2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee India Review: Is this SUV better than Mercedes-Benz GLE, Audi Q7?

As we got to clock some kilometres on the new 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee's odo and put it through its paces, here are some excerpts of the experience.

2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Jeep is an American brand universally loved for its SUVs, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of those. The SUV has made its entry into the Indian market with quite some noise. After all, it entered by breaking a glass wall during the official launch exercise. The noise, however, is related to two key attributes. Firstly, it is being assembled in India, and secondly, the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee is priced at Rs 77.50 lakh, ex-showroom. In our market, the fifth-gen Cherokee rivals the likes of the Volvo XC90, Mercedes-Benz GLE, BMW X5, and Audi Q7. Does it manage to outperform them all? We tried finding out the answer by clocking some kilometres on the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee’s odometer, soaking in the design, and then scribbling our thoughts here.

The Grand Cherokee will certainly appeal to those who adore cars with an upright and boxy stance. Although, it doesn't miss out on the Cherokee-typical aesthetics and stance. Correspondingly, the design looks fresh and new. The Jeep Grand Cherokee comes to our shores in the 5-seat format. Consequently, it measures 4,915 mm in length, 1,979 mm in width and 1,816 mm in height. It is thus noncontroversial to say - it has quite some street cred.

The overall outline is very boxy with a high-set and flat bonnet and face. The nose employs a chrome-finished 7-slat grille, which integrates into slim LED headlamps. Lower down the front fascia, there is an enormous rectangular air dam. Also, there’s chrome trim around the chin, and LED fog lamps are super slim as well.

The Grand Cherokee does sit higher off the ground, 215 mm to be precise. It sits on rather nice-looking 5-spoke alloy wheels, which go well with squared-off elements. Black cladding runs across the length, and the “Grand Cherokee'' motif sits on the front door. A set of roof rails are fixed on top, and the glass area around the sides is large with a low-set window line.

Taking the cohesion to higher levels is the rear face. Like the headlamps, tail lamps are slim too. Also, the boot lid has a minimalistic appeal with a piano-black trim piece connecting the tail lamps. The registration plate is housed in the boot lid itself, and the rear bumper uses a two-tone appeal. With black cladding, it does pack in some ruggedness. On the whole, the design is rather subtle and an every-bit Jeep. Dimensions, however, make the Grand Cherokee lucrative property.

Getting inside the fifth-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee is quite a climb. Thankfully, there are enough grab handles to ease the job. Once inside, the dashboard layout impresses with its clutter-free design. It is low-set. Thus, visibility out is great. Moreover, it is made of premium materials, and so is the case with all other parts of the interior. High fit-finish levels are to be celebrated here. For the interior layout, a dark theme is used. The large panoramic sunroof lets in a lot of light to shoo away the darkness though.

Imparting the much-needed luxurious feel on the inside are the leather-wrapped dashboard, steering wheel, armrest, and seats. Moreover, there’s enough equipment on board to set the bar high. The instrument console is a 10.25-inch display and is accompanied by a 10-inch head-up display. The touchscreen infotainment unit is 10.1 inches in siz,e while there’s an even larger 10.25-inch touchscreen for the front passenger. Both of these offer a crisp touch response. The sound output from the 9-speaker Alpine system is clear, loud, and bass-happy too.

The steering wheel is a chunky unit to hold and gets multiple buttons to keep things in the driver’s control. The transmission control knob is placed on the centre control, and we admired its design. It looks like a gear from an anime series. The front seats on the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee are very supportive. They offer heating and ventilation functionality. However, they fail to provide a massage during the drive.

As for the second-row bench, it is more spacious than a host of its rivals and reclines quite too much to provide a comfy experience. Also, there are enough charging ports on the interior, along with a plenty of storage spaces. The boot space is no compromise either, and it is larger than an average Indian household’s water tank. In simpler words, it is 1,076 litres in volume. A neatly-packaged and spacious interior is what the Grand Cherokee has to offer. The safety kit is long too, with 8 airbags, lane keeping assist, 360-degree parking camera, and ADAS tech.

2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee Review: Altitude Achiever?

Being a Jeep, offroading capabilities are the first inherited trait of any vehicle with a 7-slat grille. The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee is not different either. It gets a lot of ground clearance and shorter overhangs to take unexplored paths. Completing this further is the suspension. Set on a softer side, it can flatten bad roads and highways at all speeds and can take this hefty SUV off the road. While some might consider the absence of air suspension a miss, we believe it keeps the car rather abuse-friendly.

Yes, the ride remains a strong forte of the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee, it comes with just one engine option. No, there isn’t a big-fat V6 or V8 petrol or a torque oil burner on offer. A puny 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol motor is what sits under the bonnet, leaving a lot of space to fit another one. It belts out 272 hp and 400 Nm of peak output, which looks impressive on paper. In real-world conditions, the motor feels just apt. A bigger petrol motor or a diesel engine could’ve been offered as an option.

The 8-speed torque converter automatic gearbox unit is as impressive and smooth as the motor itself. It channels power to all wheels of the SUV, and it is a responsive unit. Moreover, there are four modes to tackle every situation that could possibly be required to face - Sport, Auto, Sand/Mud, and Snow. The steering connects the driver well with the road. However, it is slightly heavy at parking speeds. The brakes also feel great on the Grand Cherokee and bring this behemoth to a stop in time.

2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee Review: In Summation

The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee is a flawless vehicle for those who desire to travel the extra mile to witness nature at its best. It does have a muscular road presence with style to grab attention, and the on-road and off-road capabilities lend it a stronger edge over its rivals. Well, it isn’t as hardcore as the Wrangler Rubicon, but it is a more rugged package than the Audi Q7, Volvo XC90, Range Rover Velar, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE and other rivals. Furthermore, it is more affordable than similarly-spec’d interpretations of the aforementioned products with a price tag of Rs 77.50 lakh, ex-showroom. Hence, the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee makes for an interesting purchase in its segment