Jeep Grand Cherokee 2024 review: Overland - off-road test

The five-seat Grand Cherokee Overland WL has a manufacturer suggested retail price of $98,450 (excluding on-road costs), but our test vehicle has two option packs – 'Luxury Tech' ($4500) and 'Off-Road' (more about those packs soon) – and premium paint ('Rocky Mountain', $1750), so its price as tested ends up around the $107,450 mark, excluding on-road costs.

The five-seat Grand Cherokee Overland WL has a manufacturer suggested retail price of $98,450 (excluding on-road costs).

Standard features include a 10.1-inch multimedia system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus wireless capability for both), black Nappa leather seats (also heated and ventilated for the driver and front passenger), a panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, a hands-free powered tailgate and 20-inch alloy wheels.

Standard features include a 10.1-inch multimedia system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus wireless capability for both).

Anyway, back to those aforementioned option packs. Luxury Tech includes a digital rear-view mirror, wireless charging pad, 12-way power front seats (with memory and massage), four-zone climate control, ventilated outboard second-row seats, and second-row window shades.

The Off Road includes 265/60R18 Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tyres and 18-inch polished/painted alloy wheels.

The Off Road includes 230mm rear axle, rear electronic limited slip differential, 'Trail Rated' badge, 265/60R18 Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tyres, 18-inch polished/painted alloy wheels, as well as skid plate protection for the fuel tank, transfer case and front suspension.

Exterior paint choices include 'Bright White' (standard), or optional premium paint such as 'Diamond Black', 'Silver Zynith', 'Velvet Red', 'Baltic Grey', Rocky Mountain, 'Midnight Sky' and 'Hydro Blue', which cost $1750 each.

Glad you asked.

The Grand Cherokee’s interior is a roomy, comfortable space, with plenty to like. But there are also a few niggles here and there and that’s disappointing for a vehicle with a price-tag as hefty as this Jeep’s.

I operated my phone off the 10.1-inch multimedia system’s wireless Apple CarPlay capability without any strife.

Having said that, controls are a confusion of physical buttons and dials and on-screen buttons.

Second-row passengers are well catered for with power outlets, directional air vents, and comfortable seats.

There are plenty of storage compartments (including concealed centre console spaces with centre console soft-touch-opening/sliding) as well as charge points including a wireless charging pad, twin USB-A and USB-C points, and a 12V outlet. 

But, generally speaking there’s just something about the interior that’s not quite up to scratch. It’s lacking the overall sense of prestige that it should have.

Fit and finish is lacking in places, leaning more towards the Mahindra side of the quality spectrum, rather than any premium alternative.

Second-row passengers are well catered for with power outlets, directional air vents, and comfortable seats.

The rear cargo area has a cargo cover, four tie-down points and a 12V power outlet. The full-size spare wheel is in an underfloor compartment.

This Grand Cherokee has a claimed 1067L of cargo space when all seats are in use, and 2005 litres when the second row is folded away.

The Grand Cherokee has a 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine – producing 210kW at 6400rpm and 344Nm at 4000rpm – and a pretty clever eight-speed automatic transmission.

But it feels underpowered, and it takes ages for this 2167kg vehicle to get off the mark – so, a rapid-fire sprint into traffic from a standing start is out of the question without some white-knuckle nanoseconds of doubt – and overtaking can be a laggy, laborious affair.

The Grand Cherokee has a 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine – producing 210kW at 6400rpm and 344Nm at 4000rpm.

Making matters worse is a jerky throttle. Downward pressure will yield nothing-nothing-nothing, and then suddenly the Jeep will lurch forward – and this Jeep’s spongy brake pedal is very slow to bite.

On the plus side, this Grand Cherokee has height-adjustable air suspension and low- and high-range 4WD.

It also has various drive modes: 'Rock', 'Sand/Mud', 'Snow', 'Auto' and 'Sport'.

On-road, the Grand Cherokee, though smaller than its bigger stablemate, feels rather cumbersome.

That sense of bulkiness combined with the loose play in the steering, wallowing body roll, as well as that aforementioned jerky throttle and spongy late-to-bite brake pedal combine to make for a mildly unsettling – and more than annoying – driving experience on sealed surfaces.

This Jeep’s 3.6-litre petrol V6 feels underpowered and while the transmission is quite clever, it’s often busy managing gear shifts to revs.

If Jeep wanted the Grand Cherokee to seriously compete with the likes of the Ford Everest, Land Rover Defender, Nissan Patrol or Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, it’s unfortunately ended up wide of the mark on this occasion.

Surely, it must be impressive off-road, though, right? Well…

The drive mode was set at ‘Auto’ and the height-adjustable air suspension was at ride height because the terrain didn’t yet warrant vehicular adjustment.

On the loose-gravel track leading to our 4WD testing ground, it was jittering and skipping over minor corrugations where other (much cheaper) 4WD wagons had exhibited composure.

I’d dropped tyre pressures from 36 psi (stated on the tyre placard) to 30, so too-high pressure wasn't the culprit.

The drive mode was set at ‘Auto’ and the height-adjustable air suspension was at ride height because the terrain didn’t yet warrant vehicular adjustment. 

When it came time to tackle more difficult terrain, it was easy to switch through drive modes – it’s a shifter-lever above and to the left of the auto transmission dial. And selecting 4WD Low (low-range 4WD) is a button-push, below and to the left of the auto transmission dial.

When it came time to tackle more difficult terrain, it was easy to switch through drive modes – it’s a shifter-lever above and to the left of the auto transmission dial.

This Jeep doesn’t have a diff lock so it’s reliant on its low-range transfer case and an off-road traction control system, which is okay, but some of the Grand Cherokee’s off-road driver-assist aids seem slow to engage (eg. when switching between drive modes) and/or clunky in operation (eg. hill descent control didn’t hold to a truly low speed, instead seeming to free-wheel down steeper slopes once momentum kicked in).

At full stretch, the Jeep’s air suspension will top out at 276mm of ground clearance – better than the 300 Series (235mm), but not as good as an air-suspension-equipped Defender (291mm).

This Jeep has approach, departure and rampover angles of 30.1, 28.4 and 24 degrees, respectively, and a listed wading depth of 610mm – all measurements which are far from the best, but not the worst, either.

This Jeep has approach, departure and rampover angles of 30.1, 28.4 and 24 degrees, respectively, and a listed wading depth of 610mm.

Limited axle articulation impacts this Grand Cherokee’s off-road efficacy as it tends to leave a wheel in the air as the vehicle traverses any kind of undulating terrain.

For those considering using this Jeep as a touring vehicle, it’s worth noting its towing capacities are listed as 750kg (unbraked) and 2813kg (braked).

All in all, this Grand Cherokee tackles most obstacles without any real strife but it has to be driven with extra care and it never feels as comfortably capable as it could be – and that many of its rivals are.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland does not have an ANCAP safety rating because it has not been tested.

It does have a suite of driver-assist tech including AEB (with pedestrian and cyclist detection), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, active lane management, traffic sign recognition and tyre-pressure monitoring.

Some of the driver-assist tech – such as lane-keep assist – is on the wrong side of intrusive, beeping and jerking the steering wheel when the Jeep’s onboard computer senses you're straying.