Official: Jeep kills the Cherokee

[Sean L]

I guess Stellantis is comfortable with the Compass and Hornet so no need for the Cherokee.

I've kind of got mixed feelings about the Hornet's styling.

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[Bzinsky]

Many of the otherwise fawning reviews of the Camara conceded that it was a cramped coupe with atrocious outward visibility. Look at the photo of the car evident in the article that I link to on p.1 of this thread. The roofline looks comically chopped, and the belt line is so high that we might not see more than the eyes and forehead of a short driver. Being of just above average height, a showroom test-sit confirmed that I can't find a comfortable seated position.

Even the niche market for which it was intended couldn't ignore the chasm between the Camaro and its very capable competition from Ford and Dodge. The popularity and corresponding sales trends of the latter two wasn't at all accidental.

To the extent that I have a liking for one of the Big Three, I'm a fan of the bowtie (which is why I was familiar with the content of the aforementioned reviews). That said, a modern pony car can't get by as just a one-hit specialist. To be frank, it's intriguing that the resurrected Camaro lasted as long as it did.

I was pretty comfortable in it and I’m 6’4”. The visibility was not ideal but it’s not something i would notice if i hadn’t heard people complaining about it.

The performance difference between it and the other muscle cars is shocking from behind the wheel. The camaro is porsche 911 good.

Drove for a week Camaro SS = limited space, limited cargo, no screwing around sports car. It’s only mission is performance. Chassis was like a bank vault. Engine is 500CI big block violent from a stop but then it’s gutless up top.
Mustang (coyote, which I owned) = overpowered honda accord with the engine out of a $100k v8 sports car. Practical as a daily driver.
Challenger 392 = loose chassis, heavy, couldn’t corner at the limit, scary at the limits, kinda fun because it’s scary. Not a really a sports car. Motor was like a happy medium between the two.

 

[Erievon]

Thing is, Ford already builds a better Cherokee.

Bronco Sport is what a modern Cherokee ought to be: boxy, rugged, capable, roomy, with a healthy dose of character, heritage and efficiency.

Jeep took an old Alfa Romeo platform, gave it Hyundai styling and, in doing so, ceded that space to Ford...

Might be an unpopular opinion but...Think Jeep had this with the KJ Liberty. My wife had one, it was a great little vehicle. KK Liberty was...ok, but moving in the wrong direction. When they released the KL Cherokee, that's where they really lost direction on this vehicle.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I was pretty comfortable in it and I’m 6’4”. The visibility was not ideal but it’s not something i would notice if i hadn’t heard people complaining about it.

The performance difference between it and the other muscle cars is shocking from behind the wheel. The camaro is porsche 911 good.

Drove for a week Camaro SS = limited space, limited cargo, no screwing around sports car. It’s only mission is performance. Chassis was like a bank vault. Engine is 500CI big block violent from a stop but then it’s gutless up top.
Mustang (coyote, which I owned) = overpowered honda accord with the engine out of a $100k v8 sports car. Practical as a daily driver.
Challenger 392 = loose chassis, heavy, couldn’t corner at the limit, scary at the limits, kinda fun because it’s scary. Not a really a sports car. Motor was like a happy medium between the two.

I owned a 2014 gen5 SS. It was one of the most fun cars to drive. Lots of power under your foot and handled very very well with Mich Sport 4S tires.

 

[Bzinsky]

I owned a 2014 gen5 SS. It was one of the most fun cars to drive. Lots of power under your foot and handled very very well with Mich Sport 4S tires.

I was mostly talking about the 2016+.

6th gen camaro has the alpha chassis. Basically the holy grail of mass produced chassis.

6th gen camaro>c7 corvette

 

[danzy55]

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/03/23/jeep-cherokee-discontinued/

No huge loss IMO, but it would have been nice if Jeep had developed the Cherokee into something cool.

A retake on the original Cherokee XJ like my 1996 with new inline 6 would be too cool

 

[roaniecowpony]

I was mostly talking about the 2016+.

6th gen camaro has the alpha chassis. Basically the holy grail of mass produced chassis.

6th gen camaro>c7 corvette

Agree. But the Gen 5 chassis was no slouch either. In fact, at the time of its debut, it was state of the art as well.

 

[LJDC]

When I owned a TJ after college, I always figured I'd eventually grow up into a Cherokee. Then they made a slightly bigger Wrangler in the LJ. Then they made a slightly bigger Wrangler in the JKU. Then they made a slightly bigger Wrangler in the JLU. I never had to quit. But I do wonder how big they'll get.

 

[HungryHound]

Sad, but not a surprise, honestly. The current Cherokee kind of fits in an odd place in the lineup.

It would have been cool for it to have been the non-modular version of the Wrangler. For people who want similar off-road prowess and size, but in a fully enclosed cabin, without the noise of a hard/soft top, etc.

The Grand Cherokee is much bigger than I think most people (myself included) want.

Alas.

Agreed. Amazing how many Wranglers I see with hard tops that never come off. Couple that with removal of the transfer case and foldable windshield and they could have a much cheaper mall queen version of the Wrangler with the Cherokee badge. But that would undercut the more lucrative Wrangler sales too so I'm guessing it was a business decision over what customers actually want.

 

[Whaler27]

The Grand Cherokee is much bigger than I think most people (myself included) want.

Much bigger?

Funny how perceptions differ. I drive both, and the GC doesn’t feel big to me.

My sister-in-law thinks the GC is big too. She’s been driving a Toyota Hylander for the last five years, but she’s looking to replace it. She tells me her favorite test drive was the BMW X-7 — and that’s what she’d buy if they weren’t so expensive and there was a dealer closer to her home.

Meanwhile, if you look at all the actual sizes of the vehicles, the differences between the vehicles she considers “big” and those she considers “about right” are negligible. When we’re talking about SUVs, differences of a couple inches and a couple hundred pounds are insignificant. Half of the vehicles she considers to be too big are within a couple inches of her Hilander, and sometimes smaller. Her favored BMW X-7 is the biggest of the bunch, by quite a bit.

My wife and I are poised to buy another Grand Cherokee, because the Lexus RX450hl we bought to replace our last Grand Cherokee is as boring as watching paint dry. We’re just struggling with whether to get the 4xe or the 3.6. If we choose the latter we’ll probably buy the “L” model, as the third seat is handy for the grandkids. (And even the “L” isn’t “Big”…. But when you grow up in ranch country driving full-size pickups, suburbans, and such, no midsize SUVs seem big.)

 

[Heimkehr]

Much bigger?

Funny how perceptions differ.

I drive both, and the GC doesn’t feel big to me.

Agreed.

 

[guarnibl]

I bought the last one it’ll be a collectible.

 

[BobW]

I loved my '93 Cherokee. Great visibility, just a simple big box on wheels. A lot of fun offroading. Drove it stock over and through the Elephant Hill loop too. But at 270K miles, we were both tired. (A friend beautifully rebuilt it so it now has a second life in eastern Washington).

 

[jeepjlchick]

If they would make them like the old XJ's they'd sell a lot more of them. I like the rolling brick look. I had one that I traded in on a TJ that had 300k plus miles on it! LOVED IT!!

 

[Old Jeeper]

My 2000 Jeep Cherokee was my entrance into the Jeep world and is the reason I'm now waiting on my 2023 JLU Willys to be built. The XJ is an awesome vehicle. The new generation Cherokee makes no sense at all.

I briefly thought about buying the current Cherokee to replace my XJ, but after research I realized a JLU is a near perfect replacement, even an upgrade, for everything I liked about the XJ plus more.

So I'm not sad to see the Cherokee go now. It never came back. The XJ was the true Cherokee.

It was the 4 door Jeep that sung the death knell for the XJ. The XJ was a GREAT Jeep! I put 136k miles on mine and off loaded across the US with it. Nothing extreme. Mine was a 2 door, LOVED IT.

But why do you need a Cherokee and a JLU? You don't...

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