CAUGHT: We Look At The New Jeep® Grand Cherokee Three-Row:
Next-Generation Grand Cherokee Will Have Two Variants...
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the next-generation Jeep® Grand Cherokee model. MoparInsiders has been slowly breaking down the upcoming Grand Cherokee as we grow closer to the new model’s debut. We broke the information surrounding the upcoming powertrain options, the leaked interior picture, as well as some details about the design. But one thing we really haven’t talked about in-depth is the upcoming three-row variant.
Now it is widely known, that the new three-row variant will make its debut later this summer, more than likely at the first-ever summer showing of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan. It is the prime location to show off the latest Jeep model, that will be built right down the road at the newly built Mack Avenue Assembly Plant (rumored to be called Detroit 1 by FCA). Originally two separate facilities (one of which was not being used and the other used for Pentastar engine production), the new Mack Avenue facility will be home to the new three-row and yet to be named Grand Cherokee three-row (WL75) and the upcoming Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in electric vehicle (PHEV) and the Grand Cherokee three-row 4xe PHEV model.
The new three-row model will share most of the exterior styling of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee (WL74) model, which we have already discussed. The three-row model will offer third-row stadium seating similar to the current Dodge Durango, the vehicle it will ultimately replace in about three years. That’s right, we have talked about it several times and in 2021, the current Dodge Durango will get a light update to its front styling, interior, and its powertrain options (including an SRT Hellcat model) to allow its to continue production until it can move to a Tahoe-sized body-on-frame platform, shared with the upcoming Jeep Wagoneer (WS) in the 2023 model year. At that point, the three-row Grand Cherokee will take over where the three-row Durango is positioned in the current lineup, as a sole three-row unibody large SUV.
In these latest spy photos, the new three-row variant looks to be in similar size to the current Dodge Durango. We expect the new three-row variant will feature both power-folding second-row and third-row. We also hear that a power liftgate that can be opened and closed by motion under the rear bumper when the key fob is present, will also be available on certain models.
Based on FCA’s Giorgio-architecture which underpins vehicles like the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio, the new three-row Grand Cherokee should be a much lighter vehicle than the performance-oriented Dodge Durango. This will also allow the new upcoming optional 2.0-liter turbocharged engine option to be more efficient on the large SUV.
The first three-row vehicles expected to roll off the line by the end of 2020, followed by the all-new Grand Cherokee in the first half of 2021.
Jeep® Grand Cherokee Three-Row (WL75) Prototype Image Gallery:
