2002 Jeep Wagoneer Concept

Worth the wait?

- Alisa Priddle

After years of delays, we have our first taste of what a short-wheelbase 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer will look like. There will also be a long-wheelbase Grand Wagoneer and a more mainstream, less luxurious 2022 Jeep Wagoneer, also in two sizes.

The first members of the new Wagoneer family will arrive in the summer of 2021, starting with the regular-sized SUVs. The stretched versions (analogous to the Cadillac Escalade ESV, Lincoln Navigator L, and the long-wheelbase Range Rover) will follow later as production swells at the plant in Warren, Michigan, which also makes the Ram 1500 Classic pickup.

That is no coincidence: The Wagoneer family uses a modified version of the Ram 1500 pickup truck architecture rather than stretching the Grand Cherokee platform as originally planned.

There will be three 4x4 systems and the ability to rock crawl while running on electric power. Jeep will also equip the 2022 Grand Wagoneer with an air suspension and promises unmatched towing capacity. We await full specs.

There were concerns that using a body-on-frame truck platform would limit the Grand Wagoneer’s ability to breathe the richer air of competitors above the $100,000 range. The (non-Grand) Wagoneer will start at about $60,000 to take on the likes of the Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition in its short-wheelbase form and the Suburban and Expedition L when stretched. A loaded Grand Wagoneer will easily top six figures and tackle the long and short variants of the Cadillac Escalade, Navigator Black Label, and, yes, the original target, Land Rover’s Range Rover.