Jeep is bringing the Grand Cherokee back to the Netherlands after an absence of two years. The SUV only comes to Europe as a plug-in hybrid 4xe and has to compete with the BMW X5 and Volvo XC90. As a fully loaded ‘Launch Edition’, the Grand Cherokee 4xe costs €97,990. Jeep will announce the prices of cheaper versions later.
The previous generation of the Jeep Grand Cherokee did not sell very well in our country. The model came on the market here in 2011 and underwent a facelift in 2013. In 2011, Jeep sold 125 copies, but that number quickly halved. In 2020, Jeep sold two more new Grand Cherokees before pulling the plug on the model. Now Jeep is plugging in the Grand Cherokee again and the brand is launching the SUV as a plug-in hybrid for the first time. This also means that all Jeep models now have an electrified version.
In September last year, the brand unveiled the new Grand Cherokee, after the brand had already presented the larger Grand Cherokee L at the beginning of that year. The latter will not be marketed as an electrified variant, but the ‘small’ Grand Cherokee will. The SUV will get a plug-in hybrid 4xe powertrain. At the presentation of the European Grand Cherokee, Jeep no longer has to highlight the other engine variants available in America – a 3.6 V6 and 5.7 V8 – because only the 4xe makes the switch to Western Europe. The Grand Cherokee L finds the Jeep ‘too big’ for us and for that reason does not make the crossing.
Plug in
The Grand Cherokee 4xe gets a 2.0 four-cylinder turbo engine that, together with the electric support, releases 380 hp and 637 Nm of torque on all four wheels. The battery pack has a capacity of 17.3 kWh. Jeep gives an electric range of 47 kilometers, more than the 40 kilometers it claimed last year. The plug-in gets three different specific driving modes: hybrid, electric and e-save. In the first mode, the combustion engine and electric motor work together, in the second position you drive fully electrically and with e-save, the Grand Cherokee saves its battery capacity. In addition to the previously mentioned hybrid driving modes, the Grand Cherokee offers five more off-road driving modes: Auto, Sport, Snow, Sand/Mud and Rock. In addition, the air suspension is adjustable in five different heights.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Outwardly, the European Grand Cherokee 4xe hardly differs from its American counterpart. After all, the recess for the license plate in the boot lid was already big enough for a European license plate. Even the orange side markers of the American variant are still present. The interior is also unchanged: the dashboard is dominated by a 10.3-inch digital instrumentation and a 10.1-inch infotainment screen. Depending on the chosen version, the co-driver also gets his own 10.25-inch display. Further pampering includes 16-way electrically adjustable seats with heating, ventilation and massage, LED mood lighting and a digital interior mirror.
Launch Edition
Jeep delivers the first batch of the plug-in hybrid Grand Cherokee 4xe as a ‘Launch Edition’. It has almost all options on board, including the aforementioned things, a McIntosh audio system with 19 speakers and a power of 950 Watt, a head-up display, Active Driving Assist and a night vision assistant. Furthermore, the Launch Edition can be recognized by polished 21-inch diameter wheels and a contrasting black roof. For the Launch Edition, Jeep offers a total of four colors.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The preliminary price of the Grand Cherokee Launch Edition is €97,900. However, this is an amount based on data that has not yet been homologated. Jeep reports CO2 emissions of 64 grams per kilometre, if that number changes after homologation, it can still have a favorable or unfavorable influence on the price. If you are interested, you can pre-register for a Launch Edition until March 30. Jeep will announce the prices of the other variants later this year. In any case, the personal version of the Grand Cherokee in our country has not been so cheap for a long time. From 2013 to 2016, Jeep supplied the 3.6 V6 as an Overland version, which cost a minimum of €105,990. You could only get the 3.0 CRD under the ton in euros.
For Jeep, the electrification does not stop at the plug-in hybrids. At the presentation of the European Grand Cherokee 4xe, the brand reports that it will have a fully electric Jeep ‘in every segment’ in 2025. The production version of the Wrangler Magneto Concept eventually seems to be the first all-electric Jeep. On the rest of the forthcoming electric range, Jeep was still clenching.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl