Tow Test: Jeep Cherokee Diesel Limited

Up until recently if you wanted a top tow tug with a Jeep badge on it, the diesel-powered Grand Cherokee was the go-to choice. 

With a gutsy 177kW/550Nm 3.0-litre V6 oiler, slick eight-speed auto, mighty 3500kg braked towing capacity and enticing $54,500 starting price, the big, 2.3 tonne Jeep is hard to beat when it comes to hauling heavy trailers.

But since mid-2014 there’s been another, slightly smaller family wagon from the Jeep stable that promises above average (for the medium SUV segment) towing ability.

Initially launched with two petrol engines, the new Cherokee caught the attention of caravan and trailerboat owners with the arrival of a top-spec turbo-diesel variant in October last year.

On paper, it certainly looks the goods, boasting an efficient 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel producing 125kW and 350Nm, first-in-class nine-speed auto, and class-leading 2393kg tow rating -- 200kg more than the V6 petrol Cherokee.

So does it live up to the hype?

To find out we hitched up a European-built Adria caravan weighing around 1700kg (or approximately 70 per cent of the Jeep’s maximum towing capacity). Adding a driver and 60-odd litres of fuel, put the Jeep at close to two tonnes which along with the caravan gave a Gross Combination Mass of 3.7 tonnes.

That’s a decent test for any smallish diesel engine but right from the dealer’s driveway the five-seat Cherokee impressed in the manner it accelerated, braked and handled with the extra load out back.

While knocking the edge off performance, the Jeep had no problem getting up to speed from the traffic lights, assisted by four-wheel drive traction and maximum torque available from just 1750rpm.

With seven, tightly spaced gear ratios to choose from (the 8th and 9th ‘overdrive’ gears proved largely redundant when towing), the quick-thinking ZF ‘box was both smooth and mostly seamless.

As a result, it happily sat in 7th gear at around 1600rpm when clocking 90-95km/h on the highway.

On longer, steeper inclines it quickly dropped back to fourth or third gear with only a slight rise in revs and subsequent cabin noise. In fact, it rarely needed to rev above 3000rpm and mostly resided between 1600-2200rpm.

The Cherokee also kept a mostly level, stable and composed manner when towing, helped by the caravan’s relatively light ball weight of 80kg; well under the Cherokee’s maximum permissible 239kg.

We didn’t quite match the official fuel figure of 5.8L/100km driving ‘solo’ around town, with an average of 7.7L/100km, but the 11.8L/100km achieved when towing was a revelation; the under-stressed engine and idle stop-start technology helping matters here.

This figure is slightly better than our previous best, a Range Rover Evoque towing a similar weight caravan over the same 100km test route. Incidentally, the Evoque uses the same transmission as the Cherokee.

Less impressive was the Cherokee's engine braking on longer, downhill sections. Despite trying various gears in manual mode it struggled to hold a steady pace without dabbing the brakes.

As it’s only available in top-spec Limited grade, the Cherokee comes jam-packed with technology, some of which is very useful when towing. Like the rear view camera, which displays a high-resolution image through the 17.8cm touchscreen display and with curved ‘tracking’ makes backing up to the caravan tow ball child’s play.

Other ‘nannies’ like the lane keeping monitor and automatic emergency braking are also great on longer trips where the chance of losing concentration momentarily and ending up in an accident is higher.

However, constant beeping from the ‘blind spot’ monitor when the sensors detected the following caravan in sharp corners was annoying. Fortunately, most of the driver aids can be switched off and on as required via the touchscreen or various buttons around the dash and steering wheel, or even by voice commands.

Techno trickery aside, the Limited Cherokee's cabin presents as upmarket, refined and comfortable. The heated, multi-adjustable front seats are designed for long-distance touring, although at 188cm tall I couldn’t quite get the perfect position. The premium audio system also makes the most of the quiet interior.

The rear seats are another good place to spend time, while the decent cargo space (with full-size spare underneath) is about par for the segment.

Our main ergonomic gripe centres around the (American?) position of the ignition, on the left hand side of the steering wheel, and the difficulty we had inserting the key at night. It really needs some illumination, or even better, a keyless ignition which you might expect in a $50grand vehicle anyway.

Apart from that, the top-spec diesel Cherokee is appropriately named, as costing $5000 more than the V6 petrol, it genuinely has limited appeal to buyers.  

It's also not available with the ‘Trailhawk’ off-road pack, although with standard 185mm ground clearance and Active Drive II 4WD system including low range gearing, it’s no slouch off the bitumen.

As such, it's priced within a few thousand dollars of the cheapest Grand Cherokee diesel which, while not quite as refined or technologically advanced, has more than a one tonne advantage when it comes to towing.

That makes the Cherokee a good alternative to something like the Kia Sorento Platinum, especially if you plan to tow up to two tonnes or more.

-- Thanks to Melbourne & European RVs in Seaford, Victoria, for loan of the Adria van for this test.

2015 JEEP CHEROKEE DIESEL LIMITED

Price: $49,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 125kW/350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.8L/100km (claimed, combined)
CO2: 154g/km
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Towing capacity: 2393kg
Ball weight: 239kg