New 2014 Jeep Cherokee design - hot or not?

[JohnC]

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/28/gill ... temporary/





Looks like Fiat didn't get into enough "ugliest cars of all time" lists with their 1998 Fiat Multipla:



Now they want to do it again, only using Jeep's models instead

[adampk17]

I think the headlights are a bit too squinty. Other than that I think it looks pretty nice.

[ludi]

This is what happens when a Land Rover Evoque and a Pontiac Aztek are given some unsupervised time in the dark.

In spite of that, the design almost works. There's something in the headlight layout that doesn't quite do the trick.

[danny e.]

The body is a Audi Q5/7 design. The front is something a dog vomited up.

[jss21382]

I don't love it, but it's better than the Liberty(probably one of the worst vehicles jeep has made) it's replacing.

[rogue426]

Ugh, cars/suv's are all sporting the same look nowadays. Go back to the Grand Wagoneer style of the late 80's / 90's. Better yet bring back the Classic Cherokee with the inline fuel injected 6 with vinyl floors and drain plugs so I can hose out the interior of all the mud when I'm done playing. The same could be said for Ford, bring back the 1st gen Bronco with a modern chassis and drive train and sell it for 25k and I bet they couldn't keep up with demand.

[Scrotos]

Reminds me of a Mazda CX7. I like the CX7. I don't really like this. It's not the worst I've seen but it's kinda generic for a company that made very blocky purpose-built vehicles.

Have an S10 Blazer, the wife loves Jeep as a brand but even she is thinking Nissan Xterra as it seems more like the hose-off-the-inside practical kind of thing.

[RickyTick]

It's okay I guess.

I own a 2013 Ford Escape. There are several Crossover's in this category, and they all look very similar.

Honda CRV
Hyundai Santa Fe
Ford Escape / Mazda CX5
Kia Sportage

Hard to tell them apart sometimes.

[Flatland_Spider]

Not. Not hot at all.

It reminds me of the Isuzu Vehicross.

This follows the trend of Jeep producing a good looking Grand Cherokee then producing one that is incredibly ugly.

[Darkmage]

It reminds me of the Isuzu Vehicross.

Heh. I have friends who are pretty serious off-roaders who had a turbocharged Vehicross. It was pretty slick, actually.

They sold it after a few years. "The best vehicle I never drove." is how they described it.

[MadManOriginal]

Wow, that's hideous. It's like they had 4 different designs and couldn't decide so just smashed them all together.

And one reason vehicles look more similar is because of aerodynamics to increase fuel efficiency. Can't get around the basic physics. It's always been sort of true, with some outliers, because of styling trends too.

[superjawes]

That Jeep looks like it has two mouths.

Definitely NOT hot...

[Dizik]

Jalopnik: Remember When Luke Skywalker Killed The New Jeep Cherokee In Return Of The Jedi?

[Captain Ned]

Jalopnik: Remember When Luke Skywalker Killed The New Jeep Cherokee In Return Of The Jedi?

Very good.

[Ryhadar]

It reminds me of the Isuzu Vehicross.

Heh. I have friends who are pretty serious off-roaders who had a turbocharged Vehicross. It was pretty slick, actually.

They sold it after a few years. "The best vehicle I never drove." is how they described it.

My girlfriend's older brother and sister-in-law have this car. They use it in the winter because both of the enthusiast cars they drive (Camaro and 'vette) don't cut it. It's... alright. If it were me, I'd sell the damn thing (they've easily sank thousands of extra $ in it for repairs) but they won't because it's a special edition or something. I'm getting frustrated just thinking about it.

Anyway, I didn't have a problem with the new look until I pulled up pictures of the 2002 Cheap Grand Cherokee my family had. Compared to that, it looks ugly. In a vacuum it's "meh".

[riviera74]

When aerodynamics trumps all else, we get the 2014 Jeep Cherokee.

Time to go back to the 80s, when trucks LOOK like trucks, and Jeeps LOOK like Jeeps.

[axeman]

The funny thing is, if a Jeep doesn't look like a "Jeep", they're really devaluing the brand. If it just looks like every other crossover type SUV, it's directly competing with import stuff that's probably built better. And I say this as a Jeep owner for most of the past 15 years. I would say a large percentage people who buy Jeeps do it because of the "rugged"/boxy exterior. In fact this was proven when the new Liberty sold really poorly with male buyers. Even when the vehicle has become a bit of an abortion using left-over minivan engines like the new Wranglers did prior to the new pentastar engine, they sell relatively well because of the looks.

In any case the Jeep brand is pretty much a zombie corpse at this point, once they started putting V6s in them they really lost my interest.

[ludi]

I wonder if the average Grand Cherokee buyer is even male these days. Men who have that kind of money and want a Jeep-type vehicle already own either a modded Wrangler, or an FJ Cruiser.

[axeman]

Not. Not hot at all.

It reminds me of the Isuzu Vehicross.

This follows the trend of Jeep producing a good looking Grand Cherokee then producing one that is incredibly ugly.

