2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Review

Iconic American brand Jeep is on something of a reinvention these days. In line with parent company Stellantis’ ambitions, it’s revealed its first electric car, as well as creating a range of plug-in hybrids such as the Wrangler 4xe. There are also smaller cars on offer than before – like the new Avenger – while, of course, there are huge ones as well like the Grand Wagoneer. But has the brand forgotten about its bread and butter? We tested the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited to find out.

The Grand Cherokee has long been the most popular Jeep in Australia. Even in 2022 so far, with a drop in stock and rising prices, it has sold 1,470 examples, which is more than any other Jeep product. Yet that’s for the new seven-seat Grand Cherokee L, which occupies the space that the old Commander from the 2000s used to sit in – the five-seat regular Grand Cherokee is on its way to Australia in 2023. With all of that in mind, is the Grand Cherokee L all the Jeep you could ever need?

Price & Equipment: 7/10

While there are three Grand Cherokee L models available in Australia, we tested the mid-spec Limited, which is priced from $88,750 plus on-road costs (around $97,000 drive away). Yep, that’s a big step up on its predecessor, which started at around $40,000 upon its release, but you have to remember that this is the extended seven-seat L version – we predict regular Grand Cherokee pricing to start lower.

Standard equipment includes 20-inch alloy wheels, automatic all-LED lighting, auto wipers, ‘Capri’ leather upholstery, eight-way electrically adjustable/heated/cooled front seats with driver’s memory functionality, a heated steering wheel, heated outboard middle row seats, tri-zone climate control, 12 USB charging ports with two 12V sockets, a 230V output, a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, digital radio, a wireless phone charger, a nine-speaker Alpine sound system with a 506-watt amplifier, keyless entry and start, an electric tailgate, rear privacy glass and a digital rear mirror.

Standard safety kit includes eight airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, driver attention monitoring, auto high beam, speed sign recognition, auto rear braking, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

Just one option is available for the Grand Cherokee L Limited: the $4,250 Vision Group Package, which adds a panoramic sunroof, a heads-up display and what Jeep calls the ‘Fam Cam’, which is a rear camera system mounted in the roof lining that enables parents to see who really hit who. This option pack was fitted to our test car and we think it should be standard.

In addition to the aforementioned Vision Group Package, we also think equipment like a 360-degree parking camera and lane trace assist should be standard on a car that costs as much as the Grand Cherokee L. Of course, they are standard on the upper-spec Summit Reserve, but that car costs another almost-$30,000 before on-road costs are added…

No-cost colour options are limited to just ‘Bright White’, while every other colour costs $1,750 extra – our test car’s ‘Diamond Black’, ‘Velvet Red’, ‘Baltic Grey’, ‘Silver Zynith’, ‘Ember’ (maroon) and ‘Rocky Mountain’ (bronze) are all optional. Black is the sole interior colour option on the Limited.

In terms of competitors, the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited has no direct competition. Cars like the Hyundai Palisade Highlander, Mazda CX-9 Azami and Toyota Kluger Grande are slightly smaller, less expensive and nowhere near as off-road focused as the Grand Cherokee L, while cars like the Audi Q7, Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7 are more expensive, have V6 diesel engines and more towing capacity. You could consider the Volvo XC90 for the same level of practicality, and an optional plug-in hybrid drivetrain, but it doesn’t have the off-road ability of the Jeep.

All things considered, we think the Ford Everest Platinum is the closest competitor to the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited. It has a similar off-road focus, its towing capacity is greater than the Jeep and like the Grand Cherokee, it will carry seven people in great comfort no matter what the surface is. It’s priced at around $84,000 drive away, features a lovely V6 turbo-diesel engine and more standard kit than the Jeep too.

Performance & Economy: 7/10

The sole engine available for the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L (regardless of model chosen) in Australia is a 210kW (6,400rpm) and 344Nm (at 4,000rpm) 3.6-litre ‘Pentastar’ petrol V6 engine, which has been doing duty for many years. It’s mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard, which has paddle shifters for manual control of the gearbox.

The engine itself is mostly fine – when your foot is down, it sounds great and it goes reasonably well too. The problem is that its peak torque hits at a high 4,000rpm, which means that you have to rev it to get the most out of it. The eight-speed automatic transmission is brilliant in isolation, but it can’t mask the Grand Cherokee L’s lack of torque and relatively considerable weight, so even subtle prods of the throttle result in multi-gear downshifts. The transmission shifts intuitively and can be shifted manually with the paddle shifters.

Many of the previous shape Grand Cherokees were bought because of its grunty V6 turbo-diesel engine but unfortunately, it’s no longer in production globally. This means that the previous model’s 3,500kg towing capacity has been downgraded to 2,813kg braked and more annoyingly for those wanting to tow, Australia doesn’t get the 5.7-litre ‘Hemi’ V8 engine that’s on offer in North America. Relief is supposedly coming with both twin-turbo V6 petrol engine and a ‘4xe’ plug-in hybrid drivetrains coming in the future, but we aren’t sure when they’re supposed to arrive.

