What’s New About the Grand Wagoneer?
After a lengthy hiatus, the Jeep brand is back in the full-size arena. It hasn’t really had a big 3-row vehicle since 2010 with the demise of the Commander and now it has 2.. or 3 depending on how you look at it. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L offers customers a more crossover friendly 3-row option, while the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer take on the likes of the Chevy Tahoes, Lincoln Navigators and Cadillac Escalades of the world.
Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are both big shouldered body on frame (read: truck style) vehicles. Finally tapping into the work done by the Ram trucks team with their excellent riding chassis. My only question is, what took them so long? Jeep has always had a bit of a luxury bend to it, but the Grand Wagoneer pushes it deep into the heart of the luxury full-size SUV arena.
Key Content / Trims Available
The Grand Wagoneer starts where the Wagoneer tops out. There are 3 core trims: Series I, Series II and Series III, with an Obsidian trim that lands somewhere around… Series II.V I guess?
Starting at a hair over $90,000 it seems odd that there are still options available, and pricing up over $110,000.
Series I sets the stage for all Grand Wagoneers. 4-Wheel Drive is standard, as is a 6.4L 471 horsepower V8 engine. Power folding heated mirrors? Standard, thank goodness on this 7-foot wide beast, same goes for the standard 360 top down parking camera. 20″ wheels are standard here, whereas 22″ units are standard on the upper trims. Handsfree power lift gate? Also standard, as are the power deploying running boards. Nappa leather with front seat massage? Yep, standard. Upper trims get ultra premium Palermo leathers. 2nd Row Captain’s Chairs are standard, but in a nice twist, a 3-row 40-20-40 bench is optional for the 2nd row if desired. Heated 2nd row seats are standard, ventilated 2nd row seats are available on the upper trims again. 12″ infotainment screen, featuring the lovely UConnect 5 is standard, as is a premium McIntosh sound system featuring 19 speakers. Triple row moonroof and 4-corner air suspension is on every Grand Wagoneer. Full 12.3″ digital instrument cluster and head up display, yes standard. Tons and tons of equipment. It would take nearly 2 pages to list every standard item in a $90,000 Grand Wagoneer.
Maybe it’s easier to start with… what’s optional on a Series I? A Convenience Group bundles a lot of advanced driver assistance technologies like active lane centering tied in with the adaptive cruise control system, night vision, interior passenger camera, digital rear view mirror and others. Other packages cater for towing needs and rear entertainment systems.
Series II adds a suede headliner, the previously mentioned Palermo leather, passenger seat memory settings, digital rear view mirror, and other elements for $10,000. There are still available Convenience and Tow and Rear Entertainment Packages, as well as an optional uplevel McIntosh audio system.
Obsidian adds about $6,000 to the Series II for, as the name suggests, blacked out design elements including a black roof. Ventilated 2nd row seats and the front passenger “activity” screen are added standard elements for the trim, along with the uprated audio system. Again the added Convenience, Tow and Rear Entertainment Packages remain optional.
Series III adds another $4,000 to the Obidian, so now hitting about $110,000. Almost everything is standard here, the Tow and Rear Entertainment systems are still optional. But things like the cooler in the front row, night vision, advanced driver systems, rear seat camera are all standard.
Quick Spin
Walking up to the Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer, the thing looks massive. It’s a bold, upright and somewhat slab sided design. There’s a definitely presence. That translates to a ton of space inside as well. Close that door and you feel like you’re in a cocoon. Leather and wood are everywhere and it’s just plush. While there’s no doubt that it’s big, it doesn’t drive that way, at least forward. It handles remarkably well for something this big and heavy. No, it won’t be setting autocross records, and still not as sharp on first drive as something like the Mercedes-Benz GLS or the BMW X7 (those German lux-utes being of the crossover variety) but it doesn’t feel like the handful you might expect of something this size. The Grand Wagoneer is also a bit of an isolation chamber, floating down the road, but it’s not wallowy, so I don’t think you’ll get seasick, good since many passengers may also be staring at their respective entertainment screens.
Improvement Areas
The V8’s are smooth but thirsty at a combined 15 miles per gallon. The upcoming turbo 6-cylinder engines should be able to improve that a little bit. Cadillac Escalade isn’t much better at 16 miles per gallon, while Lincoln Navigator seems like the miser of the bunch at a whopping 18 miles per gallon. Maybe customers shelling out $100K+ aren’t super concerned with fuel economy and gas budgets, but would love to see some more electrification efforts here as well.
What, no wood paneling available on the outside?? A former Wagoneer staple, Jeep did not look to evoke the nostalgia train for this particular design feature. Thankfully the amazing folks at Wagonmaster have stepped up to fill that void in our hearts.
