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One Year and 22,000 Miles - 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited Long-Term Road Test


We generally enjoyed our year with the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. It proved itself a capable crossover with decent off-road ability. But its transmission also kind of drove us nuts.
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As to the old Cherokee, they run forever and have great aftermarket potential but were pretty crude. If you're someone in the 1% of buyers wanting something they can throw a lift kit on and giant off-road mudding tires, the new Cherokee isn't for you. But for the other 99% it has a suspension and AWD system better than most other CUV/SUVs on the market and offers the ability to tackle most real-world conditions and even reasonable off-road conditions.
That's the same thing the old Cherokee was intended for, but while it did the off-road part well (and why it still has appeal), it wasn't that great of a vehicle taken outside that small niche. Cheap and crude doesn't cut it anymore when you're not alone in your market segment.
For another perspective on Jeep, when you say no other models besides the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee would appeal to a Jeep buyer consider how many other models besides those they've offered in the last decade. The Commander was truck-like but didn't sell very well. Some think the Grand Cherokee has gotten too soft.
The Liberty? How about the Patriot/Compass twins? While an off-roading Jeep aficionado might say the same comments about those as they would the new Cherokee and Renegade, a true Jeep fan would be happy to see those models. Jeep put in the effort to provide better off-road abilities than the competition and the sales drive profit which drive development dollars for the "real" off-road vehicles.
That doesn't mean everyone has to like a car-based, light off-road utility vehicle but many others do like them and it meets their needs. It also allows Chrysler and Jeep to keep making lower volume specialty models more in line with the perceived heritage.