Jeep Cherokee review

3. Transmission

Another option, though Jeep would prefer you to think of it as a separate model, is automatic transmission. Costing £1100, this is the five-speed unit from the Grand Cherokee, with the now-mandatory manual override; according to Jeep’s official figures, it actually improved 0-62 time by a whole second.
Specifying the auto box also gives you a hill descent control system engineered in-house by Jeep and introduced on the Grand Cherokee earlier this year. This is a lot more impressive than some of the systems you see on modern 4x4s, whose manufacturers see them as little more than magic ‘I can do off-roading now’ buttons. Modelled on the gear ratios in the Wrangler Rubicon, the speed at which it will hold the vehicle is dependent on the gear you’re in; about 1mph in first, 2.5mph in second, 3.7mph in third, 5.6mph in fourth and 7.5mph in fifth or drive. It works in reverse, too, holding you to 1mph on a failed hillclimb, and is also programmed not to exceed 2.5mph should you mess up royally and throw it into neutral at what would otherwise be the worst moment. If you throw it into neutral and hit the HDC button to switch the system off at the same time, well, there’s only so much that can be done to save stupid people from themselves…

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