Jeep Cherokee review

There’s a four-model range of Cherokee-kind. Kicking off the range is the  Longitude Plus (there’s no ‘non-plussed version) and that gets cloth seats, roof rails, a powered tailgate and the 8.4-inch touchscreen navigation and infotainment module as standard. If you’re happy to put up with 138bhp and a manual gearbox, prices start at £32,865. With the same powertrain, the Limited model is £1,15 pricier, but in terms of financing it’s going to be a smarter option. Extra monthly outlay isn’t much higher, and in return your Cherokee is fitted with 18-inch alloys, leather seats, a rear-view parking camera – handy when all-round visibility is actually quite poor – and keyless entry and go.

The Cherokee Overland tips the price over £40k, and adds chrome wheels. Oh dear. On the plus side, the car does  wear body-coloured wheelarches and side skirts which gives it a more premium appearance – and less of an off-road bent. Make of that what you will. Overlands also add a panoramic sunroof , throwing sunlight on the horrendously tasteless Overland motifs that now adorn the leather seats. Yuk.

The top UK seller among Cherokees is the model we’d recommend as the car’s sweet spot: the Limited 4x4 powered by the 197bhp variant of the 2.2 diesel engine. As standard, it’s fitted with the nine-speed automatic gearbox, which is just as indecisive and dim-witted as Land Rover’s nine-speeder. It emits a 149g/km CO2 output equating to a tax bill in year one of £205 – the same cost as an equivalent Disco Sport, which emits 10g/km less.

In our testing, economy settled at 34mpg, although this centred on mainly urban mileage. The claim of 50.4mpg is relatively modest, but we’d suggest, with some more motorway driving, that a figure closer to the heady heights of 40mpg is possible. And given the Cherokee’s wind and road noise suppression are very fine at motorway speeds, and its ride is composed and mature when up to a gallop, this is the Cherokee’s unexpected comfort zone.

Oh, you expected it to be happiest off-roading? It is - but Jeep creates a bespoke model for mud-pluggers. The aggressively titled Trailhawk is the gnarly, knobbly version, and gets bespoke bumpers with improved approach and departure angles, plus a rock terrain mode. As it’s teamed with a 3.2-litre V6 engine that drinks like a squaddie on leave, it’s not a common sight on (or off) UK roads.