The Jeep name has a long and storied history in North America and it is one of the few American brands that is recognized around the globe.
The decision makers at Chrysler are well aware of Jeep’s popularity, but it became apparent that it would be easier to market the Jeep brand worldwide if the product catalogue was revised to better suit all markets.
As a result, when it came time to update the aging Liberty compact sport utility vehicle, the decision was made to revisit the Cherokee name, a moniker that was carried on the fender of the capable five-passenger vehicle back when it was initially introduced in the mid-1980s.
During this period, the wide acceptance of the concept of the sport-utility vehicle began to take hold, as North American consumers were introduced to a new category of small, go-anywhere vehicles fitted with four-wheel-drive and rugged all-terrain tires.
The traditional seven slat grille design is a prominent feature on the new Cherokee, but the narrow headlights, high-tech lighting elements, and aerodynamic curves set the Cherokee apart.
PNG Merlin Archive,
Toyota’s 4Runner had invaded our shores, the Bronco II had left the Ford corral and General Motors had rolled out the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer and the GMC S-15 Jimmy. The Jeep Cherokee was AMC’s entrant into this burgeoning category, and for the most part, proved to be a value leader and the most capable off-road.
In 2003, the Cherokee name gave way to the Jeep Liberty, a vehicle that while still capable of engaging in off-road adventure, had been engineered to be deliver a more refined ride and a higher level of amenities. Two generations of these more urban friendly models roamed our streets for over a decade, but now the Liberty experiment is over, and the Cherokee is back.
Or is it? The architecture for the new Cherokee is loosely based on that of the Dodge Dart sedan, which itself is an evolution of a platform derived from corporate cousin Fiat. While platform sharing helps a company save money and better manage resources, it can also be detrimental to some models if shortcuts have to be made in the design department to make the plan work.
LED tail lamps proved highly visible and look very modern.
PNG Merlin Archive,
In the case of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee it is evident that many Jeep fans are worried that the new model may have lost some of it off-road prowess with the redesign, especially given the fact that it is built on a passenger car foundation rather than that of a truck.
My test vehicle was a fully loaded Cherokee Limited 4