Jeep Cherokee

Expert Rating:

Introduction

As brand awareness goes, Jeep is almost up there with a certain cola drink maker and the manufacturer of a fruity personal MP3 player. Some people instinctively call a 4x4 a 'Jeep', and the American maker maintains its reputation for making rugged, all-terrain machines to this day. At the same time, American cars also have a reputation for being, well, less than rugged in terms of their build quality and dynamic integrity. Is this Jeep just another 'typical' American car? In the company of accomplished rivals like the Land Rover Freelander and Volvo XC60, the muscular looking Cherokee will need to be good to shine.

What are its rivals?

Unlike some more modern 4x4s - such as the yet-to-be-released new Kia Sorento - the Cherokee makes no claim to be a fancy crossover and is only available in full-time four-wheel drive guise. The version we tested also had a low-ratio setting for the automatic gearbox, hill descent control and all terrain tyres for maximum mud-plugging ability. With an asking price of just over £25,000 it's a reasonable value SUV, about on par with a Freelander or XC60 of lesser spec, but undercutting the Toyota Land Cruiser, for example, significantly. It bodes well.

How does it drive?

The Cherokee drives like it was developed purely on grass. And mud. And rocks. And ravines. But no roads. Its suspension is set up so that the car will conquer all kinds of terrain, which means there's plenty of give at all four corners. However, this results in body control like a canoe on choppy waters. Every gear change takes the automatic box an age to accomplish, and when it does it pitches the entire body forwards. Cornering is like steering an elephant into a circus marquee. It fundamentally feels like the body is detached from the wheels.

The ergonomics are suspect too. The wheel doesn't adjust for reach, the throttle pedal is spaced much lower than the brake - uncomfortably so - and there's a vast expanse of plastic under the steering column that encroaches on knee space. All in all, what you might assume is a big, comfortable cruiser from the outside actually turns out to be lumbering, slow-witted and frustrating.

What's impressive?

Its sheer size makes it fairly spacious, but even then it's actually quite poorly packaged, with only adequate rear legroom and a transmission tunnel that eats into space. The boot isn't huge either, though the rear screen does lift separately from the hatch via the key fob, which is natty for loading shopping bags easily.

The equipment tally is comprehensive too, with electric heated seats, dual-zone air conditioning, 18-inch alloys, rear parking sensors, cruise control and automatic headlights as standard. Of course, there's a big but attached to that too, this time because the optional equipment is excruciatingly priced: £500 for a tow bar and £1,500 for satnav (though the latter does include an upgraded stereo).

What's not?

Aside from the driving experience, the 2.8-litre diesel engine is noisy, overwhelmed by the porky Jeep's two-tonne obesity and distinctly last generation. The Cherokee feels far slower than its 10.5-second 0-62mph sprint suggests; it's no fun to rev or drive with any kind of spirit whatsoever. The optional panoramic 'sky slider' sunroof of our test car added to the woe too, because when closed at anything above 50mph it creates the kind of wind roar that will have you opening and closing it again just to make sure it's actually shut.

Then there's the cabin design and the materials it's fashioned out of, both of which betray the car's American roots: the cheapness and general lack of sparkle are straight from the big book of American car stereotypes. It's not particularly economical either: a 31.4mpg combined economy figure looks impressive on paper, but the reality will be nowhere near that as you strain the engine to make reasonable progress, and 242g/km of CO₂ is miles behind the class leaders.

Should I buy one?

Nope. Despite the fact the Cherokee garners far more than its fair share of approval from passers-by - anecdotally, of course - there's nothing here that the competition can't do better, particularly when it comes to the day-to-day priorities like comfort, style, quality and efficiency. Factor in a bit of driving brio and we'd take a lowlier Land Rover Freelander or Volvo XC60 every day of the week. We must add, though, that it's probably not as bad as the sum of its weaknesses - in fact, there's something strangely likeable about it. If nothing else, it's a nice thick slice of American motoring pie. If that sort of thing rocks your world, the Cherokee will rock your world, literally.

Mark Nichol