The endless tease is over. The Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are finally here.
It feels like we’ve been talking about this vehicle forever. We’ve covered it ad nauseam, I saw an undisguised prototype up close at a (COVID safe) outdoor event hosted by Chrysler last fall, and we’ve debated its merits in Slack more than once. I’ll let you guess which staffer liked/disliked it.
Finally, now, Jeep and FCA Stellantis have shown us the real deal.
Jeep’s newest SUV is the harbinger of a subbrand, and it has luxury competition in its sights.
An intention to steal upscale-SUV buyers from cross-town rivals like Chevy and Ford doesn’t mean that Jeep is going to get away from its 4×4 heritage. Three different four-wheel-drive systems – Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II, and Quadra-Drive II will be offered.
Available off-road features and/or features of note to large SUV shoppers will include active low range, rear electronic limited-slip differential, 48:1 crawl ratio, traction management system, the ability to ford up to 24 inches of water, air suspension, up to 10 inches of ground clearance, and up to 10,000 pounds of towing capacity.
Both the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will have three-row seating standard, with seating for up to eight people.
Jeep may be an established off-road leader, but it also appears to be going for a new area of dominance – screens. You can get up to 75 inches of screen area, including 45 inches on the front dash. That includes 10.1- and 12-inch center-stack touchscreens that are configurable and can be set up as a dual-screen. Of course, the Wagoneer gets the newest version of Uconnect.
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, and there are two separate Bluetooth hookups for phones. There’s also TV integration via Alexa and Fire TV – yeah, you read that correctly. The screen setup allows the passenger to help navigate, to watch the exterior vehicle cameras, or to watch entertainment via an HDMI cable or the Fire TV. For the sake of marital bliss, it might be better for the passenger to watch entertainment than to navigate.
There’s also an available 10.25-screen for the rear. A non-screen available creature comfort is four-zone climate control. Both of those are marked for the Grand Wagoneer but not the regular.
A 360-degree camera with night vision and pedestrian/animal detection is available, along with wireless charging, and digital rearview mirror.
Parking assist and hands-free driving assist will be available.
Key mechanicals include a steel frame – the Wagoneer is body-on-frame, by the way – an electronically controlled suspension, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and two V8 engines.
The first is a 5.7-liter that makes 392 horsepower and 404 lb-ft of torque. This engine has cylinder deactivation and a mild-hybrid setup.
Grand Wagoneer models will get a 6.4-liter V8 with 471 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque.
Other key available features include a trailer-assist system, premium audio, head-up display, adaptive cruise control, active-driving assist, drowsy-driving detection, and traffic-sign recognition. There will be three trims for Wagoneer and four for Grand Wagoneer.
A Grand Wagoneer-only Obsidian trim will offer 22-inch wheels, special grille and mirrors, and other unique exterior and interior trim bits.
Jeep is sweetening the pot by also offering five years free maintenance, concierge support, roadside assistance, and pickup and dropoff for service appointments. A cynic might note that certain luxury brands have already offered some or all of those services for their buyers for years, even on vehicles that cost less than what Jeep will charge for these two. Maybe I just did in a very Midwestern passive-aggressive manner.
Pricing starts at $57,995, and $86,995 (!) for the Grand Wagoneer. Of course, Mopar accessories will be available.
If that pricing hasn’t dropped you to the floor, you can order your Wagoneer now, with deliveries expected to begin in the second half of this year.
[Images: Jeep]
“There will be three trims for Wagoneer and four Grand Wagoneer.”
I thought “Wagoneer” *was* a trim?
I’m confused, I thought “Grand” Wagoneer was the upscale version of the Wagoneer
Looks like they are trying to hit Tahoe and Escalade without two separate brands. Wagoneer = Tahoe Grand Wagoneer = Escalade. I was trying to come up with another brand that does this the closest I can come is GMC Denali, but this is a bit different in that there are more trim levels inside the Grand.
Not exactly. The Wagoneer has the smaller engine, the Grand the larger.
That’s it?
Looks like Grand gets certain features, and the special edition Obsidian trim, as well. I tried to make that clear in the post, will update if it’s not clear.
So, yes, the Grand Wagoneer is the more upscale version. The press release doesn’t always differentiate what is available on what. It looks like the Grand has nicer materials, the available Obsidian trim, and four-zone climate control and the rear screen, to go along with the bigger motor.
It should go without saying that the Grand will probably get some standard features that are options on the Wagoneer.
Nice hunky SUV, a bit late to the party, but still welcome. What’s the difference between the Wagoneer and the Grand Wagoneer?
“a bit late to the party…”
I think you are right, actually, it’s probably “too” late to the party. Considering where we are now, with a renewed focus on fuel economy, emissions standards, and the push to electrify everything, this seems like the wrong vehicle at the wrong time. This SUV will hardly occupy an unfulfilled market segment and Jeep, Stellantis, whatever, is going to need something more than another high-priced, “me too”, computer on wheels entry to standout. I wish them luck.
Naa. Look at the profits being made on the Ford and GM full sized B.O.F. SUV’s. There is still plenty of money to be made on these. They are high margin and most of the heavy lifting R&D wise was done for the RAM trucks so it is kind of a no brainer. They don’t need to sell a ton of these to still turn a profit on them. And even if everything goes electric no reason they can’t do it in a next gen vehicle and print money currently, which is one of the things full sized SUV’s do very well.
Yep they are late but not too late. Notice the Wagoneer comes standard as a Hybrid, I assume it was designed to at least become a plug in hybrid if not full electric at some point. People love big SUV’s I doubt gas will get above 4 bucks a gallon which I think is the current big pain point, There are enough oil producers that need money I don’t see oil going above 75-90 a barrel. There are also enough moderates on the left currently that giant increases on fuel tax is probably a non starter, might see some but not like Europe. Plus you have the fact that city dwellers are buying more cars and decamping to the suburbs, which means even those further on the left will have trouble going to far.
@rpol35:
Doesn’t matter – it’ll sell.
My only question is why they didn’t have this – or a full sized RAM SUV – years ago.
Not just TTAC but other publications too are having real trouble being clear about the differences.
As best I can tell, the major differences are that the GW gets the 6.4, nicer materials and trim throughout, and additional equipment (most prominently two more screens, including the goofy-looking front passenger screen).
It will be interesting to see if the name really lets Jeep play in the Escalade and Range Rover space.
Is it me or can anyone else see that the front end looks like a thinly disguised RAM truck?
I want one, but where the Hell is my 2021 2 Door Ramcharger??? That is what I really want.
I was too distracted by the rear view, with the upright glass and the chrome window trim. Not that anything really matters, anymore.
The Ram is a good looking vehicle though
It should have a roll down rear window and a fold down rear tailgate, but it looks like it has the standard giant slow moving motorized hatchback to bang you head against.
It also needs wide fake wood siding all the way down both flanks and across the back and it should be standard and mandatory!!! Otherwise it will look just like every other Suburban/Tahoe/Expedition, which all look the same now.
Choose your fake wood siding in oak, knotty pine, mahogany, walnut, redwood, zebra wood or eco friendly sustainable simulated bamboo! All fake!
They’re missing the boat without fake teak.
I think the deeper question here is, will the Grand Wagoneer supplant the Range Rover as the vehicle of choice among SoCal real estate agents with dubious plastic surgery and unnaturally white teeth? Enquiring minds want to know.
It’s a lot cheaper
We don’t know that yet. The options list isn’t out, just the base or starting price. There’s no way they’ll miss out on the margins by optioning it up to and past $100k. Range Rover is one of the few luxury marques against which Jeep would have a better reliability reputation.
I love all the wood trim inside. Outside it’s a bit too fussy and has *too much* trim. The chrome all the way around the roof and rear window trim are especially too much.
I really like the interior as well. Nice job, Jeep
Swing and a miss.
The original had that vibe of “I have money, but I’m not flashy about it, and I like to spend time in the countryside”.
This doesn’t have that.
The original had a leisure vibe to it.
This doesn’t have that.
Frankly, the Volvo XC90 is closer to the original Grand Wagoneer – especially the 1st generation one.
The vehicle that says those things today is the Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s a mediocre SUV unless you’re building an overland rig, but it sends an impeccably refined message.
And yet Toyota is killing it off in the USA.
It’ll be back, I suspect as soon as 2023.
Well, they only sold about 3 of them last year, so…
I think they sold all of them into the wealthy part of Seattle where I live. The streets are littered with Land Cruisers, and the accepted ownership model is to buy new and then hold for at least a decade with no attention to dents and scratches but totally faithful mechanical maintenance.
I predict this will be the most profitable per vehicle in the history of Chrysler, at least until they make the Hellcat version.
10,000lbs behind an SUV. Which I suppose have softer, more articulating springs for offroading as well…..
That makes it legal for towing that Airstream office around.
I’d still get a HD truck for that, though.
Legally towing a flatbed with a small skidsteer from the rental place, without needing a truck, no doubt does hold some appeal, though. In my view, that’s the kind of usage where that sort of lofty ratings makes the most sense.