The Grand Cherokee L is rated at a claimed 10.6L/100km on a combined cycle, and we used 13.7L/100km in our testing that was skewed towards urban driving, which isn’t great. Helping costs is that it will happily run on 91RON regular unleaded, while it has an 87-litre fuel tank. Even though Jeep has ruled it out for global consumption, we’d love to see a V6 turbo diesel in the Grand Cherokee L as it would give it greater refinement, better fuel consumption and better towing ability.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

The ride and handling balance of the Grand Cherokee L Limited is mostly positive, and certainly superior to the previous-generation car. Even on the 20-inch wheels and regular suspension of the Limited, it mostly rides well – only low speed bumps can upset it with a somewhat crashy ride quality. The steering has plenty of heft, is reasonable feelsome and the handling is better than you’d expect for such a big car.

The entry-level Grand Cherokee L Night Eagle and our Limited test car use Jeep’s ‘Quadra-Trac I’ four-wheel drive system, which has a single-speed active transfer case, as well as multiple drive modes like snow, sand/mud, automatic and sport. To get more off-road kit like air suspension, hill descent control, a two-speed transfer case and low-range gearing, buyers must move up to the Summit Reserve and its ‘Quadra-Trac II’ off-road system.

We unfortunately didn’t get to try the Grand Cherokee L off-road, but research from other reviews suggests excellent capability for a unibody SUV – as you’d expect, for anything wearing the Jeep badge, really. For those wanting to know, the Limited’s approach and departure angles are 20.6- and 21.5-degrees, respectively, while its wading depth is 530mm. Choose the Summit Reserve and these increase to 28.2-, 23.6-degrees and 610mm respectively.

Elsewhere in the driving experience, the Grand Cherokee L Limited is positive. The noise suppression is mostly great, even on course chip roads and the active safety features work quite well. They’re appreciatively subtle, aside from the lane departure warning, which goes off loudly if it thinks you’re gone across a lane without indicating. Disappointingly, only a reversing camera is standard – the 360-degree unit from the Summit Reserve should be standard on all Grand Cherokee Ls, especially considering A) its size and B) its price.

Interior & Practicality: 9.5/10

The interior of the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited is great, with excellent practicality, lots of tech and overall, it’s a big upgrade on the previous-generation car. The quality is also a big step up, with plenty of soft touch materials, nice quality leather and the only thing that grates are the harder materials on the centre console, which can be annoying when you’re resting your knee on them.

The Grand Cherokee L Limited’s cabin is quite practical, with big cup holders, a huge centre box under the centre armrest, big door bins and a reasonable centre console box with a wireless phone charger.

Centre of the cabin is a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, digital radio and wireless phone charging. The system itself is works really well- it’s easy to use, the screen quality is excellent and the wireless smartphone mirroring is one of the easiest and most reliable we’ve ever used. The nine-speaker Alpine sound system is also excellent too – we can’t imagine how great the 15-speaker McIntosh unit in the Summit Reserve sounds.

The second row of the Grand Cherokee L is fabulous and one of the best we’ve ever seen – the seat is comfortable, there’s plenty of room for people of all sizes and it’s very well featured with a separate climate zone, four USB ports, a 150W/230V outlet, heated outboard seats, map pockets, a centre armrest, door pockets and even sunshades in the doors.

Access to the third row is one of the best we’ve ever used too as the seats actually lift up and move out of the way. Once you’re back there, the room on offer is plentiful for a third row and it’s one of the best we’ve ever sat in. Like the second row, there are multiple USB ports, air vents and cup holders for excellent comfort – but the windows are also large as well, which helps claustrophobia greatly.

Behind the third row of the Grand Cherokee L is a healthy 487-litre boot, while behind the second row is 1,328L and a massive 2,395L behind the first row. The boot itself has plenty of features, including under-floor storage, hooks and side storage. When all rows are folded, it’s completely flat.

Service & Warranty: 8/10

Jeep covers its new cars with a five-year/100,000km warranty with lifetime roadside assistance – if serviced at a Jeep dealership. Its service intervals are once yearly or every 12,000km, which is an odd distance against rivals that need servicing generally every 15,000km. Five years/60,000km of servicing costs a reasonable $1,995 ($399 per service).

Over at Ford, the Everest Titanium V6 has warranty for the same duration but unlimited distance, its service intervals are slightly longer at once yearly/every 15,000km and its service pricing is less, at $1,666 for five years/75,000km of servicing ($333 per service). Its roadside assistance lasts for up to seven years in total, if serviced at a Ford dealership.

The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.9/10

It’s clear that Jeep has moved forward with the 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited. There’s massive amounts of space on offer, while its standard level of technology is great. It drives mostly well, it’s loaded with equipment and we think it looks quite handsome as well. Plus, it’s a Jeep, so its off-road ability is brilliant – if you’re looking for that – while its warranty equation has improved and it’s full of character.

But it’s not quite as big of a step forward as it could have been. The petrol V6 engine is fine, but nothing special, and considering how many owners are likely to carry a full load or two with it – situations that the engine will likely struggle – we think it should’ve been an opportunity to keep the former V6 diesel or V8 petrol engines around, or introduce the 4xe plug-in hybrid. But that hasn’t happened yet, and the almost -$100,000 drive away price starts to look steep. Overall, we think the Grand Cherokee L is a good product that’s well worth consideration, but with a better engine option, it would be great.