The Jeep Grand Commander three-row crossover debuted at the 2018 Beijing Auto Show – sold exclusively for China. It has a 231-horsepower 2-liter, four-cylinder engine that makes 258 lb-ft off torque. Connected to FCA’s ubiquitous 9-speed automatic transmission, the Jeep Grand Commander is available in a front-wheel drive (FWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) trim.
Looking (a lot) like a stretched out Jeep Cherokee, the Jeep Grand Commander is nearly 192-inches long and around 74-inches wide. That makes it pretty close to the dimensions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee sold here, with one major exception, the Jeep Grand Commander has a four-inch short wheelbase.
Last year, FCA unveiled the Jeep Yuntu concept at the 2017 Shanghai Motor Show – giving rise to speculation that a three-row crossover, built specifically for China was on the way. Judging by what we’re seeing with the Jeep Grand Commander, that speculation was correct. Keep in mind: Jeep is extremely popular in China and, in many ways, FCA is betting big on this market.
While details are slim, we can assume that this new Jeep will share its off-road system with the Jeep Cherokee: “Cherokee has three proven available 4×4 systems that can tackle all weather conditions. The simple-to-use Jeep® Active Drive I is a solid system for virtually any situation, the Jeep Active Drive II System provides low-range capability and the Jeep Active Drive Lock offers tremendous off-road capability.” – Jeep.com
What little of the interior design we can locate looks upscale, but the rear seats look no more commodious than a Dodge Durango’s. Still, this is a setup Jeep fans in North America have not seen since the 2005 to 2010 Jeep Commander (XK). It’s something Jeep is developing for this market as well. The question is, will we have a small crossover like this Jeep, or a truck-based SUV… or both?
At the very least, Jeep will most likely measure public interest in their new Jeep Grand Commander to see what we think of it.
Interesting – no?
