Jeep is priming the next-generation Cherokee for launch next year, with the new-look SUV set to offer the choice of petrol or electric power.
It's set to be a close relation of the flagship Jeep Wagoneer S EV, making the switch onto parent company Stellantis’s STLA Large platform.
Indeed, the new Cherokee shares several design cues with the Wagoneer S, including a sloping roofline, squared-off haunches, rear doors set into the wheel arches and door handles recessed into the body.
Up front, however, the Cherokee is expected to feature a more prominent variant of Jeep’s seven-slot grille than that on the Wagoneer S, mirroring that on the new Compass.
The rear end too appears to draw on the Compass but forgoes the light bar that spans the rear end of that car in favour of a more traditional look.
The appearance of a tailpipe suggests that the new Cherokee prototype packs an internal combustion engine, rather than a battery-electric powertrain.
It's possible that this is the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre ‘Hurricane’ straight six from the petrol-powered Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, offered with outputs of 420bhp and 510bhp.
An electric Cherokee is set to follow after the launch of the petrol model, likely borrowing the 600bhp dual-motor, four-wheel-drive powertrain from the Wagoneer S.
This is paired with a 118kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery in that car, giving it a range of 303 miles (according to the US’s EPA test, which is less lenient than the WLTP regimen used in Europe).
Inside, the new Cherokee has a large infotainment touchscreen similar to the 12.3in unit featured in the Wagoneer S, with rotary control dials on its sides.
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Sloping roofline?! Not really. Also no chance of the Hurricane I6. As IF is the STLA Large, then it's the STLA Large transverse, a la Recon and Wagoneer S. Which will mean Hurricane I4s and EV. But I don't understand why they don't just use STLA Medium, as it looks like a Peugeot 5008 platform mate. Proportions look very similar. And it would increase economies of scale with the incoming STLA Medium - based Compass C-Seg SUV.