| First Drive | Cheshire, England | Jeep Cherokee |

Jeep's Cherokee is a real 4x4, a proper off-road capable machine that doesn't pander to the SUV set. That means you expect a few compromises, the Cherokee not able to offer the sort of on-road refinement, dynamics and comfort of its more road-biased rivals. It's a workhorse then, which you can rely on to get you absolutely anywhere.

In the Metal

An all new body is still obviously from the Jeep design school, the American firm knowing well how to maintain its iconic look. The familiar seven slat grille is there, as are the trademark round headlamps - albeit mounted within rectangular reflectors. The proportions are as boxy as you'd expect too, the wheels housed in characteristic extended wheelarches. Overall it's a good looking car that retains Jeep's strong brand values of ruggedness, but manages to look up to date.

What you get for your Money

American cars usually offer a decent value proposition and the Cherokee is no different. Standard equipment levels are high, though if you want the really trick kit like the MyGig music and satnav system, or the 'Sky Slider' open roof then you'll pay extra. Similarly the automatic gearbox adds to the price, though it's worth having despite the slight increase in fuel consumption it brings. It's really the hardware underneath you're paying for, the Cherokee coming with a proven, rugged four-wheel drive system that gives it that mountain goat-rivalling capability.

Driving it

Jeep is justifiably proud of its off-road roots, but there's no denying that you pay the cost for them on road. Land Rover has proved with its Freelander and Discovery that you can make off-road capable cars work well on road, but Jeep trails its competition here. The 2.8-litre turbodiesel offers decent performance and the automatic transmission shifts reasonably smoothly, but refinement isn't a strong point, particularly at idle. The steering is lifeless and lacking in feel and the suspension struggles to balance ride comfort and body control. Despite a very old-fashioned upright dashboard interior space isn't as generous as you might expect, the footwells cramped thanks to the large transmission tunnel. That affects the boot and rear passenger space too, there not being a huge amount of legroom in the back and the boot featuring a very high floor.

In the muck everything changes. The Jeep is a hugely capable performer when the going gets rough, the four-wheel drive system easily operated via a switch on the transmission tunnel. In addition to the usual locking differentials and excellent wheel articulation there's electronic hill descent control and hill holder functions to enable the new Cherokee to get just about anywhere.

Worth Noting

The specification might be comprehensive across the model range but you pay for that generosity in other areas. American cars have long trailed their European counterparts for interior quality and style - the Cherokee is sadly no different. The interior feels pretty old fashioned, the quality, feel and look of the materials way behind the best European, Korean and Japanese rivals.

Summary

Jeep's Cherokee might get to places where rivals wouldn't dare, but there's no denying that you pay for that extraordinary ability on the road. Jeep is justifiably proud of its off-road heritage, but others have demonstrated that need not necessarily mean an overly compromised driving experience on the road. Jeep does have a very loyal customer base though, and those coming from the previous Cherokee will find this new car vastly improved, even if it's still a fair bit behind its rivals.