West Bloomfield — I slipped into the comfortable leather seats of the 2026 Jeep Cherokee and pressed the elegant, bejeweled starter button on the console. Just like a Jeep Wagoneer S. I gripped the rectangular steering wheel to better view the big digital instrument display. Just like a Wagoneer S. Merging onto I-75, I nailed the throttle and the gas-hybrid Cherokee leapt forward thanks to an assist from its electric motor like the all-electric S.
The $67K Wagoneer S EV has left the market for 2027, but — for 60% of the cost — its DNA lives on in the terrific, $37K Cherokee reborn for 2026.
You need a baseball scorecard to keep track of the lineup changes at Stellantis brands these days.
As the feds called off the government dogs mandating electric vehicles, automakers have shuffled models to please customers again. Ram 1500 brought back its V8-powered truck, gas-fired Dodge Charger hellions are in vogue, and Jeep has paused the compact Wagoneer S ute and resurrected the Cherokee for the market’s most-popular, compact SUV segment.
Cherokee is an S without the $.
The sleek Wagoneer S EV SUV was introduced in ‘24 as a gateway to Jeep’s premium Wagoneer sub-brand featuring the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer mega-utes (get out your scorecards: the twin Wagoneer nameplates have been consolidated for 2026 as Grand Wagoneer). Wagoneer S sold poorly, so it’s taking a year off to get its act together (upgrading to a more-capable battery and NACS charging port).
But as a brand halo, its premium design and electrification have inspired the sixth-generation Cherokee. Jeep is the rare mainstream brand that buyers cross-shop with luxury badges, and Cherokee will appeal to BMW X3 as well as Honda CR-V shoppers.
“That is a really good-looking vehicle!” exclaimed my friend John, a veteran Detroit auto designer, as I rolled up in front of his home in my loaded silver $46,585 Overland model.
The exterior is an evolution from the fifth-gen model — bolder and more upright, with nice touches like vertical tear drops framing the front fascia that accentuate the upright look. You’ll know it by the U-shaped LED running lights, squared-off wheels and seven-slot grille framed in black. It’s a striking piece, but John’s eyes really lit up when he peered inside.
The Ward’s 10 Best interior has been transformed from 2023 with Wagoneer S’s signature touches: horizontal dash housing 10.25-inch digital instrument and 12.3-inch infotainment displays, efficient rotary shifter, and that delicious starter button.
Indeed, the interior is a replica of the much-pricier EV save for gratuitous touches like climate-control and passenger screens. The compact SUV even shares simple, push-button door exit buttons with its EV sibling. Cherokee is loaded with standard goodies including passive key-detect entry, rain-sensing wipers, auto-emergency braking, blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control, and a microwave oven (kidding about that last one).
It’s an ergonomic masterpiece.
If Wagoneer S offered a secure frunk (front trunk) where the engine used to be, then the Mexico-assembled Cherokee has hollowed out an even larger basement under the boot. The clever cave can be used to secure valuables — or muddy shoes and clothes after your kids’ soccer game. Cherokee is bigger in every dimension than last-gen — especially in back, where cargo space behind the second grows 30% to 31 cubic feet and second-row legroom gains an inch.
More ergonomic goodies? Navigating heavy traffic along Orchard Lake Road, I could take in the whole instrument screen thanks to the rectangular wheel. It’s hip to be square. My thumbs operated intuitive adaptive cruise control buttons so my eyes didn’t leave the road, and my index fingers toggled radio volume/station controls cleverly located on the wheel’s backside. Other commands could be operated by voice control or through the touchscreen anchored by Uconnect system icons as intuitive as a smartphone home screen.
Speaking of phones, the new rotary shifter has opened acres of console storage space — including an optional slot for your phone to charge wirelessly so my ‘droid didn’t run out of juice while navigating me to Holly Oaks ORV Park — or downtown Detroit.
Either destination is riddled with potholes after another brutal Michigan winter. Rough roads are Cherokee’s natural habitat.
If you want a corner carver to match a Bimmer X3, buy the $41,080 Mazda CX-5 — another mainstream brand with premium appeal. By contrast, the softer-sprung Cherokee is set up to take on off-road as well as on-road challenges (complete with best-in-class approach-and-departure angles, natch).
Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.
Detroit is a moonscape after the winter’s freeze-thaw cycles, but the Cherokee Overland’s high-profile tires were unfazed as I rattled along 14 Mile’s dirt road. Come winter, the Jeep’s standard all-wheel-drive and SAND/MUD and SNOW drive modes will come in handy.
Hybrids are all the rage in the compact SUV segment these days, and Cherokee channels Wagoneer with standard front-rear electric motors mated to a 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder procuring a healthy 230 pound-feet-of torque. That’s good news and bad news.
First the bad news.
That’s, ahem, 30% less torque than the last-gen model’s turbo-4, which vaulted to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds compared to the new model’s 8.1. Towing is reduced from 4,500-pound capacity to 3.500 pounds.
Payne, how is that progress? The good news had better be good.
It is. Last-gen Cherokee’s power came with significant compromises like a nine-speed transmission that hiccupped more than a drunken sailor. The new hybrid system pairs with a continuously-variable transmission that — when mated to the liquid-smooth electric motors — not only makes for a more satisfying daily drive, but maximizes torque for efficient acceleration when you need it most. Like short merges onto the Lodge Freeway.
VROOOOOM! went the hybrid as I merged more swiftly than, say, the Mazda CX-5’s 185 pound-feet-of-torque. Of course, Cherokee can’t hold a candle to the 617-torque Wagoneer S EV’s dizzying, 3.4-second 0-60 run. But the S will only take you 303 miles (assuming you don’t do too many 0-60 hole shots).
The hybrid Cherokee delivers a whopping 534 miles of range (480 highway), which is competitive with the Honda CR-V (if not the Toyota RAV-4’s diesel truck-like 624 miles).
Like an upscale brand, the hybrid Jeep’s premium touches will cost you $5K more than its mainstream competitors. But it’ll run you $15K less than a comparable BMW X3. That brand cred delivers good JD Power-rated residual value even as Cherokee reliability has historically been average.
And for those who want a taste of a $67K Wagoneer S without the S-ignificant price walk and EV-range penalty, Cherokee is a bargain.
Next week: 2026 Cadillac Escalade Premium
2026 Jeep Cherokee
Vehicle type: All-wheel-drive, five-passenger compact SUV
Price: Base $36,995, including $1,995 destination charge ($46,585 Overland as tested)
Powerplant: 1.6-liter, turbocharged inline-4 cylinder mated to twin electric motors and lithium-ion battery pack
Power: 210 horsepower, 230 pound-feet torque
Transmission: Continuously variable
Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.1 seconds (Car and Driver); towing, 3,500 pounds
Weight: 4,295 pounds
Range: EPA est. mpg, 39 city/35 highway/37 combined; 534-mile gas range
Report card
Highs: Upscale design inside and out; thoughtful ergonomics and cargo space
Lows: No engine options; a price premium over mainstream class competitors
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Payne: Jeep Cherokee reborn with Wagoneer S style, hybrid practicality
Reporting by Henry Payne, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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