I had high hopes going into my few days with the 2016 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. I knew that on one hand, the KL Cherokee fits my wants and needs perfectly: 4WD with low range, safe, comfortable, room for a vacation’s worth of stuff, large automaker backing, go almost-everywhere capability, and it’s a Jeep. But then the other hand slapped me in the face when it came to actually driving and spending time with the Cherokee, as that’s where things went wrong.
While the Jeep was a seriously nice loaner, for me it’s not necessarily a nice long-term-ownership vehicle. I was hoping to love it to the point of considering placing an order for one, but there were so many things “wrong” that I couldn’t do so without my soul being ripped out. It’s not that the Cherokee is bad, because it’s certainly a good vehicle all-around, it’s just that it’s entirely devoid of all feeling and sensation and as such is boring and unexciting to drive as well as to spend time.
Do I like the Cherokee? Sure. Do I like the Trailhawk? Definitely. Would it be a “perfect” vehicle for my needs? Abso-frickin’-lutely. Do I want to own one?

Hell no.
The first thing that struck me about the Cherokee is how much it feels like a smaller Grand Cherokee. My parents own a 2014 GC V8 Limited with about 75k miles on the odometer, of which I’ve probably contributed to somewhere in the realm of 5,000-7,500 miles (primarily for work use). Climbing into the Cherokee gave me the sense I was getting into a lesser version of the same vehicle in every way. The size, the space, the material quality, and the design just oozes the feeling that it is trying to emulate its higher-priced sibling.

Like its big brother, the Cherokee feels pretty solid. The doors close with a thunk, materials feel mostly chunky, knobs and switches are substantial, and on the road it’s planted and never comes across as jittery. Luckily, it fails to display any of the characteristics common of the lighter, less stable vehicles that can be found in this class. It gives off a sense of quality, something that can’t be said of some other Jeep models, those bearing the names Patriot and Compass.
The Cherokee’s interior is a nice place to spend time with comfortable seats, all the infotainment/electronics you could need (Uconnect is fantastic as usual), and a few nifty storage spaces. It really is an easy place to be, and commuting in the Cherokee would be a breeze. There’s not a ton of interior volume or cargo space but you could easily make it work for a road trip or week(end) away. Use of the roof rack could prove helpful as well, and with the Cherokee’s modest towing ability pulling a small travel or camping trailer should be more than easy. One note about the interior is that the low center tunnel gives off a weird, airy feeling that the Grand doesn’t have. I can’t decide if it makes it feel more spacious or less finished, but it’s one of the two. Despite this, it’s still what I’d consider a well done interior overall.

Out on the road the Cherokee is pleasant enough to drive, but you better be prepared for a whole bundle of boredom. The steering is one of, if not the, most numb and senseless units I’ve ever experienced. Not only is on-center completely dead, but everywhere from lock-to-lock is so power-assisted and separated from road feel that I question how in an off-road situation one would have any chance of knowing what’s going on up front without a spotter directly relaying where the wheels are pointed.
On-road and for the normal consumer this isn’t a worry, but I couldn’t help but notice that this could be a problem for those who actually care about these things. Especially in off-road situations in which wheel placement is absolutely critical, even when you do have a spotter, not knowing what the fronts are doing could prove worrisome. But the Cherokee wasn’t designed for off-road, so this is almost irrelevant.
I do have to say that the Trailhawk package transforms the Cherokee into a good looking vehicle, if only through the use of added-on aggression. In its base form the mid-sized crossover is definitely quirky, and that’s to put it nicely. There’s definitely some similarities with the VehiCROSS, but not necessarily in a good way (though I’m admittedly biased towards the VX). Less off-road happy models with the low valence, chrome trim/wheels, standard height, and street tires don’t do the Cherokee any favors. Though I haven’t spent any time in these lower-spec models, they’re probably fine to drive and probably equally decent in the snow, but they don’t fit the “true Jeep” look at all. In Trailhawk guise, with the red tow hooks and higher ride height and black accents and better wheels and meatier tires, the Cherokee takes on a whole different persona. I actually liked walking up to and away from it, and would have no problem looking at it in day-to-day usage. It’s an attractive package, aggressive enough to stand out but not so much so to wholly compromise its ability to be an everyday vehicle. I have to admit that I like the way the Trailhawk Cherokee presents itself.

