Based on the Giorgio platform, the Grand Cherokee is worthy of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's top accolade. However, the nonprofit organization's Top Safety Pick+ rating applies to vehicles produced after March 2023.
Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured after March 2023 feature several undercarriage modifications that prevent dislodged sheet metal from puncturing the fuel tank in the event of a side impact. For the three-row variant of the sport utility vehicle, which Jeep refers to as Grand Cherokee L, the rating applies to vehicles produced after May 2023.
The Limited, Overland, Summit, and Summit Reserve trim levels are fitted with LED reflector-style headlights that were previously deemed poor by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The 4x4 brand couldn't ignore this result, which is why Jeep made small adjustments in January 2023, resulting in good ratings for said trim levels. The headlights that equip the Laredo and Altitude trim levels were previously rated poor, but now they're deemed acceptable by the IIHS.
In addition to acing the crashworthiness and headlight performance tests, the 2023 model year Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Grand Cherokee L also impressed in the crash avoidance and mitigation evaluations. These comprise vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, as well as vehicle to pedestrian during the day and vehicle to pedestrian during the night. The mid-size utility vehicles scored maximum points in the vehicle-to-vehicle and nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. In the daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluation, the Grand Cherokee was rated advanced.
As you're well aware, Jeep's best-selling nameplate stateside is the Grand Cherokee. 124,956 units were delivered in the first half of 2023, down 7 percent from the first half of 2022. Available with four-, six-, and eight-cylinder muscle. The culprits are the 2.0-liter Hurricane, 3.6-liter Pentastar, and 5.7-liter HEMI, although the latter is on its way out.
Chrysler is expected to discontinue both the 5.7- and 6.2-liter HEMI engines after the 2024 model year, and chances are the 6.4-liter HEMI will meet a similar fate. The only problem with that is, will the Ram HD line soldier on exclusively with the Cummins-developed turbo diesel I6 engine?
Whatever the answer may be, there's no denying that Chrysler is pivoting to electrified and electric powertrains in a rather aggressive fashion. Take, for instance, the Grand Cherokee. If power and torque are high up on your list of priorities, Jeep is much obliged to sell you the 4xe plug-in hybrid.
Said powertrain combines two electric motors and the 2.0-liter Hurricane, together with a lithium-ion battery and eight-speed automatic transmission. On full song, the 4xe plug-in hybrid belts out 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet (644 Nm) of twist.
Those in the market for a two-row Grand Cherokee need to shell out $40,130 for the 3.6-liter Pentastar, whereas the 4xe carries a starting price of $60,460 at the moment of reporting. Not available as a plug-in hybrid yet, the Grand Cherokee L is available to configure at $42,130 for the Laredo 2WD.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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