2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee First Drive: A Return to Form

The Wrangler might define the Jeep brand in the eyes of the public, but for the last three years or so it’s been the Grand Cherokee that’s quietly led not just the Jeep brand in sales, but parent company Stellantis as a whole, serving as one of the few bright spots in what’s been a turbulent couple of years for the automaker. Bearing in mind its renewed popularity, the Grand Cherokee is getting some renewed attention for 2026 as part of a brand reset aimed at making its midsize SUV more luxurious, powerful, and a better value than before.

After a brief drive of a loaded 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit, we suspect both Jeep’s famously loyal customers—as well as folks new to the brand—will find much to love in the new Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L.

What’s New With the 2026 Grand Cherokee?

Long among the more stylish and capable SUVs in a class that includes everything from the two-row Toyota Land Cruiser and Honda Passport to more family-focused vehicles like the GMC Acadia and Ford Explorer, Jeep’s updates for 2026 primarily focus on under-the-hood improvements.

Standard from the mid-grade Grand Cherokee Laredo Altitude (which starts at $45,850) on up, the new “Hurricane” 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 ought to do much to bridge the gap between the Grand Cherokee’s dated base V-6 engine and the discontinued Hemi V-8 and 4xe plug-in hybrid powertrains. Sporting 324 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque, this innovative engine employs both port and direct injection (cycling between the two based on engine load and speed) in addition to what Stellantis calls “Turbulent Jet Ignition,” a technology that enables more efficient fuel combustion to help deliver better fuel economy and power than your typical turbo-four. (You can read a full detailed breakdown of the technology in our First Look.) Jeep says its new engine can deliver 90 percent of its torque output between 2,600 rpm and 5,600 rpm, with peak torque available between 3,000 and 4,500 rpm.

Despite sharing the Hurricane moniker with the turbocharged inline-six engines Stellantis offers, and having the same displacement as other four-cylinder engines found elsewhere in its lineup, Jeep says this engine truly is new; it shares no more than its bore and stroke with the six-cylinder engines, and just a single part—its oil filter—with Jeep’s older 2.0-liter turbo-fours.

The Hurricane four is paired with a next-generation eight-speed automatic transmission in the Grand Cherokee and can be paired with three different drivetrain configurations: rear-wheel drive, QuadraTrac I, which is an all-wheel-drive system without low range, and on the loaded Grand Cherokee Summit, QuadraDrive II, a true four-wheel-drive system with low range.

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EPA fuel economy is estimated to be 21/27/23 mpg for rear-wheel-drive Grand Cherokees and 21/26/23 mpg for both all- and four-wheel-drive Grand Cherokees.

Other changes to the Grand Cherokee include a tweaked front and rear fascia and interior displays on models from the Laredo Altitude on up (the base Laredo and Laredo X are effectively unchanged from the prior model years), and improved ride comfort, reduced steering effort, and a more advanced hands-free driver assist system versus the pre-refresh Grand Cherokee.

How Does It Work in the Real World?

Wonderfully, actually.

For what’s essentially the first mass-produced iteration of this engine (a less advanced form of Turbulent Jet Ignition was used in Maserati’s low-volume “Nettuno” V-6), we found the 2.0-liter Hurricane to be notably refined. Quiet at idle and with a pleasing thrum under load, the Grand Cherokee’s new four-pot is a stout little engine. After you get past the initial taste of turbo lag off the line, the engine greets you with a wallop of torque that seems to seamlessly build all the way to redline. The automatic’s shifts to the next gear are nearly imperceptible, putting the engine right back into the meat of its powerband to allow you to ride that wave again. This stout little engine ought to make Grand Cherokee owners happy, whether they’re scrambling over obstacles off-road, dragging around up to 6,200 pounds on a trailer, or simply dealing with the ins and outs of daily life.

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The rest of the Grand Cherokee’s drive experience is equally lovely. Our air-sprung Grand Cherokee Summit did a great job isolating the cabin from impacts and eliminating body roll, and while we miss the steering precision of the pre-refresh Grand Cherokee, we found it easy to get used to this Jeep’s new light, low-effort, trucklike steering.

The updated driver assist system allows for hands-free driving on mapped roadways and features a clear delineation of responsibilities, telegraphing to the driver when they can take their hands off the wheel and when they must have them on. In our brief testing, the system wasn’t quite as lifelike as competing offerings such as GM’s Super Cruise, but it has shown signs of improvement from earlier implementations on other Stellantis products.

The updated interior on our loaded Grand Cherokee Summit, meanwhile, remains a great place to eat up the miles. You’re treated to rich-feeling quilted leathers, quality-looking wood trim, and an improved infotainment system with quicker responses and more stability.

Is the New Grand Cherokee Better Than the Old?

In this modern era of “new and improved” that can often mean “more expensive and probably slightly broken,” the 2026 Grand Cherokee is a refreshing break from the norm. With prices largely remaining steady overall despite the added standard features and content on each trim, the Grand Cherokee is a good value in an incredibly competitive segment. The new Hurricane four-cylinder, meanwhile, brings the performance, efficiency, and capability usually reserved for expensive luxury models to an iconic SUV that remains attainable for the average middle class household.