Jeep Commander 2006 review: snapshot

"The Grand Cherokee is doing a great job for us but there is a core group which misses that no-nonsense styling of the original Cherokee," Chrysler Group Australia managing director Gerry Jenkins says. "Where we have been missing the mark a bit is the fact that we do not have a seven-seat vehicle - now, with this vehicle, we fill an important need."

While the external and interior trims are largely unique to the Commander, all that underpins it is shared with the Grand Cherokee. The seven-seater arrives with the choice of the same 4.7-litre V8, 5.7-litre Hemi V8 and 3.0-litre CRD diesel available in the Grand Cherokee. All three engines are mated to a five-speed automatic with manual mode.

A 3.7-litre V6 petrol version is likely to join the stable later this year after first being added to the Grand Cherokee range.

Sticker price for the Commander starts at $54,990 for the base 4.7-litre V8, rising to $71,990 for the Commander Limited Hemi.

Jenkins shrugs aside any suggestion that skyrocketing fuel prices will drive buyers away from the SUV market - a market that accounts for more than 50 per cent of the Chrysler Group's Australian sales.

"There is a huge appetite for SUVs - Australians love their SUVs - and, while there is a bump in the road at the moment,

I think that people are going to come back to them," he says.

"I think that what is really going to help sales a lot is the diesel engine because it is such a tremendous vehicle with performance and great fuel economy. I think it is going to be the bulk of what we do sell."

While the Commander is instantly recognisable as a Jeep with the key cues of the slat grille and trapezoidal wheel arches, it also suffers from some key Jeep shortcomings.

Second-row seat space is quite acceptable once settled but the wheel arches defining the Jeep design continue to hamper getting in and out of the rear doors. The third row is kids-only territory; adults need not apply.

Jeep claims research shows most owners use the third row only on a demand basis. Few use it daily. That is a good thing because, apart from the tightness of the accommodation, with the third row of seats deployed, there is precious little luggage space left.

From the driver's seat, the impression is largely good with the seats offering reasonable support and bolstering - a positive influence from Mercedes-Benz - and the general layout is clean and easy to follow.

A disappointing aspect of the ergonomics is the placement of the handbrake on the wrong side of a substantial central console despite the car having been designed for both right- and left-hand markets. Equipment levels are good with all the essentials, particularly safety, well covered off.

From the base model up the Commander gets a pair of front airbags plus side curtain bags that extend along all three rows of seats; ABS braking on the four-wheel discs; switchable traction control; stability control with the addition of Jeep's electronic rollover mitigation system. The all-wheel drive for the base petrol models is the Quadra-Trac II while all diesel models get the more sophisticated Quadra-Drive II system. Both are permanent all-wheel drive.

Trim for the base model is cloth with a very stylish polished metal dash treatment that many will find more desirable than the look-like-wood treatment in the Limited models.

The sound system is a six-speaker affair with CD and each row of seats gets input into the airconditioning settings. Standard across the range are 17-inch alloys and also a tyre-pressure monitoring system.

A possible indicator as to which level of Commander is likely to see off-road action, the base cars come with protective underbody skids plates, a $166 extra on the Limited.

What you do get extra in the Limiteds' standard equipment is the Quadra-Drive II 4WD system; memory for the seats and mirrors; leather trim; a Boston Acoustics premium sound system; park sensors front and rear; heated front seats; chrome grille and side trim; an infra-red dual zone climate control; and auto-dim mirrors. Driving on loose gravel the suspension, tightened up for the Australian market, is surprisingly good. Where the Commander gets a little unsettled is on more flowing surfaces where repeated longer undulations are less well-handled.

There wasn't really enough "serious" off-road testing on the launch drive to pass judgment on the Commander's off-track ability. However one reasonable climb up a loose rock hill gave every indication that low-range off-roading is well within the Commander's capabilities. The biggest question marks from the launch drive were: Who wouldn't buy the 160kW, 510Nm diesel? And of those who didn't, why would any spend the extra $5000 to get the Hemi when the 4.7-litre V8 is perfectly well-suited?