Jeep Grand Cherokee feels special again with Upland

JEEP Australia has now released four special-edition variants of its Grand Cherokee large SUV this year, with the Upland now in showrooms priced from $61,450 plus on-road costs.

 

Based on the turbo-diesel Laredo variant and limited to just 44 examples, the Upland commands a $3500 premium but adds what the American SUV specialist claims is “nearly $7000” of additional value.

 

Additional standard equipment includes black 20-inch alloy wheels with a five-spoke design and Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain tyres as well as privacy glass and black step pads.

 

A gloss-black finish is used for the lower front fascia, grille rings, side-mirror covers, roof rails, foglight and darkened tail-light surrounds, and ‘4x4’ badge, while Desert Sky blue accents surround the gloss ‘Jeep’ and ‘Grand Cherokee’ badges.

 

Inside, the Upland gains an 8.4-inch touchscreen Uconnect infotainment system with satellite navigation as well as Desert Sky blue stitching on the steering wheel and front and rear armrests.

 

The Upland’s suite of advanced driver-assist systems also expands to include blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

 

Bright White and Diamond Black are the paintwork choices on offer, while the only other available option is a single-pane sunroof that costs $2450.

 

For reference, standard features already found in the Laredo grade include dusk-sensing bi-Xenon headlights, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, DAB+ digital radio, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, cloth upholstery, a reversing camera and hill-descent control, among others.

 

Like the turbo-diesel Laredo, the Upland is motivated by a 3.0-litre V6 engine that produces 184kW of power at 4000rpm and 570Nm of torque at 2000rpm.

 

An eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission is mated to Jeep’s Quadra-Trac II four-wheel-drive system, which features a two-speed transfer case that enables high and low range.

 

Jeep Australia claims that the Upland’s maximum braked towing capacity is class-leading, at 3500kg.

 

The Upland joins the Night Eagle introduced in June and the S-Limited and S-Overland released in April as special-edition variants that have been added to the Grand Cherokee range in 2019.

 

Sales of the Grand Cherokee have taken a significant hit this year, with 2037 examples sold to the end of August – a 30.2 per cent decrease over the 2920 deliveries made during the same period in 2018.

 

The Grand Cherokee is the 12th best-selling model in the sub-$70,000 large-SUV segment, trailing the Toyota Prado (12,890 units) and Kluger (7301), Isuzu MU-X (5519), Subaru Outback (5400) and Mazda CX-9 (4905), among others.