Jeep Grand Wagoneer

The Jeep Wagoneer has had an interesting life. It started life in 1962 and was sold until 1991 with the same architecture. Near the end of its life, it somehow became a status symbol and wealthy people would buy them to show off. The name Wagoneer was attached to a few other Jeeps later on, but it was mostly a trim package and is mostly forgotten. Now Jeep has decided to bring back the Wagoneer with a new full size SUV.

The new Grand Wagoneer is big, powerful, capable, luxurious and, of course, expensive. The premium part of the Wagoneer experience extends to how the owners are treated at Jeep dealerships. Only select Jeep dealers will have a chance to host Wagoneer owners, and customers will have VIP services such as vehicle pickup and delivery for service, 24/7 client services and five years of worry-free maintenance.

The Grand Wagoneer interior is all about luxury, and you instantly realize that as soon as you open the door. Everything is covered in soft leather and real handcrafted American walnut wood, chosen for its elegance and durability. There are screens everywhere.

Grand Wagoneer models offer an opulent Palermo leather-trimmed seating option with quilting and leather-wrapped instrument panel, consoles and door panels with accent stitching. Grand Wagoneer comes with 24-way power front seats, including memory settings and massage, power lumbar support and four-way powered headrests. Passenger memory seats are also standard on Grand Wagoneer. Other modern-yet-familiar options include first- and second-row heated/ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, memory steering column and adjustable pedals. Seating for up to eight passengers features a spacious third row, a first for the Wagoneer.

The Grand Wagoneer interior offers best-in-class overall passenger volume, total volume, unsurpassed second- and best-in-class third-row headroom and legroom, and the most cargo volume behind the third row. Getting to the third row is made easier by the second-row seat’s power release Tip n’ Slide function, which creates more space for passengers to get to their seat. Configuring the third row for passengers or cargo is easy, because the seat can recline or fold flat.

Luxury also means technology, and the Grand Wagoneer does not disappoint. There is a 12.3-inch display in front and the driver and two other similar sized screens in the center stack. The lower screen covers the climate control and seat adjustments while the upper one controls most other functions. Additionally, a 10.25-inch passenger screen provides the front passenger with dynamic touchscreen control at their fingertips. The passenger screen has four major functions: Co-Pilot (navigation, device management), entertainment (via HDMI or Rear Seat Entertainment control), Amazon Fire TV and the ability to view the exterior vehicle cameras. Passenger screens in both the front and rear feature an HDMI plug, which lets occupants connect their phone or tablet, turning the touchscreen into a mirrored extension of their device, allowing internet searches, music and app use to project through the system.

Second-row passengers in the Grand Wagoneer have 30 inches of total screen space at their disposal with a 10.25-inch comfort display screen housed on the center console located between the two captain’s chairs. Each second-row passenger also has access to a 10.1-inch entertainment touchscreen with the available Rear Seat Entertainment system, which features independent streaming capabilities from major content providers such as Amazon Fire TV. Passengers can now enjoy the first Fire TV for Auto integration, featuring touchscreen displays, Alexa, and access to hundreds of thousands of movies, TV shows and apps. Passengers can watch their favorite shows independently while listening through headphones, or the whole family can tune-in through the vehicle’s audio system. In all there are seven screens and there is no reason to be bored on long trips.

Our Grand Wagoneer also was equipped with a Macintosh stereo system that was fantastic to listen to. There are 23 speakers throughout the cabin, with a 12-inch subwoofer and 1,375 watts of power.

The Grand Wagoneer is still a Jeep, so it has to be a capable off roader, and it has three available four wheel drive systems, Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Drive II. There is also an available Quadra-Lift air suspension and Selec-Terrain traction management system.

Quadra-Trac I delivers full-time four-wheel drive without any switches to push or levers to pull. The system provides smooth operation of the vehicle over a variety of road conditions. This simple system uses a lightweight single-speed transfer case for enhanced fuel economy and improves traction by moving torque to the wheel with the most grip.

The Quadra-Trac II’s two-speed transfer case uses input from a variety of sensors to determine tire slip at the earliest possible moment and takes corrective action. The system also uses throttle to anticipate quick movement from a stop and maximizes traction before tire slippage occurs. When wheel slippage is detected, as much as 100 percentage of available torque is instantly routed to the wheel with the most traction.

Quadra-Drive II, with a rear Electronic Limited-slip Differential (ELSD), is the best system. The system instantly detects tire slip and smoothly distributes engine torque to tires with traction. In some cases, the vehicle will anticipate low traction and adjust to proactively limit or eliminate slip. Selec-Terrain is standard with Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Drive II and five settings: Auto, Sport, Rock, Snow and Sand/Mud.

Under the hood of the Grand Wagoneer is the trustworthy 6.4-liter Hemi V8 that puts out 471 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and uses a 3.92:1 axle ratio, which helps it tow a trailer as heavy as 10,000 pounds. We attached a much lighter trailer and it was obvious that this is a beast when it comes to towing. With 5,000 pounds attached, you can accelerate with ease up hills and makes you feel like it can tow 15,000 pounds without a problem. It was impressive.

The Grand Wagoneer is an impressive vehicle that has been well thought out. After spending some time with the Jeep, it is clear that the engineering team really focused on nailing down the small details. Good things are not cheap and the base price of the Grand Wagoneer is $88,640. Our Series II 4×4 started out at $94,845 and after a few options the total bill came out to $109,025. That is a lot of money, but this is a vehicle that provides so much comfort, luxury, capability, and room. There is not much that it can’t do and there are not too many vehicles that can do all of that.

Specifications