As in alternating? I find the new GC to be better looking than the old one - the 2005–2010 one looks like a Dodge with a different grille, which it pretty much is. Unless that's what you meant. Before that, I don't know if the WJ was better looking than the ZJ or not. IMO, they got progressively uglier, untill the latest one that looks a bit better, but too much like everything else. But I'm a bit biased, I'm driving a '95 Jeep.

[JohnC]

I wonder if the average Grand Cherokee buyer is even male these days. Men who have that kind of money and want a Jeep-type vehicle already own either a modded Wrangler, or an FJ Cruiser.

...Wrangler will be next for re-design with this "contemporary new looks"

[axeman]

I wonder if the average Grand Cherokee buyer is even male these days. Men who have that kind of money and want a Jeep-type vehicle already own either a modded Wrangler, or an FJ Cruiser.

I read somewhere that Liberty owners were predominantly female, especially with the first ones. The 2nd iteration was boxy, but ugly IMO (just looks like a Nitro). And I'm pretty sure the new "Wrangler" with four doors is a soccer mom vehicle all the way. So yeah, maybe they're smart, just pisses off guys who used to like Jeeps.

[continuum]

The front grill looks... odd. It might work, it might not. It's so distracting though, that it gets me to completely forget about the extremely, hideously ugly headlights.

[Captain Ned]

When aerodynamics trumps all else, we get the 2014 Jeep Cherokee.

Time to go back to the 80s, when trucks LOOK like trucks, and Jeeps LOOK like Jeeps.

As soon as CAFE is repealed, we can.

[kvndoom]

It's busy, but I don't think it's ugly. If women like it, it will sell. This segment is marketed to females anyway. Jeep isn't really a man's brand anymore.

You want polarizing? We just got a Nissan Juke.

You want POLARIZING? Wait till the next Mustang is revealed. People are going to spontaneously explode over that one.

[axeman]

Jeep isn't really a man's brand anymore.

Part of me died inside because it is the truth. If you want a real Cherokee or Wrangler, though, there's enough of an aftermarket that those who want one will be be able to get anything and everything for the next 20 years anyhow.

You want polarizing? We just got a Nissan Juke.

I bet that was a female influenced decision if there ever was one. That thing is next level FUGLY. It's probably a fine automobile, though. Good thing its too small for me to ever worry about my wife wanting one. She drives a GMC Sierra...

[JohnC]

When aerodynamics trumps all else, we get the 2014 Jeep Cherokee.

Time to go back to the 80s, when trucks LOOK like trucks, and Jeeps LOOK like Jeeps.

As soon as CAFE is repealed, we can.

I think it's a little bit too late for that Even if it will be repealed - I don't think manufacturers will switch back to higher displacement naturally aspirated engines, less aerodynamic body styles and hydraulic power steering since they have invested so much time and resources into current fuel efficiency-enhancing methods and since the price of oil has no good reason to drop but plenty of them to continue increasing But this is a discussion for different topic

[Voldenuit]

It reminds me of the Isuzu Vehicross.

Heh. I have friends who are pretty serious off-roaders who had a turbocharged Vehicross. It was pretty slick, actually.

They sold it after a few years. "The best vehicle I never drove." is how they described it.

My girlfriend's older brother and sister-in-law have this car. They use it in the winter because both of the enthusiast cars they drive (Camaro and 'vette) don't cut it. It's... alright. If it were me, I'd sell the damn thing (they've easily sank thousands of extra $ in it for repairs) but they won't because it's a special edition or something. I'm getting frustrated just thinking about it.

Love the Vehicross. It was very advanced for its time - extruded aluminum dampers, variable intake V6 and computer controlled 4WD. It also had some very nice touches - the cladding was designed for debris protection rather than for looks and the black plastic insert on the hood was put there to reduce glare.

It really was a limited edition, too. Body panels were built using ceramic dies that were quicker and cheaper to make but which wore out quicker than cast iron dies, and the entire run was intended to finish when the dies wore out.

[JohnC]

Yea, Vehicross was pretty advanced car and had more "function" than the Cherokee... It was also more aesthetically pleasing (at least for me) to look at from any angle, especially in-person, regardless of its body color. And it didn't have such ugly "split stacked" headlight design like on this Jeep abomination and this one:

[kvndoom]

I bet that was a female influenced decision if there ever was one. That thing is next level FUGLY. It's probably a fine automobile, though. Good thing its too small for me to ever worry about my wife wanting one. She drives a GMC Sierra...

I was ambivalent on the looks. She always has loved it, but I never hated it either. The test drive sold us (as did the price we got). I love the shape of it, but I do wish the headlamps weren't so odd looking. But it drives like a charm (we got the 6MT SL trim), and is a fun little hot hatch with plenty of amenities.

[ludi]

The Juke isn't quite the oddest thing I've ever seen -- that honor goes to the Murano CrossCabriolet convertible SUV. First and only time I saw one on the road, I had a Simpsons moment ("Sorry, Grandpa, it's just that for a moment it looked like Dad had melted").