Monthly Motor - September 2014

the “ruggedness” that the iconic Jeep badge imparts,
these front-wheel drive Cherokees will happily commute
their owners around the urban jungle during
the week, and comfortably whisk families off to
destinations on the weekends and holidays.
The new Cherokee might look about as intimidating
as a baby panda bear, but it’s still pretty
rugged if you want it to be. For Jimmy and his
mud-splattered mates, Jeep makes a proper bunduduelling
version called the Cherokee Trailhawk
4x4 which has been tested on the infamously harsh
Rubicon off-road trail in the United States. The 3.2-
litre Trailhawk is a real off-roading beast with its
elevated 224mm ground clearance, low-range, rear
diff lock, and a five-mode Selec-Terrain traction
system (Rock, Auto, Snow, Sport and Sand/Mud)
that allows it to go pretty much anywhere it likes.
The model on test here, the Cherokee 3.2
Limited 4x4, isn’t quite as hard-core and fits inbetween
the 2-wheel-drive versions and the
Trailhawk on the bundu-bashing scale. It rides
slightly lower at 200mm than the Trailhawk, and
lacks the diff lock and Rock mode, but otherwise its
all-wheel drive and remaining Selec-Terrain modes
still give it decent proficiency at getting dusty in the
great outdoors.
Switching between the various modes is a simple
task of twirling a knob on the fascia, and Selec-
Terrain changes the responses of the transmission,
brakes, and stability control to suit the particular
surface. Ultimately, the 3.2 Limited 4x4 doesn’t have
the ground clearance for intense rock-crawling,
but mild-to-medium off-roading is well within its
capabilities.
Whatever one’s views of the exterior styling,
Jeep’s done a masterful job of the interior. The old
Cherokee’s cabin, which had all the styling flair of
a precast concrete wall except with a couple more
shades of grey, has been transformed into a classy
and modern environment. The best way to emulate
the Germans in their class-leading cabin quality is to
get a German to do it, and that’s precisely what Jeep
did by hiring Klaus Busse, formerly of Mercedes-
Benz, as its interior-design chief.
Kudos go to the man for the way he’s mixed
styling flair with rich-feeling textures, and this goes
hand in hand with a lot of new high-tech multimedia.
A large touchscreen on the fascia is used to
control the navigation, audio, vehicle settings and
climate control, and for the most part it’s simple and
intuitive to use. A neat touch is that you can also
display your digital photos on the screen.
The roomy cabin of this mid-sized SUV is family-sized
and the boot, which is accessible through an
electronically-operated tailgate, swallows a sizeable
heap of luggage and yes there’s a full-sized spare,
and the rear seats can fold flat. Cabin stowage space
is plentiful as well and includes lidded bins between
the front seats and atop the dashboard.
The 3.2 Limited 4x4 costs an eye-watering Ksh.
5,639,900 before it lands in our local showrooms -
expect it to cost a bit more from franchise holder
CFAO DT Dobie, but comes with a lot of standard
spec including leather seats, climate control, a customisable
instrument cluster, rain-sensing wipers,
automatic headlamps with LED daytime running
lights, electrically-powered driver seat, heated front
seats, a reversing camera, and a nine-speaker Alpine
audio system with Aux/USB/SD and Bluetooth con-
MOTOR SEPTEMBER 2014 23