I didn’t have the Cherokee long enough to assess its off-road abilities, but I did bomb around a small dirt construction patch nearby my work. The area is easily traversed in 2WD and there’s nothing challenging enough to put the Cherokee in a bad spot, but the Jeep felt plenty stable and confident climbing the hills and dodging the muck. I won’t dig too deep into the Trailhawk’s off-road capabilities since I can’t truly attest to them, but I wouldn’t doubt that with its multiple traction settings, locking rear differential, and electronically controlled low-range (not to mention the BS that is descent control), the Trailhawk would do well on 95% of the trails you could throw at it. The stock tires are fine, but obviously you’d want to upgrade them for any more serious off-road duty. Then again, if you’re concerned with the kind of off-roading that would push the Cherokee Trailhawk to or beyond the limits of its factory tires, you’re probably not the kind of person who buys a Cherokee Trailhawk in the first place.


I’m not sure if it’s an option or a standard piece, but my loaner had a special kit in the cargo space that I couldn’t help but laugh at. It contained a tow strap and gloves, packed nicely into an embroidered Trailhawk bag. Does Jeep assume that Cherokee owners are going to get themselves abandoned and in need of help, or just that they’re going to get stuck? Being that somehow I manage to get my quad stuck on literally every single ride (be it 25 miles deep into a PA state forest or 160 miles into the deep woods of Maine) I know as well as anybody that a good tow strap goes a long way, but it seems a bit odd to have this in a Cherokee. Maybe Jeep is acknowledging the limitations of the Cherokee, and even of the top-dog off-road Trailhawk model? Or maybe they’re using it as a subtle way to encourage off-roading? Who knows… I just think it’s a funny thing to find inside a vehicle that for most owners will never see a dirt road so much as a rock pile or mud pit.

I do have some gripes with the Cherokee Trailhawk, though most can be pinned to the Cherokee itself rather than specific to the Trailhawk trim. There’s no better way to put this, but the 9-speed transmission continues to be absolute crap. The corporate Pentastar V6 is perfectly adequate, and it even returned low 20s MPG during my use, but it behaves in a way that’s frustrating to the point of causing anger. It’s impossible to ignore that gears 8 and 9 are almost useless aside from high-speed highway driving, and the lethargic upshifts and multiple-gear downshifts are enough to desire even a five-speed auto rather than the 9-speed.
This is no different from how I felt about the same 9-speed when I had a Chrysler 200 for a couple weeks, but apparently those extra couple gears are so important that FCA is willing to sacrifice the personality and performance of a transmission for what amounts to a nearly negligible gas mileage benefit. Maybe with better tuning it would be acceptable, but here it just isn’t. I’ll reiterate what I said when I had the 200: go back to 7 speeds. Even 8. Enough is enough with the 9-speed nonsense, and I can’t imagine how gear-happy the new 10-speeds will be.

Another gripe comes with the start-stop system, which while being semi-well executed it’s still annoying in its own right. I wouldn’t have a problem with it if when you turned it off if it stayed off the next time you went to start the vehicle, but it doesn’t and as such you have to make a conscious effort every time you get in to shut it off otherwise you’re stuck yelling at it when the system lurches as tries to catch up with itself. Meanwhile, the hood is shaped such that the sight-lines are bad enough to be barely able to see over the front, and barely at all over the front right corner. This comes to be a slight P.I.T.A. in the parking lot and would be immensely frustrating off-road (but again…the Cherokee wasn’t designed for that).
My last major gripe with the Cherokee comes in its name: even though it’s a few years old already, it still hurts me to see a such an important nameplate share so little with its predecessor. I suppose this boils down to personal preference, and Jeep must obviously see a huge marketing opportunity in “Cherokee.” In actuality I’m just perpetually hoping for a true XJ replacement, and having the Cherokee name taken makes that impossible.

Overall the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk is a good, solid, comfortable, safe, capable vehicle that is a great do-it-all option. It does nearly everything a Grand Cherokee will, all while looking good and being easy to live with. It feels like a smaller-scale Grand in most regards, and that’s a true compliment. That the places it lacks finesse are reflected in its price tag only makes sense. I like the size of the Cherokee, I like the looks, and I like the packaging. Unfortunately, I don’t like how FWD-biased it is, I don’t like the price of a semi-optioned Trailhawk, and I despise the transmission. Those might be deal-breakers for me, an atypical consumer, but for the regular buyer the Cherokee Trailhawk is a perfectly good CUV with a little more brawn than its competition. I entirely understand how it’s selling so well, and I applaud Jeep for what it’s achieved with a model that could have failed so horribly.
At nearly $35k as tested, the Trailhawk is a good option for those who need all-weather capability and want some off-road road charm to go with it. I can’t fault anybody for buying one, and I wouldn’t hesitate to have one as a loaner. Maybe I’d even buy one used in a few years with a warranty as a daily driver, but with its asking price and the other options on the used market it would be extremely difficult for me to buy a Cherokee Trailhawk myself. I do sincerely like the Trailhawk package, but not wanting to plunk my own money down on one is a lot to say given my Jeep fandom and how perfect the vehicle is for me, but in reality some faults are just impossible to get past.