Think of the Jeep Grand Cherokee lineup as a small mountain range. At the base of it, there's the entry-level Laredo. Once you start climbing, you see models such as the Upland, Altitude and Limited. The high-performance SRT and upscale Overland are a little further north. If you look all the way up, you'll see the three peaks to the Grand Cherokee range.
The 707-horsepower Trackhawk is the pinnacle of Grand Cherokee on-road performance. When it comes to off-road prowess, you can't go any higher than the Trailhawk. True to its name, the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee (base price: $52,590**) is the vertical limit of Grand Cherokee luxury. I spent a week in a four-wheel-drive 2020 model ($70,370 as tested) discovering why - without the help of a Sherpa.
2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Exterior
Jeep introduced the WK2 version of its popular midsize SUV as a 2011 model. They started with an attractive, well-proportioned exterior and have only made it even more appealing since then. The Grand Cherokee is a "two-box" design in name only. Designers shaved every point and hard corner off of it, leaving behind a sturdy, sculpted, timeless shape.
When Jeep configured my test vehicle, they went with the fittingly named, low-key color they call Velvet Red Pearl-Coat. The addition of the optional black roof made it fly even more under the radar. They also checked the box for the Platinum Series Group, which tastefully combines body-color accents (mirrors, door handles and sills) with Platinum trim (lower front and rear fascias, roof rails, greenhouse frame, 20-inch wheels, badges and more).
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2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Interior
The of Grand Cherokee refinement is unlike any other mountain top. Instead of being surrounded by a low level of oxygen and clouds, I found myself in the middle of a landscape of high-end materials. Glossy wood trim ran from one front door panel, across the top of the heated steering wheel, over the entire width of the dashboard and to the other front door panel. Leather covered the rest of the steering wheel, the instrument panel, door armrests and center console lid. Jeep took things up a level by adding its Signature Leather-Wrapped Interior Package, which covered the lower panels of the dash in leather and swapped out the regular seats for Laguna leather seats (heated and ventilated in the front row; heated in the back row) with Bentley-esque quilted inserts.
The's infotainment tech was on the same lofty level. It comes standard with the Uconnect 4C NAV system. Its 8.4-inch touchscreen was quick to respond to my inputs and gave me access to the built-in 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, as well as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and the settings for the 825-watt, 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.
Jeep didn't forget about the's backseat passengers. I'm 5'10" and I had plenty of legroom and headroom. I could get even more comfortable by focusing one of the rear air vents on me and manually reclining the back of my seat. If I needed to charge my phone, all I had to do was plug it into one of the two USB ports or the 115-volt outlet. I even had my own screen back there. Actually, make that two because Jeep equipped my tester with its optional Blu-Ray-compatible Rear DVD Entertainment Center. Whichever row I happened to be in, the standard dual-pane panoramic sunroof gave me the chance to look up at the natural glitter in the nighttime sky.
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2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Performance
Whoever said luxury has to be complicated? A walk on the beach at sunset is straightforward. The Grand Cherokee uses a similar approach. My press vehicle had the available Hemi V8. It was all motor. No turbos. No supercharger. Just eight cylinders that displace 5.7 liters and produce 360 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque. In four-wheel-drive models, such as the one I tested, an eight-speed automatic and two-speed transfer case with a 2.72:1 low range ratio put that power to the road and trail.
Under ideal conditions, the could return 14 mpg in the city, 22 mpg in the highway and 17 mpg combined. I must've spent a little too much time in Sport mode because I only managed to average 15.2 mpg over 139 miles of mixed driving.
The's Quadra-Lift air suspension gave it a ride quality that fit its image as the most sophisticated Grand Cherokee. It did a great job disguising the fact that I was in a four-wheel-drive SUV that could tow up to 7,200 pounds. In addition to its setting for highway driving, the air suspension also had a low mode that made getting in and out easier and two off-road heights that could help the clear obstacles. By turning the Selec-Terrain Traction Management System's dial, I could adjust how the distributed its power to the front and rear axles and prepare it to take on mud, sand, snow or rocks.
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2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Safety
Jeep was kind enough to add a variety of options to my media special. One thing it didn't add was safety equipment. It didn't have to. Every safety feature my press vehicle had on it was standard.
It was a long list that included Hill Start Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop, Forward Collision Warning with Active Braking, Blind-Spot and Cross-Path Detection and Lane Departure Warning Plus.
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2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overall
To reach the absolute peak of Jeep Grand Cherokee luxury, you don't need to fly to the other side of the world or hire an expedition guide. You don't even need to bring a parka. Just drive to your closest AutoNation Jeep dealership and test-drive a 2020 Grand Cherokee.
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Contributed by - Derek Shiekhi
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