2015 Jeep Cherokee to be unveiled at Geneva Auto Show
Jeep will be launching the all new Cherokee at the 2014 Geneva Motor show next month. This will be the fourth generation of the "Go anywhere, do anything" vehicle. The new Cherokee is available in three trims for European markets- Longitude, Limited and Trailhawk (not available in UK at launch).
The design of the new vehicle is aggressive, bold and gives the vehicle a commanding road presence. The new Cherokee features a 'waterfall' bonnet design and houses the familiar seven slot horizontal grille. Headlights feature daytime running LEDs and xenon lights coming as standard on the Limited trim. The side profile has trapezoidal wheel arches and 17-inch wheels. There are fog lamps at the rear and the tail lights get full LED treatment.
The cabin gets new seats with the front ones getting heating, ventilating options. The seats get premium clothing in the base version whereas the other top end versions get the option of Nappa leather. Other exclusive characteristics include leather wrapped steering wheel and a wireless charging pad. Storage space is good and with the 60:40 split configuration of the second row seats more space can be made for storage or to enhance flexibility. The dashboard is dominated by a 7-inch TFT screen, which is fully reconfigurable and can show vast amount of information including turn-by-turn navigation, speed, fuel economy, safety warnings, audio information and Selec-Terrain. An advanced U-connect system with 8.4 inch touch screen is standard only on the Limited variant and optional on all other variants.
Only two diesel engine options are available on the new Jeep which incorporate the Start & Stop technology. The engine is a 2.0 litre, turbo-diesel, in-line four unit with MultiJet II technology with a variable geometry turbocharger. The more powerful version produces 172PS at 3750rpm and 350Nm of torque from as low as 1500rpm. Transmission for this unit is the new nine speed automatic box, which has on-the-fly shift map changing with manual shifting capability through Electronic Range select. More than 40 shift maps can be configured for maximizing performance and fuel economy. The other less powerful version of the same engine produces 142PS at 3750rpm and the same 350Nm of torque at 1500rpm. Transmission for this engine though is a six-speed manual.
The Cherokee's go anywhere capability is further boosted by the option of two 4x4 drive systems, the single speed fully automatic Jeep Active Drive I and the two speed Jeep Active Drive II. The Active Drive I is available on the Longitude and Limited models while the Active Drive II is available only on the Limited model.
The vehicle is also rated as the safest SUV in its category by NCAP and has been given a full five stars by the agency. The 2015 Jeep Cherokee has more than 70 safety and security systems which comprises of ABS with off-road calibration, Forward Collision Warning-Plus system, Adaptive Cruise Control-Plus, Lane Departure Warning-Plus, Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path Detection.