Also, the 6.4, is cool. It’s such an endearing engine in a big, powerful SUV. If this thing is even just “as good” as the SRT Durango, it moves right to the top of the pile, as far as “cool” SUVs go.
Great! I can’t wait to be rear-ended by one, driven by a suburban ponytail mom speeding to drop off Braelynnn’s permission slip.
Maybe she’d miss if you BMW types bothered to turn on your turn signal from time to time.
Can’t wait to see the wailing and gnashing of teeth from certain quarters because these have IRS, with loud proclamations that sales of these and all their competitors will dry up as all the buyers instead hoard used GM K2XX SUVs because they have SRAs.
I was excited about the new 3row JGC L until I found it it costs $60K just to get the V8. The 3.6l V6 is pitiful in a vehicle weighing that much. No thanks. I’ll take a BOF SUV for that.
It is BOF
The JGC L isn’t.
My mistake, here I was thinking we were all discussing the new wagoneer.
I am sure they will sell enough, it is huge, heavy, well equipped. But I cannot help wondering if they are really pricing out a huge chunk of potential customers even with the most basic Wagoneer. That is a hefty base price.
Its looks are OK, but I really don’t see anything special when I look at this vehicle. Nothing really wows and that is not a good thing when you are asking this kind of money for a new car. If I had between $60 and $90k to spend on an SUV, this wouldn’t make my sort list. I am not the customer they are after though I suppose. My final thought on the matter is that the domestic 3 automakers are laughing all the way to the bank charging so much to people who are happy to pay more, a lot more, simply for mass. Dirt is actually more expensive than steel, a fact lost on most.
Kinda curious what suv you would buy in this price range? The 6.2 Suburban w/ magnetic shocks does scratch an itch to me.
I would buy a Audi Q7, Volvo XC90 for very similar price to Wagoneer, the price even stretches to GLS and Range Rover territory if we are also considering the price of the Grand Wagoneer. All of which I would much rather have, all of which have significantly more desirable exteriors. But yeah, I would definitely take a Suburban over the base Wagoneer.
Don’t get me wrong, the Jeep looks like a pretty nice car, there is just nothing that draws me to it.
I’m not feelin it. For FCAlantis to conquest Navi and Suburban drivers they’d need to call on their over the top styling, and this doesn’t really have much of a presence in photos. We’ll see . It’s not like the FCA ownership /dealership experience is going to point well healed customers in the showroom.
I suppose they can Hellcat it , that always works for them.
Fully loaded Grand Wagoneer is $111,000!?! Gtfo
Agreed. Imagine the insane depreciation on one of those. Makes the ‘17 armada I bought seem downright cheap. It’s no luxury suv but it’s no slouch in the comfort and smoothness department. With a mild lift w/ upgraded shocks and 35s it also does quite well off-road. Pretty reliable for me so far.
Given the number of 50-80k cars I see on the roads near me I don’t think the pricing is crazy. An old friend of mine bought a Suburban earlier this year and it came in just under 75k. You can get an Escelade or Navigator up over 100k. I do think they should come out with a lower priced off road model but they know what they are gunning for.
Thank you, but no – for that money I can buy a nice KIA in which I will not be ashamed to arrive to county club.
Given the local Country clubs near me are filled with Grand Cherokees, along with all the biggest SUVs the Euro brands offer, I doubt that’s an issue.
I meant TTAC country club.
I like it a lot. It matches or beats the Telluride for brawny look, but of course it’s in a class above the Telluride.
“If that pricing hasn’t dropped you to the floor”
Hardly – RAMs are easily that price. These will sell like crazy and print money for Stellantis.
Wait until Genesis strikes back.
I’m really not a fan of how the window swoops up at the base of the D pillar. In fact, the whole view from the rear 3/4 angle to the rear is just off-putting to me. But I like everything else I see, even if it’s all a bit generic.
I’ll end up buying the wife one of these in a few years… she has already commented on how much she likes it and she’s very much NOT a car person. So that means she’s going to get one.
Exterior is a mess, interior is a triumph. Prices are low, but it’s really just a rebadge, so don’t expect it to perform like a Rang Rover. This is a car for aspiring Range Rover owners not Range Rover owners
Looks great from the front but kinda of awkward from the side/rear. Pictures can be misleading though.
Glad to see they did it right and went w/BOF design. Missed if it has a solid rear axle or IRS. Definitely two good power plants for towing which IMO is the only reason to own one of these beasts. They may have put too much emphasis on off-road ability which is something buyers in this market could care less about.
All in all nicely done. They’ll sell well as they are a good alternative to the GM & Ford offerings.
Nice touch with the VU meters on the display.