SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Land Lord: 2022 Jeep Cherokee L 3.6 Overland

State-of-art

Posted: October 25, 2022

The numbers
Price (Overland model): R1 479 900
Engine: 3604 cc, DOHC 24-valve, V6 naturally aspirated petrol
Power: 210 kW at 6400 rpm
Torque: 344 Nm at 4000 rpm (90 percent available between 2600 and 6500 rpm)
0-100km/h: 8.5 seconds
Top speed: 210 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 14.2 l/100 km
Tank: 87 litres
Luggage: 487 – 1328 – 2396 litres SAE
Turning circle: 11.7 metres
Towing capacity, unbraked/braked: 750/2814 kg
Roof rack load limit: 68 kg
Dimensions, mm: 5204 x 2149 x 1816
Approach/departure/breakover angles: 28.2/23.6/22.6 degrees
Wading depth: 610 mm
Standard tyre: Continental Cross Contact 265/50R20
Spare: Full size steel, under body
Warranty: Five years, 100 000 km with roadside assistance
Maintenance plan:  Five years, 100 000 km at annual or 12 000 km intervals



Jeep is squaring up to challenge JLR’s Discovery and Range Rover models at their own game - ultra-luxurious, seven-seat, people movers for the country club and school run set - with a range of long wheelbase Grand Cherokee L models.

These, for the first time in Jeep history, seat seven in delicious comfort while offering airlift suspension and semi-active damping (on two versions), with more electronic toys than owners could swing a polo mallet at.
 
Here’s a selection: Automated hatch opening and closing, second-row seats that adjust fore- and aft, chilled central armrest box, rotating gear selector, tab-lift parking brake, full-length skyroof and OTA software updating. This shows at every startup and becomes annoying, as can the lane-keeping policeman that has to be switched off every time.

One I had not seen before is a FamCam that allows the driver to interact with passengers in the back while monitoring the luggage area as well. Virtual gauges and instruments, some off-road related and others not, are becoming commonplace – even little Toyota hatchbacks have some.

Safety kit is obviously state-of-art with all the around-view monitoring, warning- and intervention gadgetry one expects. And one more: They are fitted with airbags to guard the knees of both front occupants, bringing the total number of safety pillows to eight.

In contrast with JLR’s 16 Discos and 55 models of Range Rover, Jeep SA offers just three - Limited, Overland and Summit Reserve – priced from R1 299 900 to R1 679 900.  All are fitted with Chrysler’s 3.6-litre, Pentastar petrol motor and eight-speed ZF-Chrysler automatic transmission. Performance is decently active and the gearbox works well.

Limited is slightly ‘limited’ with entry-level Quadra-Trac l, a single-speed, full-time awd system with constant 48:52 (front to rear) traction on all surfaces, although its open differentials divide power as needed between left and right; a lower-powered alternator; lower-capacity battery; smaller touchscreen; plainer upholstery; steel suspension; manually folding rearmost seats and three-zone ventilation.

Overland gains Quadra-Trac ll awd that allows variable torque transfer between front and rear; push-button low range; Quadra-Lift air suspension with five automated, or selectable, ride heights; smarter upholstery; McIntosh premium sound system; bigger touchscreen; parallel and perpendicular parking assistance and 20-inch, rather than 18-inch, wheels. Five driving/terrain modes consist of Sport, Auto, Snow, Mud/Sand and Rock. Although 4WD Low can be used in conjunction with other modes, it’s a necessity for Rock.

Summit Reserve grabs the top slot with Quadra-Drive ll. This provides each axle with its own electronic limited-slip differential and the ability to transfer full drive thrust to a single wheel, should all else fail. Other plusses include yet smarter upholstery and floor mats; four-zone climate control; memory setting, and 12-way adjustment, for both front seats; seatback massage for the driver and various other bits and pieces including 21” wheels.

Our test unit was a mid-range Overland so let’s talk about that. It’s big, spacious and dismissed our level-four Tenderfoot Trail as ‘just another freeway.’ Mind you I did learn, the hard way, that it pays to raise the suspension on entering the trail rather than assuming automatic detection will cover all eventualities. Cresting a steep hill, while trusting there’d be sufficient break-over angle, left me temporarily grounded. Retreat. Raise. Engage suitable mode. Retry.

What did I think of it? Nice car and less expensive that most of its British rivals, but too nanny-like and fancy for this old-school peasant. I’d take a Gladiator.

Test unit from Stellantis SA press fleet


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is thoroughly researched, given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
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