Jeep is bidding to take on the Range Rover with its new Grand Wagoneer, a plush, tech-laden three-row SUV that returns an iconic nameplate to production after 29 years away. Using the base of Ram 1500 pick-up’s platform with substantial alteration, the Grand Wagoneer will enter production in 2021 at Jeep’s Detroit plant, ahead of a smaller Wagoneer in time, and there will be at least one plug-in hybrid variant. It’ll pick up where one of the US’s most-loved SUVs left off; the Wagoneer nameplate to America is what Range Rover is to Britain. And then some.
It has some pretty big shoes to fill, then, so naturally Jeep’s thrown a lot at the returning model. The production Grand Wagoneer looks set to be launched with a hybrid powerplant, as this is what powers the concept, although we’ve not yet been given any finer details. It’s probable that the 1500’s pure combustion engines will be shared with the Grand Wagoneer, too, like its 3.6-litre V6, 5.7-litre V8 and, possibly, 3.0-litre V6 diesel, to create a full engine line-up. Four-wheel drive is expected to be standard, although Jeep has said that three different driveline systems and an optional air suspension setup will be offered.
The Grand Wagoneer builds on the body-on-frame base of the 1500 with all-round independent suspension (the pick-up has a solid rear axle), 24-inch alloys beneath squared-off arches and the sort of butch image we’ve come to expect from America-focussed SUVs. There’s a light bar on top of the relatively slim front grille, while the boxy rear also sports another one beneath an oblong rear screen. The overall look is certainly imposing to British eyes; in the US, it’s arguably a little less original. We’ll leave it up to you to decide; the decision on whether a production Wagoneer will come to Europe is still to be confirmed, though.
Clearly, much of the focus for the Wagoneer has been inside, where there’s no shortage of tech. The concept’s dash – which looks enormous in the pictures, even if we’ve not yet been given dimensions – sports screens at both ends. There looks to be more digitalisation than you get in any of the car’s rivals; whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on your standing. Clearly, Jeep is attempting to appease buyers won over by this sort of stuff; for example, the rear screens can become TVs that are linked via the internet to the screen in the house for seamless continuation of viewing.
The interior itself looks rather plush, with leathers and broad seats across the Grand Wagoneer’s three rows. Expect plenty of leg, head and shoulder room, and boot volume, cabin adjustability and more to enable this new model to follow in the tracks of a family 4x4 still famed for its tremendous breadth of ability. There’s no denying that Jeep today is a very different company from the one that launched the original Wagoneer back in 1963, but it’s fully attempting to recreate the magic that’s made so many Americans longstanding fans of the model. Whether it can win so many hearts in a far more congested 21st century segment is perhaps the biggest question over this new car.
It won’t be going it alone, either; indeed, Jeep piggybacked its Grand Wagoneer concept reveal with the launch of its first plug-in hybrid Wrangler. The so-called 4xe model, which mixes the 2.0-litre four-pot petrol engine with an electric motor, can do 0-60mph in six seconds and has 25 miles of pure electric range. It’ll be available in the US from the end of this year, before reaching Europe and China at the start of 2021. Jeep will likely be keeping a very close eye on the performance of its new PHEV in that latter market. It’s the first in a line of upcoming new electrified Jeep models, so expect plenty more to follow in the near future.
1 / 15