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2014 Jeep Cherokee First Drive

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited September 2014 in Jeep

image2014 Jeep Cherokee First Drive

The Cherokee is back. It's still tough enough to climb the trails in Moab, but is the 2014 Jeep Cherokee refined and useful enough to take on the best compact crossover SUVs?

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • screwball71screwball71 Member Posts: 26
    Honda no longer builds the ugliest car in the United States. That title now belongs to Jeep.
  • different1different1 Member Posts: 8
    Damn that's ugly, even ugly say that's ugly...who the stupid approve such design and what were they drinking when they designed that. But again its typical Chrysler cheaply build and interior is as ugly as exterior.
  • robs249_robs249_ Member Posts: 42
    its not that bad up front... the back is lame though
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    No low range? Really? I guess that forces you to buy the tow package with the lower gears for off road use if you live above sea level.
  • engineer_mbaengineer_mba Member Posts: 11
    The styling is subjective, but I give credit to Jeep for offering a vehicle in this segment with genuine off-road credentials. Many of the competing vehicles in this segment have little off-road capability and are more of a fashion statement. I am curious......if the 3.2 liter V-6 engine will fit in the new Cherokee which is based on the Dodge Dart, I am wondering if this same engine will fit in the Dart. If so, this might contribute to the making of a high performance version of the Dart (SRT-6?).
  • emajoremajor Member Posts: 332
    A civilized and refined commuter. An offroad-capable truck worthy of the Jeep name. They tried hard to make this vehicle both of those things but have understandably erred on the side of the former. Those who pine for the rugged old Cherokee had best visit their Nissan dealership and pick up an Xterra. It carries the Cherokee torch forward more effectively than this. From what I can tell on the Jeep website, by the time you have optioned this thing up to the point where it is any good offroad you are thousands of dollars over the price of an Xterra S, which is a raging bargain in my opinion.
  • banhughbanhugh Member Posts: 315
    This article sounds like a video from Motorweek. I can imagine John Davis walk around the car into the driver's seat, or rolling the window saying exactly what is written here. Generic info for the car and no real story about how good or bad it is. Only soft comments like "... acceleration ... never feels more than adequate".
  • bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    Time to brush up on your reading skills Agent: " To make that work, our 2014 Cherokee has a low-range planetary gearset in both its power takeoff unit and its rear differential. This 4WD system is standard on the Trailhawk and optional on most other Cherokees. We're also able to lock the rear differential on our Cherokee Trailhawk..."
  • duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    So it has the mechanics, and the interior. Every publication (and commenter on the internet) seems to want Chrysler to do something about the butterface, and I'm inclined to seriously agree. Do that and this car should be a good player in the CUV market.
  • quidycatquidycat Member Posts: 12
    was looking for an offroad suv. would have considered this one but it's just too damn ugly. beauty is subjective and skin deep, but it's hard to get pass this extreme ugliness. what were they thinking?
  • flnchm5flnchm5 Member Posts: 0
    Wow!! Who would have thought Jeep would have tapped AMC and brought back the Eagle?!

    Just foul....
  • darthbimmerdarthbimmer Member Posts: 606
    So, how was the offroad capability? Don't just assert, "[W]e still can't see anyone with serious off-road plans choosing it over the Wrangler Unlimited." Lots of us bought the XJ Cherokee years ago because we wanted a high degree of offroad capability with more onroad comfort and capability than the Wrangler at the time. I sold my old Cherokee a few years ago and bought a Nissan Xterra, the vehicle that seems like the closest spiritual successor. ...Or was your comparison to crossover utility vehicles your way of telling us that the new Cherokee is a soft-roader that's not in the same league as the Xterra or Toyota FJ?
  • ajac03ajac03 Member Posts: 37
    When I first saw this released as a concept car, I thought it was absolutely hideous.. but for some reason it's growing on me..

