DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Jeep debuts ‘softened’ Cherokee

Off-road specialist Jeep has used the Detroit motor show to unveil less polarising style for its Cherokee mid-size SUV.

The facelifted Cherokee is expected to hit the Australian market mid-year and there is expectation locally – as well as at global level – the move to more conventional styling will lead to more sales.

In Australia, just 1069 Cherokees were sold in the booming medium SUV segment in 2017. The biggest seller was the Mazda CX-5 with 25,831 sales.

The Cherokee launched in 2014 with a squinty set of headlights that were immediately controversial. Jeep has completely redone the front- and rear-end for this update.

But naturally, global head of Jeep Mike Manley was putting positive spin on both the original look and the update. He said the Cherokee had succeeded in tripling the model’s share of the mid-size SUV segment in North America and the facelift should capitalise on that.

“I loved the styling [of the 2014 Cherokee],” Manley said after presenting the Cherokee in Detroit. “Polarising is an interesting word. Over 40 per cent of people loved it. You know how big that segment is? If they all bought it then that would be the best thing for me.

“So what that did was enable us to break into a segment where we were a really niche player and that’s what we needed to do.

“But I think here it’s instantly recognisable as a Cherokee but the front is softened, so that will enable it to be more mainstream in the segment, which we really need to achieve.”

Cherokee styling updates include a new front fascia, more vertical aluminium ‘waterfall’ bonnet, LED headlights encased in larger lenses, daylight running lamps and foglights. At the rear a composite auto-lift tailgate is part of a redesign that also includes new tail-lights. There are five new alloy wheel designs

The Trailhawk gets a slightly reprofiled lower front fascia that improved the approach angle, although the 29.9-degree claim is the same in both the Australian specs for the old model and the Detroit show press kit for the new Cherokee.

Technically, Jeep also announced the addition of an Alfa Romeo-sourced 2.0-litre engine to the Cherokee line-up for North America, but that won’t be coming to Australia.

Instead, there will be no fundamental change to the four-model line-up, which will continue to offer a choice 2.4-litre four-cylinder Tigershark in the base model front-wheel drive Sport and a 3.2-litre V6 Pentastar petrol engine in the all-wheel drive Longitude and Limited and 4x4 off-road oriented Trailhawk. A nine-speed auto will continue to be the standard transmission.

If you’re wondering about the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine, that quietly dropped out of the Cherokee line-up in Australia some time ago because of lack of demand.

While Jeep in Australia may reintroduce a diesel Cherokee at some point, it will for now refer customers interested in that technology to the new Compass or the Grand Cherokee.

Inside the Cherokee update there are new piano black and satin chrome trim elements, a resculpted ‘media hub’ in the centre console. In the rear the luggage area width has grown 76mm, boosting luggage capacity.

The entry-level touch-screen grows from five to seven inches – the upper-spec stays at 8.4 inches -- and Uconnect upgrades to the latest fourth generation, which includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

Detail powertrain changes include a noise, vibration and harshness reduction for both the 130kW four-cylinder and 200kW V6. The auto has retuned software for improved drivability.

The on-demand Active Drive I all-wheel drive system employed by Longitude and Limited gets a new rear-drive module that is 7.7kg lighter and a 50 per cent reduction in low speed drag which improves fuel economy.

The fundamental building blocks of the Cherokee remain unchanged. It is based on the CUS-wide monocoque architecture, has all-round independent suspension, electric assist power steering and the same fundamental measurements as its predecessor.