Payne: L-yeah! The three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee is finally here

Posted by Talbot Payne on June 17, 2021

The all-new, 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L is a gorgeous hunk of granite. As solid on road as it is solid looking. But the real treats are in the details. Standard 10.1-inch digital screens. Sculpted rotary shifter that might have come off the queen’s finger. American flag badges. Winged dashboard with chrome bezels.

Oh yes, and it has a third row. (Pause here while a cheering Jeep nation does the wave.)

The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L is the GC badge's first three-row SUV.

This is no third-row afterthought (looking at you, Toyota Highlander). This is a big, honkin’ American third-row couch made for 6’5” giants like me. That’s right. I can sit behind myself in the third row sitting behind myself in the second (best legroom in class) row. Raised middle console so my size-15 feet fit. Padded armrest. USB and USB-C charging ports. Clearly, 6’4” Jeep interior design chief Chris Benjamin spent some time back here.

The Grand Cherokee’s third row has been a looooooong time coming. The OG midsize-SUV born back in 1992 (when then-Chrysler product genius Bob Lutz figured out the way to skirt station wagon-killing mpg laws was to jack them up and call ’em utes) has consistently been a segment favorite even as competitors came along with a variety of three-row chariots that now make up 75% of segment offerings.

One pull on the top-seat handle and the second row seat collapses forward for access to the third row of the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L.

Now that Grand Cherokee is upping its game and adding a three-row, I expect it to sell (I’m just making an educated guess here) a zillion copies a year. Not just because this thing is a really good mainstream SUV. But because it’s also a really good luxury SUV.

Consumers know what I’m talking about. Jeep is a rare mainstream badge that is shopped by luxe and mainstream buyers. Check out the luxury brand-like price spread of a two-row Grand Cherokee (which will adopt the same design and features of L when it hits dealerships later this year) from its entry-level $36,000 starting sticker to the insane, $105,000, BMW X5 M-stomping, 707-horse Trackhawk.

“Should I buy the new BMW X5, Audi Q7, or Grand Cherokee?” my tennis club pals ask.

As readers of this column know, I regularly opine on how mainstream badges like Mazda and Kia have narrowed the gap to premium products. The Grand Cherokee L obliterates it.

Since its origins, the mid-size Jeep has been rear-wheel-drive based with powerful, longitudinally configured V-6 and V-8 engines. Like models from that other AWD SUV icon, Land Rover, this layout gives Grand Cherokee an inherently athletic look with a short overhang up front and a long hood. Seeking similar aesthetic gains, Ford and Lincoln recently converted their Explorer/Aviator middie platforms to RWD-based.

Also like luxury brands, the Jeep’s seven-slot grille is instantly recognizable. Bucking the current trend to big, toothy grilles (even Bimmer’s spouted buck teeth) the 2021 fascia is lean, athletic.

Speaking of athletic, the RWD platform — despite the wheelbase growing seven inches and overall length by 15 — allows more intuitive handling. My L-ephant in tennis shoes was nicely composed as I hustled around town chasing Detroit Grand Prix preparations. The tried-and-true 3.6-liter V-6 (a 5.7-liter, 357-horse V-8 is available for those who need to tow 7,200 pounds) has an authoritative voice.

The interior of the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L is all-new with a focus on a thin, lifted, digital console screen.

Merging on to Interstate 96 in a top-trim Summit Reserve, I stomped the throttle and the V-6’s 293 horses responded immediately to my whip, propelling the 5,000-pound sled into the left lane. At cruising speed (air-suspension crouched for better aerodynamics), I relaxed and was pleased to find that both adaptive cruise control — and a more sophisticated semi-autonomous system called Active Drive Assist — were on offer. Nestled side-by-side on the steering wheel, the options are another welcome detail allowing drivers to choose their cruise.

Active Drive Assist is competent, and L drove smoothly in the middle of the lane — not ping-ponging back and forth like, ahem, a recent Volvo XC90 I piloted.

Keep your boot in it and the Jeep will travel 500 miles without range anxiety. When the feedbag runs empty just pull over and fill ’er up with $3 gas.

Jeep offered that I take the Grand Cherokee off-road to its diabolical Chelsea proving grounds where they tested the big ute across moguls, ditches, and flooded landscapes. Sounds like the typical Detroit road — so I stuck with my daily duties in town.

At a gas station on the east side, I ducked in for an iced tea. Upon my return, a few people had gathered to admire the Jeep made down the street in the Mack plant.

“That’s the new Grand Cherokee, isn’t it?”

“Yup, and this time it has three rows.”

My AWD tester is made for Michigan’s multi-season challenges with 10.9-inch lift (the same as a Wrangler Rubicon for goodness sake), two-speed transfer case for rocky terrain, limited-slip differential that’ll throw 100% torque from one rear wheel to the other to prevent slip in snow, and a prop shaft to swim the Detroit River (kidding about that last one). Lesser Laredo, Limited and Overland models get simpler systems that can merely climb Mt. Rushmore. It’s a Jeep thing.

Grand Cherokee saves the best for inside.

I liked the previous Grand’s “islands” theme (shared by Dodge products) that neatly organized dash elements. Jeep steps up the game with an integrated horizontal theme. Its focus is an elegant raised console screen. The dash is wrapped by flowing chrome bezels that extend, wing-like, to the doors.

The lifted console screen and rotary shifter and things of beauty.

The center display anchors a library of tech including Uconnect 5, the latest version of Chrysler’s (now Stellantis’) class-leading infotainment. It allows for wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a quick touchscreen, and swipe-able pages popularized by VW (I love when auto companies learn from one another).

A laundry list of standard safety and convenience features include blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control, front-rear collision assist, rear cross-traffic detection, wireless smartphone apps.

(Pause to catch breath)

Optional night vision. Head-up display. Trail-rated skid plates.

If you don’t need the third-row seats, folding them flat opens 47 cubic-feet of space — 11 more than the current, two-row Grand Cherokee. Even the tailgate gets love with a button to set height so it doesn’t — WHUMP! — hit your garage door.

The Jeep’s value depends on where you’re standing. A $50,000 AWD Summit is 4 grand north of, say, a comparably equipped Kia Telluride. Shop against a three-row BMW X7 and it’s $20,000 cheaper.

That’s an L-uva deal.

2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Vehicle type: Front engine, rear- and-all-wheel-drive, seven-passenger SUV

Price: $41,425, including $1,695 destination fee ($66,985 Summit Reserve as tested)

Powerplant: 3.5-liter V-6; 5.7-liter V-8

Power: 293 horsepower, 260 pound-feet torque (V-6); 357 horsepower, 390 pound-feet torque (V-8)

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph (NA); Towing, 6,200 lbs (V-6) or 7,200 lbs (V-8)

Weight: 5,068 pounds (as tested)

Fuel economy: EPA est. mpg 18 city/25 highway/21 combined

Report card

Highs: Three roomy rows; state-of-the-art interior

Lows: 8-speed gearbox can stumble at low speeds

Overall: 4 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.

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