Jeep Grand Cherokee 4XE 2024 Review | First Drive

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is now not only the most luxurious car that the American brand makes, but one of the most eco friendly. An update for 2024 brings a new focus on technology and efficiency that perhaps attempts to push against the image that Jeep, and its iconic but agricultural Wrangler, have created.

Jeep has set itself a tricky dual challenge in the third decade of the 21st century: to broaden its reach while retaining that core market that keeps it going. The question therefore is can Jeep really find a foothold in the UK market by offering more kit than its rivals? And will Jeep’s traditional buyers be swayed by a move to a plug-in hybrid-only range?

The current Jeep Grand Cherokee, the WL for anyone keeping score on codes, was introduced in 2021 and was a large step up in modernity of design over its predecessor – which had remained largely unchanged since about 2005. Now for 2024 we have a refresh of the car, which has, for all intents, left the outside pretty much alone.

And I do think the Grand Cherokee is quite a handsome thing these days. Littered with chrome details, front side and rear, it has a more premium look than the slightly stodgy predecessor. The front incorporates a small, more refined, version of Jeep’s traditional seven-section grille (one for each continent of the globe that they could drive on), reduced in height and widened slightly for the 2024 car. That blends into slim rectangular headlights with sharp DRLs on top. 

The side profile is a bluff, similar to a Discovery in many ways, and the rear lights ape the front, sitting slim next to a bar that crosses the middle, but doesn’t pretend to be a light.

As we mentioned the 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee can only be bought as a plug-in hybrid. So every one will come in 4xE spec. That means a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine, that produces 272PS (200kW) accompanied by two electric motors for a total power of 380PS (280kW) and torque at a chunky 637Nm (470lb ft). It’s the same engine that we recently drove in the updated Wrangler, so is a reasonably torquey unit that’s more than happy to chug along.

What that also means is that it’s not the most refined of powertrains. When the petrol engine does kick in it’s not particularly quiet about doing so, and also does it with a fair old jolt. On EV power it cruises nicely, with a good whack of acceleration still available even when running just a single power source. Add the two together and the Grand Cherokee is quite sprightly. It’ll manage 0-62mph in 6.3 seconds and head on to a top speed of 130mph. In EV mode it’s capable of cruising at anything up to 83mph.

The Grand Cherokee feels comfortable to cruise along, but the integration with the eight-speed automatic gearbox is tricky at times – a problem with many a plug-in hybrid. You’ll find the odd moment where the engine is bogged in a low gear while the motor has spun up and your call for extra torque falls on deaf ears. 

We must admit here, that we did not spend a huge amount of time in the Grand Cherokee on tarmac. A significant amount of our day up in the Yorkshire Dales was spent on more rugged terrain, so a longer period in standard traffic is needed for a full assessment. But with air suspension standard on all Grand Cherokees other than the base Limited, the ride is smooth along country lanes and feels relaxed around town when the powertrain is singing. Also included is active noise reduction, although it doesn’t manage to keep the sound of the transmission from the cabin as well as it should. 

Off the road, the Grand Cherokee is perhaps not as happy as its sister the Wrangler, but still mightily capable. With the air suspension capable of jacking the Grand Cherokee’s ground clearance up to 27.5 cm, this is no on-road princess. Off-road settings can be chosen via a pair of controls in the centre console, with mud, sand, rock and more catered for. In our time off-road we experienced wading (it can wade up to 61cm), rock crawls and some extra bumpy terrain. The Grand Cherokee managed them all without issue – although with inputs from multiple sources the transmission did alert us to overheating issues a few times. 

The Selec-Terrarin traction system is impressive away from paved roads, and standard on some Grand Cherokees. With control of torque split, braking, throttle control, transmission transfer case and ABS, you really can point it at a large rock field, and as long as you’re not a maniac, hold your foot on the throttle gently and let the car do the work.

The interior of the Grand Cherokee is where Jeep has really led its new assault. The bulk of the existing fascia has remained the same. With a 10.1-inch central screen housing most of the infotainment controls. Above that are a smart line of buttons, while transmission and off-road functions are controlled below on a rotary dial and two switches.

What’s entirely new is the addition of a second, 10.25-inch, screen to the passenger. This is integrated into the dash between heating vents and above the glovebox and offers a raft of features to the passenger that we’ll come to later. The seats are perforated vinyl on the base-spec limited car, Nappa leather on TrailHawk and Palermo leather on the top-of-the-range Summit. Other nice features include the double diamond stitching inside the door cards and the wood used across the lower portion of the dash and upper doors, although that split opinion on the UK drives.

Rear legroom is the largest in class, and the boot is a decent 471 litres with the rear seats in place – an extra 39 lurk just below the moveable floor. Fold down the rear seats and that swells to a yawning 1,463 litres to the roof.

What does let the Jeep down in the material quality. While a lot felt good to the touch, small pieces of cabin had already begun to move on our test cars. This might have been a result of heavy off road use – much getting in and out to check the route – but still felt below some of its rivals. 

Only one place to start here. That third screen in the front. There are several uses for this, you can individually attach bluetooth headphones, so a front-seat passenger could watch videos on the drive without disturbing the driver. You can also tune a personalised radio station and other audio entertainment.

Perhaps more Jeep-relevant is the ability to use that screen to showcase the view from the various cameras that the Grand Cherokee carries. These include two high level cameras for better off roading capability. Particularly useful if you’re an off road passenger and want to help guide your driver around obstacles.

Two screens, the central one and a 10.1-inch one in front of the driver acting as the dials, are standard on all Grand Cherokees. The third screen comes with the top level Summit trim. Also standard on all are heated and cooled front seats, nine-speaker Alpine sound system, active noise control, wireless charging, drowsy driver detection, power tailgate, and automatic lights and wipers.

We tested the Grand Cherokee in top level Summit spec (which starts at £85,615 compared to the Limited spec’s standard £69,130). That added the walnut accents to the interior, a 19-speaker McIntosh sound system and the third screen in front of the passenger. Also added are electronic limited slip differential, the Quadra Drive lift air suspension, off road camera, hill descent control and polished 20-inch wheels,

That 19 speaker sound system is strong on power if a little overly indexed toward bass, although that seems a common issue with modern car systems. We suspect you would do perfectly fine with the nine-speaker system from Alpine. The seats are comfy and have massage function built-in, which is one of the better ones on sale – off-roading while your lumbar gets a seeing to is quite the experience.

There’s something about the Jeep Grand Cherokee that makes you want to like it. I think it’s the easy off-roading ability that hasn’t been dialled out in the chase for a higher price and luxury market share. 

But with the chase of that higher market comes some expectations of a little bit more. More quality, more refinement. The Grand Cherokee has a decent ride, a good amount of power and an acceptable all-electric range. But with the road noise higher than its competitors and a little let down among the cabin quality it feels like the Grand Cherokee might have a few compromises too many in its chosen field. These can be forgiven more easily on the Wrangler, which openly goes for basic, but perhaps not in an executive field.

But, the Grand Cherokee adds an ease off road and ability to go anywhere that many exec SUVs can’t even come close to matching. That will attract a certain type of buyer. But they were always going to buy a Jeep, so has the company managed with its two pronged approach, finding new buyers and keeping the current? Not so sure.