Jeep Cherokee : INDIAN SIGN

Jeep's Cherokee has a strong reputation and it's never looked better than in its current form. June Neary reports.

There's a lot of talk in the specialist motoring press about what is and what isn't a `proper' 4x4. The confusion has sprung from the growing penchant among manufacturers for creating vehicles that display the rough and ready looks of an off-roader but have little or no off-road ability. Some of them don't even have four-wheel drive. It can all be a little confusing for the humble car buyer but there are models with which you always know where you stand and amongst them is Jeep's Cherokee. The big Jeep has quite a history, being one of the models that really popularised 4x4 vehicles in the UK. It's obviously come a long way since then but if you want an SUV that isn't going to wave the white flag as soon as you show it a muddy puddle, Cherokee is certainly a name you can rely on.

With decent ground clearance, a proper low range transfer box, Hill Descent Control (with the automatic gearbox option) and a clever Selec-Trac II four-wheel-drive system, the Cherokee comes well equipped for off-road work. The hill descent system is very interesting in the way it operates. A tilt switch detects whether the car is on a slope and HDC will only cut in if an incline is detected, preventing the frustrating lurching that many such systems generate as soon as you try to accelerate across a short flat section. If the car is pointing uphill, HDC will even operate in reverse. The bluff front end with its square headlamps and the steroidal wheel arches are typically rugged and quintessentially Jeep. The Cherokee is a substantial car, with a wheelbase that's around 50mm longer than its predecessor's and wheels that have been pushed wider by around 25mm front and rear. It's also lower by around 75mm but the load height of the luggage bay is higher by the same amount. Jeep compensates by extending the length of the cargo bay by 75mm. It's still not that spacious for full-sized rear seat occupants but it makes use of its space more intelligently. Build quality can best be described as rugged. It certainly doesn't take much recourse to the manual to establish how the controls function. The feel is a good deal more masculine than its rather rounded predecessor, a car that gained 60 per cent of its sales from women. This time round the target demographic is a little more hairy of chest.

Only one engine is offered to UK buyers but it's the most relevant one available to Jeep; a 174bhp 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel. It's not the most refined powerplant in the world but it suits the rugged feel of the Cherokee very well and leaves you under no illusions that this is a vehicle that's not been designed purely to perambulate outside city centre shopping arcades. The live rear axle is also another reminder that the Cherokee is built extremely tough. While the ride on road isn't as composed as the most car-like compact 4x4 models, the Jeep feels better able to withstand some abuse than any of its rivals. Jeep has wisely chosen to ditch its usual policy of offering its wares with a massively unpopular and desperately thirsty petrol engine just so it can advertise the range with an attractive base price, instead sticking to the vastly more sensible diesel option. With a combined fuel economy figure of 32,8mpg, the Cherokee isn't as economical as some but it's a good deal more powerful than the class average so perhaps this shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Emissions are pegged at 222g/km which is no great shakes but it's worth remembering that the Cherokee tips the scales at 1,980kg, so it's a serious piece of automotive real estate.

The Cherokee is offered only in well-appointed Limited trim, a specification that includes features such as leather seats and a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gear knob, big alloy wheels, stability control and air conditioning. So for your money, you're getting a serious car with a decent level of equipment. Compare that to an equivalently trimmed Freelander and the Jeep weighs in at around £4,000 less which seems competitive given that the Freelander feels a more polished product. If the Freelander's price tag renders it out of reach, the Cherokee is a very capable fall back option.

If you're after a compact 4x4 that can cope with being driven off-road, there aren't too many choices available. The Jeep Cherokee is certainly one of the few that could hack it and that you'd have confidence in when the going gets tough. It's also well equipped and reasonably composed on the road but there are more refined and sophisticated options out there.

Friday February 6