Jeep Cherokee KL

The Cherokee is known to be one of the most vital tribes in Native American history whose first known center was in the southern Alleghenies and who presently live in North Carolina and Oklahoma. The Jeep Cherokee, on the other hand, is a legend in the history of Jeep SUVs since its inception in 1974 and for almost four decades, the living legend takes on various forms despite its retirement from the mid-2000's and the advent of the Liberty crossover. Now, with the Liberty already discontinued, Jeep announced that they would bring back the Cherokee name as their newest crossover which uses the underpinnings of the Dodge Dart.

2014 Jeep Cherokee

Despite being a Dodge Dart underneath it (or rather else the Alfa Romeo Giulietta on it), the brand new 2014 Jeep Cherokee is still the legend even though it's now a crossover that slots below its luxurious big brother, the Grand Cherokee. There is now a brand new 2.4L MultiAir Tigershark engine 4-cylinder engine as seen on the Dodge Dart as well. The new engine on the new Cherokee develops 184HP of power and 171lb-ft of torque and it's mated with the brand new 9-speed automatic transmission which helps the new Cherokee to attain 31 HWY MPG of fuel economy and at one tank, it can do about 490 hwy miles. Not bad though, not bad. Putting a small engine on an offroader sounds a bit of an off-topic but when you want more, there's an optional 3.2L Pentastar V6 engine which develops 271HP of power, and 239lb-ft of torque.

With the new V6 engine that is more powerful than the old V6 engine and when equipped with the Trailer Tow Group, it provides the best-in-class towing capacity of up to four and a half tons, which makes it...just another one of the crossovers suitable for caravanners going out for a holiday and since Summer's almost over and fall starts, might as well keep it for next summer but in case of day offs, the brand new Cherokee's worth the wait to have your weekends covered.

2014 Jeep Cherokee

The standard Cherokee is front-wheel drive, much like any other crossovers you know, but unlike any other, it can be offered with an optional 4WD powertrain and if you're opted for the more off-road focused Trailhawk model with the standard Active Drive Lock 4x4 system with 4-Low and rear locker, it behaves just like the big boys. You can get muddy and dirty with this one and that's more like it. In today's history, most of the SUVs have gone the way of becoming luxurious coaches. Range Rovers, Land Cruisers, Suburbans, they maybe off-roaders by their appearance but they're not comfortable at doing it. This new Cherokee isn't. It has all of the right gadgets and all of the right chemistry that makes this crossover well-honed in the tough off-road world. It doesn't feel like you're walking on thin air but more importantly, it feels like you're walking on custard. Talk about science but remember the good old custard rule; never stop.

The brand new Cherokee is worth a tough mudder's dream come true because it retains its TRAIL RATED attitude that most Jeeps had but I'm afraid that there is a downfall to the revived legend and let me explain what I'm on about...

2014 Jeep Cherokee

Chrysler promised the enthusiasts that the new Cherokee will have a much modern design but for you, me, and everyone else in the world, look at this mess. I just don't like the way Chrysler designed the front view of the new Cherokee and look at these slanted headlamps, this is as hideous as the bad piggies from Angry Birds but more importantly, this is the kind of crossover you REALLY don't want if you have kids five and under because if it does, it will make kids crying about there's a monster in the house, even at nighttime. If you had kids, you may probably not want to have this on your next camping trip or see someone having this because kids might think there's a giant bulborb waiting to eat them. Bulborb, eh? That's Pikmin stuff but yes, the new Cherokee is as scary to look as the monsters from Pikmin, particularly the Bulborbs, the Snagrets, the Blowhog variations, the Mamuta, the Smoky Pogg, you name the rest of the monsters that the Pikmin face against.

Why, oh Why? This new design really is like the equivalent of several enemies from Pikmin and it seems that my feet's starting to feel the frills right now because that thing made me as nervous as someone working from 9 to 5. And then there's another downside. When you drive this on the normal roads, this is as catastrophic as dropping a refrigerator from stairs in case you are dismantling your own bro cave. Also, if you drive one of these in, let's just say, at a children's party, or at the country club, the hospital, the shopping mall, or any points of interest, it's not pretty to look and feel at because when bystanders looking at it, they would rather just panicked right now because they might think one of the monsters from a video game came out to eat them.

2014 Jeep Cherokee interior

Happily however, if you ignore the exterior design and the jump on the interior, it's worth redeeming. You can have a sat-nav, a personalized instrumental cluster, buttons at the steering wheel, and if you wait long enough when this year's fall TV shows taking a break before coming back next February, you can have a special wireless charging pad that lets you charge your gadgets without the wires. That is worth the conventional one and while the tech savvy Cherokee provides more than that, there are 70 available Safety & Security features such as the new Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist, ParkSense front / rear Park Assist, Blind Spot Monitoring and Cross Path Detection, standard 10 airbags with standard full-length side-curtain & side thorax airbags, new LaneSense Lane Departure Warning, and new Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go. See? Maybe the new 2014 Cherokee, despite its ugly looks, is redeeming after all.

So...what's good about the new Cherokee? It's the gizmos, the new engines, the offroad capability inherited from most Jeeps, and best of all the pricing. With prices start at 22,995 Dollars for the Sport model up to 29,495 Dollars for the Trailhawk model, that makes it great value. What's bad is the design that looks like the enemies from Pikim, the 9-speed gearbox's too much, and it's not pretty to drive on the streets.

Available colors: Brilliant Black, Deep Cherry Red, Bright White, True Blue, Billet Silver, Anvil, Granite, Eco Green, Mango Tango, and Cashmere.

Photo: Chrysler Group, LLC.