Jeep confirms August as reveal month for all-new Grand Cherokee L

Having provided a hint of what to expect back in April, Stellantis South Africa has officially confirmed 17 August as the reveal day for the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The long overdue replacement for the current twelve year old internally designation WK2, which can trace its roots back to the DaimlerChrysler-era, the new WL codenamed Grand Cherokee will, initially, be offered solely in seven-seat L guise with the standard five-seater being unconfirmed for now.

Based on Alfa Romeo’s outgoing Giorgio platform used by the Giulia, Stelvio and Maserati Grecale, the boxier looking Grand is both wider and longer than the WK2, with Jeep claiming a boot capacity of 484-litres with all seven seats up, 1 328-litres with the third row down and 2 395-litres with the second row lowered as well as.

Despite details for South Africa being unknown at present, the US-spec Grand Cherokee offers a choice of three versions of Jeep’s Quadra four-wheel-drive system and a completely revised Quadra-Lift air suspension capable of providing up to 277 mm of ground clearance.

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As before, the entry-level front-wheel-drive derivative available in the States is not earmarked for South Africa, thus leaving an all-paw gripping range resplendent with an electronic rear diff-lock on models fitted with the Quadra-Drive III system.

In the US, the Grand Cherokee L comes in four trim levels; Laredo, Limited, Overland and Summit with tech ranging from an 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen infotainment system and a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster, to a nine-speaker Alpine sound system, wheel sizes between 18 and 20-inches, the bigger 10.1-inch Uconnect display and up to 12 USB ports.

The suite of safety and driver assistance systems meanwhile comprise Adaptive Cruise Control, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Autonomous Emergency Braking and Lane Keeping Assist, with the Overland and Summit adding Heads-Up Display, a panoramic sunroof and a 19-speaker McIntosh sound system to the mix.

Up front, the Grand Cherokee L is likely to follow the same route as the Wrangler and Gladiator by being motivated by the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol that pushes out 216kW/350Nm.

For South Africa though, the unit is expected to be retuned to the same 209kW/347Nm as in its siblings, with a no-no being the 266kW/530Nm 5.7-litre Hemi V8 rumoured to the replaced in due course by the twin-turbo 3.0-litre Hurricane straight-six that produces of 313kW/635Nm in the Wagoneer and 380kW/678Nm in the Grand Wagoneer L.

Remaining the sole transmission option is the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic with a diesel engine not considered as a result of Jeep’s switch from oil-burners towards electrification.

Still made at the Jefferson North Plant in Detroit, the Grand Cherokee L retails from $42 795 (R717 415) for the front-wheel-drive Laredo to $65 470 (R1 097 539) for the four-wheel-drive Summit,

However, expect South African pricing to kick-off at around R1-million with final spec set to be announced on said date.