The 2014 Jeep Cherokee boasts impressive fuel economy, improved tech, and over 70 safety features that make it great for everyday driving. Sure, you can drive the thing up a mountain on the weekend, but for that office commute or running errands around town, it’s a great choice.
Fuel economy is a huge issue as gas prices continue to rise, so the greatly improved 31 mpg rating of the new 2014 Jeep Cherokee is going to keep more of your cash in your wallet. That’s a 45% improvement over the outgoing model thanks in large part to its segment-first nine-speed automatic transmission.
The new transmission on the 2014 Jeep Cherokee delivers in the power department with aggressive launches and smooth power delivery on the highway as well as improved fuel efficiency over a six-speed. A 16-valve, 2.4-liter Tigershark MultiAir 2 I-4 engine is standard and helps give a driving range of nearly 500 miles per tank and 184 hp.
When it comes to safety, the 2014 Jeep Cherokee lays claim to a list of firsts for a Chrysler Group vehicle. These new features include ParkSense Parallel/Perpendicular Park Assist which has ultrasonic parking sensors in the bumpers that will guide drivers into a parking space.
There’s also Adaptive Cruise Control Plus which will bring the vehicle to a complete stop without driver assistance if the situation warrants. Sensors detect the distance between the 2014 Jeep Cherokee and the vehicle in front of it, and if that distance gets to narrow, the system will automatically deploy the brakes.
Forward-Collision Warning Plus comes into play when the Adaptive Cruise Control Plus isn’t in use. If it determines there’s a fast-closing object in front of the vehicle it will set of a system of alerts that start with audible tones and eventually ratchet up to deploying the brakes and bringing the car to a complete stop.
Additionally, Lane Departure Warning-Plus makes it less likely that a driver will drift out of their lane. Once sensors determine the position of the road, a drift will activate a warning tone as well as a haptic warning in the form of little torque to the power steering.
There have also been some tweaks to the tech that make it more relaxing and enjoyable ride for day-to-day driving. It has a thin-film transistor LED 3.5-inch grayscale or 7-inch full-color instrument cluster that drivers can customize to display exactly what they want to see.
Allowing drivers to have the display show only the information they find important means their hands are on the wheel and not flipping through settings to find a piece of information buried in a sub-menu. Display option include navigation, speed, real-time fuel economy, safety warnings, Adaptive Cruise Control-Plus and audio information.
The 2014 Jeep Cherokee comes with incredible off-road capability without sacrificing the comfort and convenience drivers need for everyday driving.
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. When not drooling over cars, Nicole writes for Wired’s GeekMom.
