How long does a good idea continue to be a good idea? Depends on the idea, right? Well how about the
Jeep Cherokee? It was
the good idea of ?84, a vehicle that helped launch America?s love affair with sport/utilities. Truckin? became chic almost over night, and the end of the affair nowhere in sight.
Although many compact sport/utilities have come along since, the Cherokee continues to play an important role in this ongoing drama. True, it hasn?t kept pace with the advances made by its competitors. In fact, it hasn?t changed much at all.
The Cherokee is still a good idea but for different reasons. If trendy styling and gee-whiz gadgetry aren?t important to you, it may just be the greatest by in its class.
By current standards, the Cherokee?s square-edged lines could be considered dated. Then again, this is the look that seduced a great many drivers away from their station wagons so why mess with it?
The Jeep product planners couldn?t come up with answer for that one, and the Cherokee rolls into ?95 looking pretty much as it always has. The only appearance changes over the years have been minor exterior trim items.
Like last year, the Cherokee is offered in three trim levels: SE, the basic Cherokee; the mid-level Sport; and the more luxurious Country. It?s available in 2- and 4-door body styles with a choice of rear-drive or two different 4-wheel-drive systems: Jeep?s Command- Trac system, designed for situational use with shift-on-the-fly capability, or the full-time Selec- Trac.
The Cherokee?s base engine continues to be a somewhat wheezy 2.5-liter 4-cylinder, and a 5 speed manual transmission is standard for all models. Jeep plans to offer a 3-speed automatic transmission option for 4- cylinder Cherokees later in the model year. For now, this set-up has a severe case of the slows.
Jeep?s 4.0-liter in-line 6 cylinder, available in Sport and County editions, does a much better job of hauling and it can be ordered with a 4 speed automatic. This engine has plenty of development behind it, it?s commendably smooth and it has enough moxie to increase the Cherokee?s trailer-towing capacity to 5000 lb.
The Cherokee?s unit-body design was a departure form traditional when it was introduced and it?s still a distinction today, though the Jeep Grand Cherokee shares this approach. The other compact sport/utility leaders such as the Ford Explorer and the Chevrolet Blazer/GMC Jimmy us body-on-frame construction.
Body-on-frame is the way all cars were made at one time. The body is assembled as a separate unit then bolted to the chassis. The rationale for the body-on-frame construction is that it?s durable. But it?s also heavy.
In unit-body cars, the body and the chassis are assembled as one piece with the body shell doing double duty as a stressed member of the chassis.
This method, which is almost universal in passenger-car assembly today, saves a lot of weight. Our Cherokee Sport test vehicle, for example, weighed in at about 3100 lb., complete with 4WD and automatic transmission.
That?s about 1000 pounds less then, say, a comparable equipped 1995 Chevrolet Blazer, a weight-savings that pays dividends when you tramp in the gas pedal.
On the other hand, the unit-body Cherokee might not stand up the rigors of rough roads, or no roads, as well as some of its competitors. If your sport/utility driving menu includes lots of bumpy going, be prepared for squeaks and rattles from the Cherokee.
