Jeep Cherokee Overland, the most complete edition for the American SUV

The Jeep Cherokee has changed its style in recent years. It used to be a car with off-road looks, off-road driving and off-road abilities, although on the other hand it was not the best car for driving around town, nor on motorways at high speeds.

With the rise of the SUV craze, which continues to grow at a breakneck pace, Jeep changed the direction of the Cherokee to turn it into a crossover. This type of vehicle, while not pure off-road cars, allows certain excursions off the asphalt and, moreover, behaves practically like mid-size saloons in town and on the road, leaving the well-known Wrangler as the true off-road vehicle in its range.

After this very brief review of the change in function of the Jeep Cherokee, we present a special edition that the brand has just launched for this model, the Overland version. The Jeep Cherokee Overland was first presented to the public at the Geneva Motor Show, in early March.

The main draw of the Cherokee Overland is its high level of equipment and certain styling changes. Aesthetically it seems to set aside the “rugged” image with new side skirts on all four sides painted in body colour, wheel arches also in body colour, 18-inch alloy wheels, bi-xenon headlights and the Overland inscription on the tailgate. Despite all this, it maintains a robust appearance.

In its cabin, notable features include Nappa leather seats with the edition logo, which are ventilated and heated, as well as electric adjustments including lumbar support, a steering wheel with wood inserts and interior trim in anodised finish.

The Jeep Cherokee Overland is paired with the 2.2 MultiJet II diesel engine producing 200 horsepower and 440 Nm and a 9-speed automatic gearbox. On top of all this come a Premium Alpine sound system and the brand’s Uconnect connectivity system with an 8.4-inch screen and GPS navigation. Also standard are a panoramic sunroof, an electric tailgate, parking assistant and some active safety systems such as blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, forward collision warning and adaptive cruise control.

It is only sold with 4×4 traction, but, depending on how you intend to use this SUV, you can choose between the Active Drive I or Active Drive II systems. Both only send torque to the rear axle when grip conditions require it and feature a traction management selector depending on the surface you are on (auto, snow, sport and sand/mud). The difference between Drive I and Drive II is that the latter, in addition to all of the above, adds a low-range gearbox, hill descent control and a differential lock function (4WD Lock).

This Jeep Cherokee Overland version will be available at the end of this month at dealerships, for a price of 54,400 euros for the versions with Active Drive I and 2,000 euros more for Drive II. The brand offers promotions and financing discounts that bring the price down to 43,500 euros in the case of Drive I and 45,200 euros for Drive II.

Source | Jeep