaimlerChrysler, Jeep has stopped messing around with inadequate turbo diesel engines and taken on a 2599cc Mercedes common rail design, which it labels CRD, with 143bhp and 253lb/ft of torque at 2000rpm.

There's also a 3701cc petrol V6 - basically, three-quarters of the V8 used elsewhere - with 211bhp and 235lb/ft at 3800rpm. From January, there will also be a 145bhp 2429cc petrol unit.

The two model types are Sport and Limited. Sport will be available with the 2.4-litre engine at £17,995, the CRD at £20,195 and the V6 at £20,345.

There's no 2.4 in the Limited range, just the CDR at £22,995 and the V6 at £23,145. Alloy wheels on the 2.4 Sport will cost an extra £320, a special paint job there costs £210, an electric sunroof comes in at £600, and heated leather seats on the Limited are £1200 extra.

All-Purpose Jeep

Apart from its abundant mud-and-rock capability, the new Cherokee is also a fine car on the open road. The V6 engine in particular really makes it shift, but it's much more nimble out in the country than I remember the previous model being. Since the Cherokee isn't a 4x4 of the gargantuan persuasion, it fits easily into minor roads, and the latest suspension copes very well with broken surfaces.

You don't get the impression, as with some 4x4s a size up, that heavyweight wheels are making their presence far too obvious. But you have to be careful not to start aviating too enthusiastically over humps and bumps. Off-roading doesn't mean leaving the tarmac.

I took one Cherokee into an old rally area where the minor roads swoop and dip, swing into corners edged by bankings, and here and there contribute dodge-about S-bends. It was quite at home motoring briskly in this kind of territory, not at all like some of the more unsophisticated American designs.

One of the best things about it wasn't a matter of dynamics so much as one of body design. Going hard on straighter roads, the Cherokee runs with unusually low levels of wind noise.

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