2019 Jeep Cherokee Limited - Hertz Review

[Nick1994]

Rented a 2019 Jeep Cherokee V6 from last Wednesday until today and put almost 1,100 miles on it. My choice was a Large Sedan which is apparently a Malibu? Weird. But the only choice when I showed up was a Cherokee or an Equinox. I chose the Cherokee without hesitation. Went from Stamford, CT to Bangor, ME with stops in Cape Cod, Boston, and Acadia National Park. 40k miles on the car.

This one is a Limited 4x4, which I find kind of odd because other than power leather seats, I’m not sure the car has a single other feature? And no low-range for the 4x4, so isn’t that AWD?

Anyways, overall I liked the car a lot more than I thought I would. Good overall vehicle.

Pros:

• Engine. Wow, this thing had some pep! Plenty of passing power. This thing would absolutely annihilate my ‘14 Grand Cherokee in a race. No comparison.
• Fuel economy. 25.6 mpg, the computer was always about 2 mpg optimistic. My Grand Cherokee probably would have gotten 17-18 mpg. For a V6 and as hard as I drove it, I was happy with that.
• Overall comfort (other than seats). I forgot to crawl in the back, it looked kind of cramped but I’m tall so the seat was all the way back. Otherwise plenty of shoulder and headroom. Not experienced with CUV’s, it holds 2 full sized suitcases just barely in the trunk. Not sure if that’s good or not. I don’t thing the trunk would close if they’re sitting on end.

Meh:

• Stereo sound. Was ok I guess, I’ve heard worse. For a “Limited” it should sound a lot better. I wouldn’t be happy if I owned it. Sounds like a base model.
• Apple CarPlay. This one I debated putting in the Cons section, but a software update might fix it. It disconnects from Apple CarPlay all the time. Tried 2 different phones and 2 different USB cables.
• Headlights. Could be better. Could be worse. They seemed like LEDs to me?
• Handling and braking. Nothing special about either, but no complaints. Road noise was fine, a little wind noise but it had already had a windshield replacement so that’s fair.
• Loud HVAC. Makes a lot of sound when it isn’t putting out a lot. But maybe the cabin air filter was plugged.

Cons:

• Transmission. It will under no circumstances shift into 9th gear on it’s own. It’s useless. It also sometimes goes CLACK hard into 5th gear, and in this gear kind of bangs around if you let off the gas and coast. Reminds me of the failing DSG transmission in my ‘04 VW, just not quite as bad. Also kind of slow to shift into Reverse and Drive.
• 4x4 binding. When making a U-turn or navigating in a parking lot/garage it grinds and binds like it’s in a locked 4x4 mode, which this doesn’t have. My Grand Cherokee is full time 4x4 I believe and doesn’t do this.
• The seats. I want to like the seats, they have a fair amount of cushion and seem like they should be comfortable. But the front of the seat bottom is at a weird incline, even with it set all the way down. If you try to adjust the rear part of the seat up, it raises the whole seat up and then your head is in the roof.

 

[JoelB]

I've always liked the looks of these, and the fact that they still drop a big old V6 in there. I wonder if you had the base limited? I think there is a luxury package that adds a bunch of features. Kind of silly really.

 

[The Critic]

Kinda reminds me of the short-lived RAV4 V6 concept.

What was your rental rate for this thing?

 

[Nick1994]

Kinda reminds me of the short-lived RAV4 V6 concept.

What was your rental rate for this thing?

I got a 20% discount with my company code. This was pricing for a sedan too, they upgraded to the Cherokee since there were no other options.

 

[The Critic]

I got a 20% discount with my company code. This was pricing for a sedan too, they upgraded to the Cherokee since there were no other options.

View attachment 104655

Holy....wow.

That is about 2-2.5x higher than pre-COVID rates.

 

[Nick1994]

Holy....wow.

That is about 2-2.5x higher than pre-COVID rates.

Yeah seemed really pricy to me. I booked 2 months ago too. Best deal I could find of all the rental car companies.

 

[Deleted member 89374]

My Grand Cherokee is full time 4x4 I believe and doesn’t do this.

Thank you for the review. My mother was interested in one of these, and I am glad I managed to talk her out of it. They are almost as expensive now as a Jeep GC WK2. I told her that the only Jeeps she should consider are: GC WK2, the new GC, Wrangler, or Gladiator. We had some pretty reasonable-priced Gladiators around here, but they sold out quickly ($42K).

Regarding the binding issue: the GC uses either the MP2010 or the MP3023 transfer cases, at least for the 2022 models. I believe that the SRT uses a different model. These transfer cases have a planetary differential that prevents the vehicle from binding. I believe the Jeep Cherokee lacks that and instead uses a simple clutch-type coupling.

And I can't believe they still didn't fix that God-awful 9-speed. I doubt it will ever be fixed if they didn't fix it in so many years.

 

[tbm5690]

Yeah seemed really pricy to me. I booked 2 months ago too. Best deal I could find of all the rental car companies.

Yeah what equates to $121/day WITH your 20% seems crazy. I knew my company code was killer with Hertz but maybe even better than I understood.

 

[Skippy722]

My brother just bought one of these… he likes it, I’d still rather have a Grand Cherokee myself.

And I can't believe they still didn't fix that God-awful 9-speed. I doubt it will ever be fixed if they didn't fix it in so many years.

I don’t think there is a way to “fix” it, as it uses 2 dog clutches and if the timing is slightly off they’ll bang into gear.

 

[Deleted member 89374]

I don’t think there is a way to “fix” it, as it uses 2 dog clutches and if the timing is slightly off they’ll bang into gear.