    And for the ugliest car, has everyone forgotten about the Mitsubishi Mi-EV?
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    @bankerdanny. I blame the meds for my broken hand. :-) I think they also had me fooled by not having an actual transfer case. I searched for that and came up empty. Hmm, this could work for me then.
  • ericheseriches Member Posts: 80
    @ banhugh: I regret wasting your time.

    @ darthbimmer: The Active Drive II 4WD system is effective, but the Cherokee has about an inch less ground clearance than a stock Xterra or FJ. If I was going to hit the trails even once a month, I'd have an Xterra
  • darthbimmerdarthbimmer Member Posts: 606
    Erin, thanks for your comment about the Cherokee versus Xterra and FJ. That really helps me understand its niche in the market.
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    Erin, I echo the thoughts about comparing this with the Xterra and the FJ. For sure you are not getting 20mpg on a regular basis from an Xterra and its interior is rather utilitarian. It all comes down to how much ground clearance you need and how much truckiness you can tolerate in your SUV. Personally I like to have plenty of capability in hand for the places I go. Maybe I need more brave pills.
  • s4ers4er Member Posts: 2
    This could be the best sport ute ever built, but could never get by the looks....Way UUUUgly!!
  • stovt001_stovt001_ Member Posts: 799
    I used to think it was ugly but it is starting to grow on me too. Props to Jeep for giving it a reasonable tow rating, even if that is only with the V6 and tow package. That's still better than the rest of the players in the US market who try to insist you need a full size heavy duty pickup to tow the smallest little trailer.
  • rsadlerrsadler Member Posts: 1
    Looks great! What are you guys thinking? Admittedly not necessarily the one for mud and rock use only, but if you need to drive to the trail after work ... what could be better? A look to get up in the morning for.
  • jmt7jmt7 Member Posts: 1
    I purchased a new 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude mid-December 2013. Approximately two weeks later, I noticed that significant amounts of water had collected on the inside of both headlights. I returned the car to the Jeep dealership where they replaced both headlights citing a Service Bulletin which acknowledged the potential for condensation in the lights. A week later, on a 5 degree night , I found frost built-up on the inside of one of the new headlights; I brought the car back to Jeep. This time, however, the service department used the Service Bulletin (SB 08-086-13) to justify not replacing the lights. The Bulletin maintains that the condition is acceptable in that it "will usually clear as atmospheric conditions change (I kid you not) to allow the condensation to change back into a vapor. Turning the lights on will usually accelerate the process." In other words, the deficiencies in the headlights design, manufacturing process, and/ or installation are to be addressed by the actions of the customer (or apparently Mother Nature), not Jeep. In the numerous discussions with sales, service and corporate customer service, representatives agreed the Bulletin does not address the issue (from a customer standpoint) but insisted that there was nothing they could do. My corporate Case Manager has closed my file all while noting he had received multiple complaints related to the dullness of the lights .

    In addition to the headlight issue, the transmission tends to "stick" or "hang-up" during transitions between gears, especially at speeds under 25 mph. This condition is intermittent and varies in degree of severity but tends to be more pronounced when descending in speed. In the more extreme cases a "clunking" noise/vibration was felt which emanated from the bottom of the car. Jeep updated the transmission software program but this resulted in no noticeable improvement. Note - With Active Drive I, there is no mechanism to manually engage full-time 4 wheel drive. The Selec- Terrain dial which puts the car into Snow, Mud, etc. mode does not put the car into 4-wheel drive - it adjusts other systems. With Active Drive II there is a Rear Axle Lock which is available (i.e., the car is simply an AWD without it). I only mention this because the sales department was apparently trained otherwise; I needed to go to Jeep corporate to get clarification.

    One final thought - the customer will do most of the "homework" in trying to resolve these issues. Sales sent me to service, service commented that maybe corporate had a new light design in the works (i.e., the customer should call corporate), corporate asked me if I would ask the service department if they had a different light that could be installed, etc. All good questions that should have been tracked down and answered by someone who took ownership of the issue - FROM JEEP! Meanwhile I have a car the family is hesitant to drive because of headlights that could become significantly impaired.
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