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Jeep hasn’t had a luxury crossover on the market ever since the Grand Wagoneer has been discontinued back in the late ‘90s. However, this is going to change in the near future. Not that long ago the first glimpse of the upcoming 2018 Jeep Grand Wagoneer has been seen in the wild. The car was revealed on a dealer’s brochure, and it seems quite impressive so far. For starters, the car is not going to be based on the same chassis as the Grand Cherokee. Instead, it is more than likely going to use the same platform as the upcoming Ram 1500 truck. This is a rather interesting move, but it would make sense, especially since some of its rivals do use the same recipe. The body-on-frame design would allow the Grand Wagoneer to better disconnect the passengers from the bumps in the road and give it a more comfortable ride. However, it also comes with its drawbacks.
Source: caranddriver.com / KGP Photography
2018 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Price and Detail
The body-on-frame chassis means that it will not be as good to drive or as efficient as a unibody full-size SUV. Luckily though the car will likely use lightweight materials such as an aluminum body and high strength steel frame. On top of that, it will get a fully independent setup which will give it improved driving characteristics. Jeep’s CEO stated not that long ago the Wagoneer will be a true premium product. They also said that it might cost more than $100,000 which would make it the most expensive production Jeep to date.
Design
As we said, the 2018 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, or at least its prototype, has already been seen and it is quite impressive. The car is noticeably taller and wider than the Grand Cherokee which is not a small car. In fact, it seems with up to 4 inches taller which are substantial. The ground clearance is quite impressive too, but the most impressive have to be its design. The usual 7-slats grille found on all Jeeps is still there. However, the car boasts fully LED headlights with 7 LED clusters each which are a really nice touch.
LED fog lamps seem to be available as well while dual tow hooks, like those on the Grand Cherokee Traihawk, have been installed on the front bumper. In the rear, the car continues the trend with 7-LED clusters tail lights as well as a dual-exhaust system and an off-road inspired bumper. The car’s length is still unknown, but we would bet it will share its wheelbase with the Ram 1500.
Source: caranddriver.com / KGP Photography
Interior
The 2018 Jeep Grand Wagoneer is going to be a premium product, so it will have to offer premium features. The base model is expected to offer quite a bit of equipment over Jeep’s other products. Things like leather upholstery, possibly individual bucket seats for all 6 or 7 passengers as well as a standard 8.4-inch uConnect infotainment system are going to be standard. The top end models will likely elevate things even further with premium wood inserts, quilted leather or even a panoramic roof.
Under the Hood
It seems that the 2018 Jeep Grand Wagoneer will also share its engines with its truck sibling. However, it will more than likely not offer a V6 or even the diesel. Instead, the car will more than likely come as standard with either the 5.7 liter V8, which offers 360 horsepower, or with the 6.4-liter HEMI which is known to make close to 400 horsepower. Either of these would allow the massive SUV to accelerate like a smaller vehicle. Unfortunately, none of them would really be capable of offering good fuel consumption. Because of that, some suggested that Jeep could install a more interesting engine under the hood of the Grand Wagoneer.
They may end up offering either a 3 liter twin-turbo V6 with up to 420 horsepower or a larger 3.8 liter V8 with north of 500 horsepower. These would provide the needed fuel consumption while also offering more power than the larger naturally aspirated engines. No matter which engine they end up choosing, the SUV will likely come with a standard all-wheel drive system. Also, the eight-speed automatic transmission also used in their other vehicles is likely going to be used here as well. This would provide a good compromise between performance and smoothness.
