Jeep
- The Cherokee is back for the 2026 model year after a three-year break, and it now packs a hybrid powertrain.
- The exterior design is blockier than before, while the interior looks far more modern and features two larger screens.
- The hybrid powertrain is more powerful than the previous entry-level four-cylinder engine and promises significantly improved fuel economy.
It’s been a few years since Jeep’s lineup last included the Cherokee nameplate, and over the compact SUV’s three-year hiatus, a lot has changed. The 2026 Jeep Cherokee arrives with completely new sheetmetal, a more modern cabin, and a standard hybrid powertrain. To see just how far the Cherokee has come, let’s see how it stacks up versus the previous generation, last sold for the 2023 model year.Design and DimensionsWhen the fifth-generation Cherokee arrived in 2014, the sleek bodywork, with a pointy front end accentuated by thin LED daytime running lights mounted high up, was controversial. Since then, the Cherokee’s approach of situating the main headlights below an LED “eyebrow” has become a popular design cue on modern SUVs. But for the Cherokee’s return, Jeep eschewed that look, instead getting back to its roots with a boxy, upright body. The overall shape is more reminiscent of its big brother, the Grand Cherokee, and the headlights and taillights take on a more rectangular shape. The Cherokee is also significantly larger than before, with its wheelbase growing from 106.6 inches to 113 inches, and overall length increasing by five inches to 188.1 inches. The compact SUV is also about 1.5 inches wider and about an inch taller than before. Jeep says the Cherokee hybrid weighs 4295 pounds, which is almost 400 pounds more than Jeep’s claim for the 2023 base model Cherokee.Interior and CargoThe cabin is also a drastic departure from the 2023 model, which had an outdated look that was nearly 10 years old at that point. The 8.4-inch touchscreen that was awkwardly squeezed between the climate system vents on the previous Cherokee is gone. The SUV now prominently displays a standard 12.3-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability in the center of the dashboard.All Cherokees also feature a 10.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a big upgrade over the 2023 model’s small screen, which was sandwiched between physical gauges. Overall, the dashboard is more horizontally oriented than before, with thin climate system vents running along the top edge of the dashboard, highlighted by chrome trim. The steering wheel also ditches the traditional circular shape for an octagon.JeepView Interior PhotosJeepThe larger dimensions bring a more capacious cabin, although Jeep seems to have prioritized cargo room over passenger space. Jeep touts a 30 percent bump in cargo room, with 68 cubic feet of space with the rear seats folded down. That’s a significant bump over the 2023 model’s 55 cubic feet. The new model also has a big advantage with the rear seats in place, with 34 cubic feet versus the previous Cherokee’s 26 cubic feet.While the front passengers gain almost an inch of extra headroom on Cherokees without the panoramic sunroof, adding in that glass panel negates the advantage, and legroom only increases by two-tenths of an inch. Shoulder room is nearly the same as before, while hip room increases by 0.6 inch. The second row also gets a bit of extra headroom, but legroom is actually down by almost two inches. Still, second-row passengers get an extra 2.5 inches of shoulder room and a smidge more hip room.PowertrainThe 2023 Cherokee was available with two four-cylinder powertrains, with a 180-hp 2.4-liter inline-four in the standard Altitude trim and a 270-hp 2.0-liter engine in the off-road-focused Trailhawk model. The Trailhawk had used a 271-hp V-6 until 2023, when Jeep swapped in the four-cylinder.While the 2026 Cherokee still packs four cylinders, it now employs a hybrid powertrain, augmenting the turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four with two electric motors and a battery to combine for 210 horsepower and 230 pound-feet of torque. Instead of the previous Cherokee’s nine-speed automatic gearbox, the hybrid now uses a continuously variable transmission. JeepJeepJeep claims the new Cherokee hybrid will have a combined fuel economy rating of 37 mpg, which would mark a huge improvement over the outgoing model. The 2023 Cherokee was rated at 24 mpg combined for the 2.4-liter engine and 22 mpg combined for the more potent 2.0-liter engine. Jeep says the new hybrid powertrain allows the Cherokee to travel over 500 miles on a single tank of gas, versus 379 and 348 miles for the two engines in the previous Cherokee.All 2026 Cherokees come with all-wheel drive. The previous generation had featured a base front-wheel-drive model until the 2023 model year, when Jeep reduced the lineup significantly. The 2026 model features a standard rear-axle disconnect system and four drive modes, including one dedicated to driving in the snow and one for sand and mud. Trims and PriceThe 2023 Cherokee had only come in two trims, Altitude Lux and Trailhawk, the result of Jeep culling the lineup as it wound down production. In 2022, the Cherokee had been offered in five trims, including an “X” model and a base Altitude. The 2026 Jeep Cherokee will be offered in four trims: a base model, Laredo, Limited, and Overland. While Jeep isn’t offering an all-terrain-ready Trailhawk model just yet, we wouldn’t be surprised to see such a variant join the lineup in the next couple of years. The 2026 Cherokee will start at $36,995, with the Laredo coming in at $39,995. The Limited trim will require $42,495 while the Overland will demand $45,995. In 2023, the Cherokee’s base price was $39,290, inflated by the fact that Jeep had reduced its offering to two trims. In 2022, the most affordable Cherokee Altitude rang in at $31,590, with the top-dog Limited model costing $40,940. While the fifth-generation model was built in Toledo, Ohio, from 2013 to 2017 before moving to Belvidere, Illinois, the new 2026 Cherokee will be assembled in Toluca, Mexico.
Source: caranddriver.com