That makes sense, though they could have stuck with Hyundai for this platform. They used Hyundai 6 speed transmissions for the Dodge Dart and Dodge minivan, probably some other vehicles. I drove a Grand Caravan a few years ago with a V6 Pentastar coupled to a Hyundai 6 speed. It was okay, felt like a Hyundai, but didn't have any shifting clunkiness or delays.

 

[Skippy722]

That makes sense, though they could have stuck with Hyundai for this platform. They used Hyundai 6 speed transmissions for the Dodge Dart and Dodge minivan, probably some other vehicles. I drove a Grand Caravan a few years ago with a V6 Pentastar coupled to a Hyundai 6 speed. It was okay, felt like a Hyundai, but didn't have any shifting clunkiness or delays.

Grand Caravan uses the 62TE, which is another one of Chryslers… genius… “multi speed” transmissions… it’s really a 7 speed, but 2 of the gears are very close together and one of them is reserved for kickdown. I liked the 6 speed in the Dart though, it shifted nice and felt like it had decently spaced gearing.

 

[supton]

Hope you enjoyed Acadia, been a while since i was there, was thinking of it the other day. Hope you got some Pat’s Pizza, we would always get some on our return trip going home.

 

[Nick1994]

Hope you enjoyed Acadia, been a while since i was there, was thinking of it the other day. Hope you got some Pat’s Pizza, we would always get some on our return trip going home.

Acadia was beautiful, but small.

 

[dishdude]

I have a 2021 with 7,700 miles. I don't know what trim level it is, there is no badging but it is 4x4 and also oddly optioned. It has all the safety stuff; FCW, LKA, BSM, rain sensing wipers, power driver's seat w/4 way lumbar but single zone non-automatic climate control, manual passenger seat and the tiny touchscreen. Should also mention this is the 2.4.

Nick is pretty spot on with his review. Pros - I like the chassis, I think the ride, handling, steering feel, brake feel and driving dynamics are really good for the class. Didn't have any issue with the seats, found them comfortable even after being in them over an hour. It's pretty quiet inside as well, not a bad place to spend some time.

Cons - This thing is slooooooooooooow at times, I think it's the transmission. It never shifts higher than 7th on it's own and even in that gear it has trouble maintaining speed on the highway if you get a slight grade. It's fine off the line, actually kind of quick but seems to run out of steam around 30 and merging onto a freeway is not fun, but then I took it up a steep, long mountain pass and I manually shifted it into 4th and it cruised right up going 60 @ 3800 rpm. I'd recommend the V6.

I hate the look of the smaller screen in the dash, always go for the 8.4". The small screen has good resolution and does everything the big one does, but just looks awkward. Also, the fan makes an impressive amount of noise for the amount of air it's blowing when on high with recirc on.

It also had aftermarket tint on the front windows, I've never seen that on a rental car.

 

[gregk24]

I have never cared the amorphous styling of Jeep interiors of this era. Put some sharp edges and straight lines in there somewhere please!

 

[Nick1994]

I have a 2021 with 7,700 miles. I don't know what trim level it is, there is no badging but it is 4x4 and also oddly optioned. It has all the safety stuff; FCW, LKA, BSM, rain sensing wipers, power driver's seat w/4 way lumbar but single zone non-automatic climate control, manual passenger seat and the tiny touchscreen. Should also mention this is the 2.4.

Nick is pretty spot on with his review. Pros - I like the chassis, I think the ride, handling, steering feel, brake feel and driving dynamics are really good for the class. Didn't have any issue with the seats, found them comfortable even after being in them over an hour. It's pretty quiet inside as well, not a bad place to spend some time.

Cons - This thing is slooooooooooooow at times, I think it's the transmission. It never shifts higher than 7th on it's own and even in that gear it has trouble maintaining speed on the highway if you get a slight grade. It's fine off the line, actually kind of quick but seems to run out of steam around 30 and merging onto a freeway is not fun, but then I took it up a steep, long mountain pass and I manually shifted it into 4th and it cruised right up going 60 @ 3800 rpm. I'd recommend the V6.

I hate the look of the smaller screen in the dash, always go for the 8.4". The small screen has good resolution and does everything the big one does, but just looks awkward. Also, the fan makes an impressive amount of noise for the amount of air it's blowing when on high with recirc on.

It also had aftermarket tint on the front windows, I've never seen that on a rental car.

That's hilarious we had basically the same car. The one I rented had no LKA, FCW, or rain sensing wipers. It did have the bigger touch screen, dual zone climate control (also auto) and a power passenger seat. So oddly optioned.

 

[dishdude]

That's hilarious we had basically the same car. The one I rented had no LKA, FCW, or rain sensing wipers. It did have the bigger touch screen, dual zone climate control (also auto) and a power passenger seat. So oddly optioned.

I forgot to mention it has heated seats and a heated steering wheel...and still that baby touchscreen

 

[Nick1994]

I forgot to mention it has heated seats and a heated steering wheel...and still that baby touchscreen

I have to say that heated steering wheel was amazing in 47 degrees Maine.

I have it on my Jeep but it's pointless with my steering wheel cover.

 

[dishdude]

I have to say that heated steering wheel was amazing in 47 degrees Maine.

I have it on my Jeep but it's pointless with my steering wheel cover.

It's completely pointless in Phoenix!

 

[demarpaint]

There's no comparison between the 8 speed AT and the 9 speed AT unfortunately. They nailed it with the 8 speed and dropped the ball big time IMO with the 9 speed unit. The 9 speed would be the deal breaker for me.