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What Jeep Needs To Do To Make The Next Generation Cherokee Great Again
The Jeep Cherokee has suffered a fall from grace since the successful XJ was axed, and this is how the model’s reputation can be restored.
Jeep wants you to think of heritage models like the full-size SJ and legendary XJ when you look at the newest 2026 Cherokee, which is why the company put together a brief teaser for social media showing each generation morphing into its successor, Transformers-style. The video, which appears to have been AI-generated, portrays the obviously much larger 2026 Cherokee and suggests that its design and capability will make those impressive early models proud. Details remain scarce on the newest member of the Jeep family, but at least we know it’ll look pretty good.
- Base Trim Engine
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2.4L Inline-4 Gas
- Base Trim Transmission
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9-Speed Automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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Four-Wheel Drive
A Nice (If Inaccurate) Reminder Of The Old Greats
The video starts out with a top view of the full-size Jeep Cherokee, which shared its platform and SJ model code with the contemporary Wagoneer and J-Truck. The two-door SUV then transforms into its XJ-based successor, which was a smash hit worldwide when it hit the market for the 1984 model year. Despite being much smaller than the SJ, the XJ Cherokee was the right SUV at the right time, bundling reasonable handling and excellent off-road prowess with reliability and simplicity that its target market appreciated. Given the comments on the video, the XJ remains the standard by which all other Cherokees are judged.
It’s unfortunate, then, that the video gets some details wrong. The third vehicle featured is a post-update XJ, sold from 1997 to 2001 in the U.S., and the seemingly AI-animated video doesn’t quite live up to reality – the side marker light on the Cherokee’s plastic nose cone isn’t in the right place, the windows are too large, and the pillars are too thin. If you think that sounds like nit-picking, well, you’d be right. But it’s not as though it would’ve been difficult for Jeep to use accurate 3D models or, as one commenter points out, call upon its legendarily loyal fans to source a nice-condition original for the video.
Entering The Era Of Controversy
From the beloved XJ to the polarizing KL-generation Cherokee comes the nameplate’s biggest change yet: the switch to a front-wheel-drive–biased transfer case and four-wheel independent suspension rather than the old Cherokee’s solid axles and robust 4×4 system. The vaguely insectoid KL1 morphs into the far more conventional-looking KL2, before handing off the reins to the latest member of Jeep’s most fiercely defensive fandom.
The 2026 Jeep Cherokee (codenamed KM), which the video pronounces is on its way by the end of the year, ditches the rounded styling cues and crossover-ish roofline of its immediate predecessor in favor of a square-jawed stance that looks much more appropriate for the nameplate. Viewed in transition from KL to KM, the newest Cherokee is also quite a bit larger, sharing its STLA Large platform with the all-electric Wagoneer S and riding above the STLA Medium–based Compass in the company’s lineup. The styling looks more conventionally aggressive than the KL Cherokee with a flatter roofline and upright front fascia, although that said, it doesn’t quite have the rugged panache of the XJ – then again, could anything live up to that near-perfect SUV design?
We hope to more about the 2026 Jeep Cherokee soon, and the automaker says it’ll reveal the crossover’s details in late 2025.
Source: YouTube/Jeep
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