Inside The 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit L From Trims To Real-World Impressions

And a happy

Fourth Of July Introduction

fourth of July to you. Time now for this hour's car review.

Trims And Exterior Design

Had a chance to drive the twenty twenty-six Jeep Grand Cherokee. Whew. This thing has got an interior like you wouldn't believe. Here are the available trim levels the Laredo, the Laredo X, the Laredo Altitude, the Limited, Limited Reserve, 85th Anniversary Edition, and the Summit. I happen to have the L for long summit four by four. This is a standard SUV seat six in this particular configuration in three rows. You can get a bench seat in the second row if you want, but that does away with the console, and I think I would prefer the three-row all buckets. Anyway, fifth generation. It was all new in 2021. So it is five years old as far as the design is concerned, but it is updated this year. Exterior features, one of the best looking SUVs in the market, in my opinion, with a modern seven-slot grille, typical for Jeep. Conservative design throughout the body, squared off wheel openings, contributes to its off-road demeanor. The rear hatch and lighting, very familiar, traditional look. What I liked about it, the overall design, very conservative, but it's ready to go. And I think that if you like conservative designed SUVs, you're going to like this one. What could use improvement? It is ready for a more modern exterior update. Now, some bits and pieces have been actually redone for this particular year, so it has been updated. But ready for a little bit more modern design, I think, overall.

Interior Comfort And Tech

Interior highlights, one of the most beautifully designed interiors on the market. Infotainment screen is not so intuitive as the outgoing model. Overall, seating is roomy and comfortable on the inside. Available second row screens will entertain the passengers like your 13-year-olds that you're toting around. Cargo, well, it's a third row up, still allows for some storage back there. Not a lot, put the third row down, and you got tons of room. What I liked about it, pretty much everything on that interior. Quality materials, fit and finish, design elements, it's all there. What could use improvement? New operation system for the infotainment is not as intuitive as the old one. I like the old one a little bit better. You'll get used to it. It took me a while, and um, it's just a little bit different and more modernized. It has a

Turbo Four Power And MPG

2.0 liter Turbo 4 with the start-stop feature on it, which they could do away with, but helps the gas mileage. Horsepower, get this. 324 horses out of this little two-liter turbo 4. Torque, 332, 8-speed automatic transmission with a tow rating of 3 tons, 6,200 pounds. That's significant. As far as miles per gallon, 20 in the city, 25 on the highway for combined to 22. I got 21.1 miles per gallon, a lot of highway driving I did, over 413.7 miles. What I liked about it, well, on paper, the turbo 4 with 324 horses looks enticing. However, the turbo lag can be significant in certain scenarios, and it grabbed me for several times while I was driving it the week that I had it. And um, if you're not an aggressive driver, maybe you're good with it, but I think it's something for Jeep to look

Air Suspension And Off-Road Notes

into. Ride and handling. The air ride suspension is a definite must-have. Makes it smooth as glass as far as ride and handling is concerned. It is an option on lower levels on this top-of-the-line model. It is all there included in the price. What could use improvement? Nothing as far as ride and handling is concerned. Now I didn't take it off-road. If that's what you're looking for, uh only the Land Rover can compete, in my opinion, uh, and it's a lot more expensive. Uh, this is an off-road vehicle. Jeep knows how to do off-road, and maybe this is right up your alley. Okay, here comes the pricing.

Pricing, Rivals, And Next Review

Base trim price, $62,195. Now remember, this is top of the line. Prices tested, $72,770. That's a lot. Base model price, however, you can get into one of these for $40,415. That's more like it. Now the competitors include the Hyundai Palisade. It's at $39,435. That's where it starts. Also, the Toyota Grand Highlander starts at $41,860. All very competitive there. And then the Honda Passport jumps up to $44,950 as the starting price. So there are three, but there are more, obviously. But those are the three that I picked for you to give you some comparison. And that's my review of the 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Next week, I'll review the Land Rover Range Rover Hybrid, and I think that you're going to like that one as well. And that's this week's car review. I'm Don Armstrong. Thanks for joining us.