High-end American full-sized body-on-frame SUVs are typically known for their power, luxury, and people and cargo moving abilities. Jeep has set a new luxury standard with the introduction of the Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer sub-brand, but how do they compare to the segment stalwarts in power and performance?

Engine Specifications

While the Escalade and Yukon Denali are available with both the 6.2 liter V8 and 3.0 liter Duramax inline-6 diesel, we will compare using the more powerful V8 version for this comparison. Both the Navigator and Grand Wagoneer have one engine offering, with the Lincoln using a 3.5 liter twin-turbo V6 and the Grand Wagoneer offering up a bit 6.4 liter Hemi V8.

The Grand Wagoneer is the most powerful with 471 horsepower, with the Lincoln Navigator being the second most powerful with 450 horsepower. Of course, the Escalade and Yukon Denali share GM’s 6.2 liter V8 with a power rating of 420 horsepower. The script is flipped regarding torque ratings with Lincolns twin-turbo V6 putting out a class-leading 510 lb.-ft of torque, the Denali and Escalade with 460 lb.-ft, and the Grand Wagoneer trailing them just slightly with 455 lb.-ft.

Transmissions

Both GM twins, along with the Navigator, utilize a 10-speed automatic transmission that was co-developed between General Motors and Ford. The Grand Wagoneer uses the ZF 8-speed transmission, a variant of which was first put into use in the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger 10 years ago. The 8-speed has been refined and improved upon over the years and has proven to be a reliable and smooth shifting transmission. While I haven’t had a lot of seat time with GM’s 10 speed, I did have Ford’s version in a 2021 F-150 and found it to be incredibly busy. It would hunt quite a bit between gears and was jerky shifting in the lower gears (1-3), but GM does seem to have a better calibration. 

Performance

Over the week I spent with the Grand Wagoneer, I found it a solid performer. The powertrain was smooth and refined, with power at the ready whenever you needed it. The powertrain was quiet from inside the vehicle with a muted V8 rumble, but as you can see in the video above, it has a very aggressive exterior exhaust note under wide-open throttle. 

We did two 0-60 MPH runs back to back. I brake torqued the first run to 2000 RPM and ran a 0-60 MPH time of 6.05 seconds. I just floored it off idle on the second and ran a 5.99 second 0-60 time. I probably could have improved on those times even more with a few more launches and putting it in sport mode, but in my opinion, those are solid numbers for a big 6420 pound SUV.

Let us know what you think of the results below, and stay tuned as we will be posting out highway MPG loop and more about the Grand Wagoneer shortly.