Is the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk designed to claw its way up?

Jeep, renowned for its 4x4 talents and 7-slot grille, redesigned the new Cherokee from a whole new angle.  The unmistakable and unmistakably-new Cherokee range, launched in South Africa in May 2014, sees a full-on 4x4 model with a name that leaves no doubt about its off-road prowess – Trailhawk.

The trail is an important test to pass for the off-road-inclined Jeeps – these have to pass the tough and diverse Rubicon trail, where Jeep tests its rugged machines.  The new Cherokee is proud of its adventure boots, and was awarded Trail-rated badges on its front fenders, and Trailhawk badge, complete in a wing motif, on the tailgate.

Well we can’t look at this new Jeep and not talk about its looks.  The new Jeep Cherokee is designed for the future, with a fresh and aggressive new exterior that turns and nods the heads of even the most demanding eyes.  The traditional 7-slot grille has been pushed forward, and the front lights split to give it a fierce face.  Squinty lights/eyes at the top make for a very futuristic and unique look.  LED daytime running lamps sit here as eyebrows, pronouncing these lights as strong design features.  Headlights sit in the bumper.

So radical is the design, it seems Jeep skipped a generation (or even two) of Cherokee to arrive at this – from the previous square, it fast-forwards to this sculpted.  The Trailhawk dismisses chrome for black, used on the upper parts of the bumper, taillight surrounds, mirror housings and grille, while it has model-specific claw-style wheels.  It can also be fitted with a black bonnet sticker, giving it even more presence.

The 3.2 V6 is the only engine fitted to this top Trailhawk model.  It is super smooth, quiet and refined, with a pleasant V6 soundtrack without any harshness, though it lacks some low-down torque for suburban driving, and likes its revs: the numbers talk here – peak revs of 315Nm arrives late at 4300 r/min (it doesn’t have turbo help) and its 3.2-litre cylinders rev to 6500 to give its 200kW.  At times it can feel underpowered, which is due to delayed torque, and the gearbox eager to save fuel by running up to the highest gear it can find. 

More about the gearbox.  All new Cherokee for SA, including Trailhawk, is shipped with auto-shift.  9-speed.  It is said to be the latest and best – high-tech, with its 9 ratios (which is the latest) and intelligent software.  Reality, though, is that it is surprisingly jerky, especially at 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd gear shifts, and sometimes on an overtake downshift too – it reminds of the old 4-speed gearboxes of cars about 2 decades ago.  Then it changes – the 3rd to 8th gear shifts are so undetectably smooth.  The 9th gear is reserved for the highway – only at featherfoot throttle will it move from 8th to 9th, where the rev counter, at 120km/h, will drop to a low-low 1800r/min.  Seriously.  We’re travelling at the speed limit, using just more than idle speed. 

Strangely, despite the gear level having the + and - gate to the left, it is not a sequential manual override, where the driver can hold onto 1 specific gear, or quickly tap to shift up or down – no, instead it merely limits the gearbox to the highest selected gear.  Perhaps the engineers felt 9 gears are to many as a driver wouldn’t want to tap through so many?  If ever a gearbox needed paddle shifts, this is one.

During a farm visit trip, the Trailhawk eased into and out of any challenge we could steer it through – dirt roads with ruts and rocks are simply taken in isolated comfort, thanks in part to high-profile tyres and well-sorted suspension.  Both 4x4 models have a 4x4 low-range for ultra-low gearing, and off-road assistance Jeep calls Selec-Terrain, while the Trailhawk adds hill descent control, Selec-Speed Control.  It can really claw its way out of rough terrain.

The road trip on tar was also comfortable for all 5 on board, and rear passengers liked their cool air outlet.  To be enjoyed is the optional CommandView panoramic sunroof – the front part can tilt electrically, and an electric blind moves automatically to open or close the panoramic view to the top.

A surprise&delight character feature is a silhouette of the original army Jeep at the bottom centre of the windscreen’s black frame – you have to look carefully – when seen, everyone points at it.

The touch-screen was easy to use, and the navigation quick and intuitive to use – type in the first few letters and it automatically changes to a menu with matching names.  The steering wheel has multi-function buttons, but a row of 3 blank black buttons do nothing – instead, volume up/down button sits behind the steering wheel, and has an unnecessary click sound (which you don't want when adjusting audio).

The instrument panel contains a multi-colour screen, digitally displaying fuel and temp, configurable to show any information from current speed to transmission temperature and oil life percentage.  The adjustable speed limit warning doesn’t just beep once when reaching the set speed, but keeps beeping when still exceeding the speed – it is handy for not speeding, but distractingly unsafe when overtaking.

Park sense front and rear is standard, but the parking diagram of the car, with distance / position warnings, is shown in the instrument cluster, which means when the driver turns the steering wheel, one can no longer see the parking diagram.  When selecting reverse gear, the words Rear Braking Assist On are displayed, which self-brakes the Jeep when reversing too close to an object behind, if parameters are met.

All 4 doors have large bottle holders, cleverly angled forwards to prevent bottles rocking back&forth when driving.  The front centre armrest covers a deep storage area, with a pair of cupholders just ahead.  A flip-open storage container sits on the dashboard.  A 12V plug, audio ports and the rotary off-road switch ahead of the gear selector are useful, though unfortunately leaves no space for a wallet or large-screen smartphone to be placed quickly.  Handily, the front passenger seat base flips open for extra space.

The January 2015 price jump saw Cherokee prices rise to R 500 990 for the 2.4L Longitude front-wheel-drive model, while the 3.2L can be chosen as Limited front-wheel / Limited 4x4 model, costing R 536 990 / R 592 990, and this top-of-the-range 3.2L Trailhawk positioned at R 654 990.  If you think this is expensive, first have a look at pricing of other similar vehicles. Other choices include Audi Q5, BMW X3, Infiniti QX50, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque and upcoming Discovery Sport, Lexus NX, and Volvo XC60.  Of these, only Jeep and Land Rover are the 4x4 fundis, and only these 2 brands build only SUV-based vehicles.  No diesel engine is offered in the Cherokee, though.

Is the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk designed to claw its way up?  Jeep is now premium, competing well thanks to its quality finish, solid feel, and high-tech features.  It has futuristic yet rugged looks, is comfortable, and capable off-road – it has real character to claw its way up rough terrain, whether its the showroom floor or the 4x4 trail.