Dirty Work - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Dirty Work - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test

We take the 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited for a brief excursion in the dirt to see if it can live up to its namesake.

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legacygt

Nice that you pointed out the Forester as it and the Cherokee are probably the most capable off-road in the class. Would love to see a head-to-head. Why? The Cherokee makes several concessions to achieve its off-road performance and appearance. The biggest concession is interior packaging which results in less room and a less useful interior that most of the class. Meanwhile the Forester remains very competitive with the rest of the class on passenger and cargo room. The Forester also has a better approach angle (I'm not sure about ground clearance, departure angle or articulation). I like the Cherokee a lot but it's interesting to learn that maybe it's not leading the pack in off-road capability but merely matching the Forester while trailing it in utility and convenience.

darthbimmer

I appreciate the XJ reference. The replacement for my '97 Cherokee after many years of faithful service was an '11 Xterra Pro 4X. It seemed like the closest thing to a successor. But with the new Cherokee I'm wondering if there's an opportunity to move back to something a bit less truck-ish that still covers most of my offroad needs.

rsholland

legacygt said:

Nice that you pointed out the Forester as it and the Cherokee are probably the most capable off-road in the class. Would love to see a head-to-head. Why? The Cherokee makes several concessions to achieve its off-road performance and appearance. The biggest concession is interior packaging which results in less room and a less useful interior that most of the class. Meanwhile the Forester remains very competitive with the rest of the class on passenger and cargo room. The Forester also has a better approach angle (I'm not sure about ground clearance, departure angle or articulation). I like the Cherokee a lot but it's interesting to learn that maybe it's not leading the pack in off-road capability but merely matching the Forester while trailing it in utility and convenience.

If you want to go off road, the Trailhawk is the ticket; not this Limited model tested here. The TH has different lower front and rear facias allowing for much better approach/departure angles, more ground clearance, bigger and beefier tires, skid plates, tow hooks, full-size spare, a low range which allows for a total of 18 gears, and a tow strap—all standard.

The Forester is good (we have a '13 model and used to own an '01 model), but it's no match for a Cherokee Trailhawk off road.

no_vinyl

The only hazards I see on this road are the deer. From what you show, I wouldn't hesitate to travel that road in our Honda Accord Hybrid. Seriously, you must be city rats. Come on up to the Sierra and I'll show you trails that my old Odyssey covered - though I was slowed down by some guys in a JEEP. Really guys, you just need to watch where you're going. Now IF you want to go rock/trail driving - give me the Jeepe