The Case for Buying a Cherokee - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

The Case for Buying a Cherokee - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test

The 2014 Jeep Cherokee could work out well for a lot of small crossover SUV shoppers, especially if they can utilize its off-road abilities.

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kirkhilles1

Good analysis, thanks! I'd love to have a summary like this for every vehicle before you sell them. Should a potential buyer purchase it? Why or Why Not?

bassracerx

Subaru forester XT. I fixed it for you. unless you get the trail-hawk. But i would still rather the Forester XT

rsholland

bassracerx said:

Subaru forester XT. I fixed it for you. unless you get the trail-hawk. But i would still rather the Forester XT

I'm looking seriously at a new Trailhawk. I currently own a WRX and am very familiar with the Forester XT (wife drives a 2013 Forester Premium) and have owned 6 Subarus to date. I have checked out both the Trailhawk and Forester XT very closely. I am leaning very heavily towards the Trailhawk.

Why? The Trailhawk offers far more off-road "insurance" (full-size spare, low range, tow hooks, etc.). I do plan to go off road quite a bit, and I like the Trailhawk's features better too. The Trailhawk has a far better navigation/infotainment unit than what Subaru offers in the Forester. Also, the Forester's front seats offer almost no side bolstering. The Trailhawk can tow 4,500 pounds; whereas the Forester can only tow 1,500 pounds (I do have a utility trailer). Finally, I like the Trailhawk's styling much more.

legacygt

I commented on a later post that also referenced the Forester. Edmunds needs to do an off-road head-to-head between the Cherokee and the Forester ASAP. I like the Cherokee a lot but with some of the concessions it makes for off-road capability (notably cargo room that is way below the rest of the class) it better be the best off-roader in the class. And I'm not sure about this (until I see the two tested side-by-side). The Forester is pretty darn capable off-road and makes virtually no concessions to the rest of the class when it comes to packaging, utility or cargo room.

Also, if the friends have dogs, they should verify that they're OK with the height of the cargo area in the Cherokee. The liftover and floor height are considerable higher than the rest of the segment (including the Forester).