Those not familiar with the current Jeep portfolio might assume it already has a three-row SUV in its lineup, but in fact it doesn't. It soon will have though, as the all-new three-row Grand Commander has just been revealed by Jeep ahead of its official launch at the Beijing Motor Show.
Previously known as the Yuntu concept and displayed at the 2017 Shanghai Motor Show, what we now know as the Grand Commander actually looks like a much bigger, stretched version of the Jeep Compass with a little bit of Renegade thrown in for good measure.
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Actually, at just under 192 inches long this three-row Jeep isn't much bigger than the current Grand Cherokee. The Grand Cherokee has a wheelbase that's four inches longer than the Grand Commander and the Grand Cherokee is also wider than this new model.
Not much of that makes a lot of sense at first thought for a couple of reasons. For a start, the Grand Cherokee is a five-seat model with no third-row. And secondly, Chinese consumers love vehicles with long wheelbases and lots of rear legroom, which is why so many manufacturers are now building long-wheelbase versions of their existing models purely for sale in the Chinese market.
Now, the Grand Commander is set to be sold in two trim levels of Longitude and Limited, and will be available in four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive formats. Just one engine will be available, which is a 2.0-litre turbo that's more than likely a detuned version of the one that already goes in the Cherokee and Wrangler. In those models it produces 270 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque, but in the Grand Commander it will only put out 231 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft.
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Obviously, there's a lot of speculation about whether or not Jeep will start selling this all-new model in markets other than China. There's little doubt about there being room in its global portfolio for a seven-seat SUV, but it's unlikely markets like North America would fall in love with a three-row SUV with less interior space and much smaller engines than the Grand Cherokee.
Rumors persist of another three-row Jeep in the pipeline, possibly to be called the Grand Wagoneer, which sounds much more likely than this Grand Commander making its way out of China.
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