It’s been three decades since we first met the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and back then we had a strong suspicion we were looking at the future: a sport-ute with the off-road ability of a truck (for trucks is what most SUVs were) and the driving characteristics of a car.
Today we’re face to face with another Grand Cherokee, an 8,700-mile original from Stellantis’ heritage collection. We’re here to find out if we were right. Was the ZJ of the 1990s the SUV of the future?
We are immediately struck by irony: Today’s automakers try to make cars look like SUVs, but the Grand Cherokee is an SUV trying to look like a car. Although its hulking presence belies its diminutive size—today’s Honda HR-V casts a bigger shadow—the Grand Cherokee looks like it’s sucking in its gut to hide its mass. There’s no spare tire hanging off the tailgate; it’s hidden away in the cargo bay, where it eats up an unforgivably large chunk of space. There is precious little chrome, and in fact few adornments at all. Like most great car designs, the ZJ’s style is in its shape.
Opening the door reveals odd proportions: The lower half is short like a car door, while the window frame seems absurdly tall. We step up to get in, but unlike a modern SUV, we don’t drop down again, because the floor is as flat as a sheet of plywood and not much thicker. The chunky center console topping the tall transmission tunnel reminds us just how tightly the Grand Cherokee is wrapped around its machinery.
Esta historia es de la edición July 2023 de Motor Trend.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición July 2023 de Motor Trend.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
2023 GMC Canyon
MC, the luxe-truck division of General Motors, has long struggled to differentiate its products from mechanically similar Chevrolets.
2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty
The heavy-duty truck world moves more slowly than other pickup classes, and progress comes in spurts. Take the Ford F-Series Super Duty, whose recent refresh included softer-edged styling, a new entry-level gas-fed V-8, a new high-output 6.7-liter turbodiesel V-8, and myriad small improvements like new bedside steps. Is it still basically the same truck as before? Absolutely, but it’s also a better Super Duty, however incrementally.
2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD
When Chevrolet unveiled its all-new 2020 Silverado HD lineup, it set the truck world ablaze, and not in a good way.
THE CHEVROLET COLORADO IS THE 2024 MOTORTREND TRUCK OF THE YEAR
A BROAD LINEUP DELIVERS AN IMPRESSIVE RANGE OF OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY WITHOUT COMPROMISE TO EVERYDAY LIVABILITY
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE THE 80?!
THE FIRST-GENERATION NISSAN PATHFINDER IS AN SUV THROWBACK TO A TOTALLY RAD TIME, FOR SURE
BAVARIAN ECONS 2002te
THIS ELECTRIC BMW RESTOMOD LOSES ITS ENGINE BUT NOT ITS SOUL
2023 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS FIRST TEST
PORSCHE'S MOST FOCUSED 911 OF ALL TIME MUST BE EXPERIENCED AT ITS LIMITS TO BE UNDERSTOOD
2024 TRUCK OF THE YEAR MADE IN MICHIGAN
AFTER DECADES IN THE WEST, TRUCK OF THE YEAR MOVES TO MICHIGAN
YOUR ICON OF ICONS: CHEVROLET CORVETTE
Was there ever any doubt? MotorTrend readers are largely American, and as much as we love Jeeps, Mustangs, and F-150s in this country, the Corvette has been “America’s sports car” for nearly as long as this publication has existed. That’s why you chose it via our online vote as the most iconic car of the past 75 years.
MOTORTREND CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
The 10 Most Iconic Vehicles of Our Time and Much More