New Jeep Range - The Legend Continues

Jeep has undergone somewhat of a revolutionary change very recently. Where previously the model range consisted of the wily old Wrangler and the Cherokee and er.. Oh yeah the Grand Cherokee. The new range of vehicles on offer from this long standing manufacturer is now positively vast.

From Patriot to Commander (sounds like a film title!) Jeep has pulled out all the stops to ensure they can offer a vehicle to suit all requirements. The seven slotted grille has a friendly non-aggressive look compared to a lot of SUV's you might find bearing down on you as you glance in your mirror, that is if like me you are a bluff old traditionalist who actually uses their mirror's these days!

The iconic Wrangler reincarnated in its current form looks the business with the four door version giving the Hummer a run for its money. For the sake of mother earth engine sizes are now 2.8 Auto or Manual Diesels with a 3.8 V6 petrol for those who still like to measure their CO2 by the ton! Off road handling is the best yet and all the features you would expect from a modern vehicle such as Multistage Airbags, ESP and traction control are available.

The Patriot is Jeep's entry model which still maintains the brand heritage and boasts an impressive list of standard features. Whilst essentially this is a full blown 4x4 with permanent four wheel drive it doesn't have the same ground clearance of larger Jeeps so bear this in mind before traversing rivers and such like!

Next we have the Compass which like the Patriot is more like a car in terms of its off-road capability but on a positive note the economy and emissions are very good for SUV's with both delivering over 40mpg on the combined cycle and C02 emissions around 200 g/kg. 18" Alloys are clad in 215/55 tyres which add a touch of bling to your ride.

To keep you on the safe and narrow a whole host of features come as standard such as traction control, ESP and ERM! That is (Electronic Roll Mitigation) to you and I. Multistage and curtain Airbags come as standard if things do go wrong.

The Cherokee and Grand Cherokee are now household names and the new generation do not disappoint. Available from 3.0 direct injection, high pressure common rail diesels to the awesome 6.1 HEMI V8. With an impressive range of standard equipment and outstanding off road performance these are grown up 4x4s designed to go head to head with luxury SUV's on offer from other manufacturers.

For the enthusiast the Cherokee offers hill descent control and hill start assist also front and rear electronic limited slip differentials with traction control that routes up to 100% of torque to the axle with the most traction when wheel slippage is detected. A wading depth of 508mm is achieved with 210mm ground clearance.

The performance figures of the SRT are definitely worthy of a mention. 419bhp with 420lb of torque. 0-62.5mph in 5.0 seconds and a top speed of 152mph. All this takes a lot of stopping so thankfully four-piston Brembo callipers take care of that for you. Sitting on 20" Alloys this really is a monster of a vehicle with so many features there is only one optional extra and no it isn't a missile launcher!

Finally we come to the Commander which offers everything you could expect from Jeep and then some. The Commander is a spacious genuine seven seater with around fifteen different seating/cargo permutations. Available in a 3.0 Common Rail 24 valve Diesel which produces 376 lb of torque. The performance isn't eye watering but then this is a large vehicle so it is impressive in other areas. The interior is packed with sumptuous leather and wood and a full entertainment system is available.

The Commander is very capable off road with all the features of the Cherokee. My only advice might be to avoid buying one in white!

There we have it then, with more than sixty years of history Jeep who pioneered driving off road demonstrate that they are still a force to be reckoned with.