Jeep Cherokee 4.0 Limited vs Range Rover 3.9 SE: Uncle Sam fights back

By Charlie Calderwood

| 9 Mar 2023

Classic & Sports Car – Jeep Cherokee 4.0 Limited vs Range Rover 3.9 SE: Uncle Sam fights back

Land-Rover and Jeep are the two oldest names in off-roading, yet they have rarely competed directly, especially not in the UK.

That all changed in 1993, when the XJ-generation Jeep Cherokee gave the marque its British debut in Chrysler showrooms.

Sales were ferocious, too: within five years, and with the help of the Grand Cherokee joining the line-up in 1995, Jeep had sold 44,000 vehicles, with the UK quickly becoming the brand’s largest export market.

Does the Jeep Cherokee deserve some of the same nostalgic appeal enjoyed by the Range Rover in the UK?

Put aside such ugly American things as quantities, however, and it’s the Range Rover that holds the adoration of British enthusiasts today.

Both were remarkably long in the tooth when they came up against each other in the early ’90s, but how do these boxy, capable 4-litre off-roaders compare today?

‘Soccer moms’ are who we need to thank for the Cherokee’s arrival in the UK market.

Jeeps had been unofficially imported to these shores on a small scale prior to that by a failed third-party venture, but in 1993 Chrysler began a proper British export drive.

The Cherokee’s boxy body shape soldiered on for 17 years

The new Ford Explorer was eating away at the Cherokee’s home market, the road-biased Ford having found a voracious following among America’s middle-class families.

The Jeep had been on sale in Europe long before that, with Renault and AMC having been in partnership during the 1980s, but it was in the face of that fresh domestic competition that the decision was made to stump up the development costs of a right-hand-drive conversion.

A curious side-effect of that resolution was the Cherokee joining a long history of right-hooker Jeeps sold to the US Postal Service – a handful still deliver mail in particularly rural areas to this day.

Leather and timber veneers add class to the Cherokee’s plasticky cabin

Back on this side of the Atlantic, it’s almost blasphemous to acknowledge that the Range Rover wasn’t the first luxury off-roader, but Jeep had distilled exactly that concept with the original Wagoneer of 1963.

It wasn’t the first time Land-Rover had followed Jeep’s example, either: Maurice Wilks’ original Land-Rover was inspired by the Willys MB, which also provided a chassis for the first prototype.

Jeep was a pioneer once again with the XJ Cherokee, judging that the future of the off-roader was lighter and more compact.

In Limited trim the Jeep gets Selec-Trac 4WD, air-conditioning and cruise control

As a result, the most stark difference between these two cars is size.

Yet that impression doesn’t continue inside, where the Cherokee reaps the benefits of its then-unusual use of a unitary chassis for an off-roader.

Despite being 215mm shorter, 152mm lower and a whopping 469kg lighter, the Cherokee has identical cargo capacity to the Range Rover, more headroom in the front, the same amount in the back, and identical legroom.

The Jeep’s unitary construction results in a far more car-like driving experience on the road

Beyond the statistics, it’s obvious once inside that the Range Rover’s cabin is sitting on top of a frame, with a bulging transmission tunnel in between the front seats, and chairs that are surprisingly small, bolted to raised platforms where the floor has been forced high above the chassis.

That does give the Range Rover driver superb vision, however, particularly when mated to the trademark low window line.

It’s that sense of imperiousness, looking down on everything that surrounds you, which gives the big Brit its famous feeling of superiority.

The Jeep wears highly polished cross-spoke wheels

It’s also a boon when the car is being used in the rough stuff: a tip of the head out the window is enough to see exactly where the front wheel is placed, where you’d be heaving your entire body out the window in the Jeep.

There’s some sound engineering reasoning behind sticking with a separate chassis, too, because the Jeep can’t match the Range Rover for axle articulation.

On similar tyres there’s not much between the cars in terms of traction: our Limited-spec Cherokee has selectable four-wheel drive via a centre diff and, like the Range Rover with its permanent 4WD, there’s a low-range mode, so it will follow the British car down most tracks.

The XJ-generation Cherokee arrived in UK Chrysler showrooms in 1993

For more serious off-roading challenges, however, the Jeep’s lesser break-over angle and wheel travel will lead to it getting stuck where the Land-Rover carries on.

Jeep knew it was taking a risk by using a monocoque design, even one reinforced by integral frame rails, but its market research showed that, beyond publicity stunts, luxury 4x4s weren’t regularly being used for crossing the Darién Gap.

Slippery grass fields, frozen roads and muddy uphill tracks were all most owners would be tackling, and those could still be conquered while making far less of a compromise during on-road driving, where these cars were to spend the vast majority of their time.

And here, thanks in part to the Cherokee’s weight saving, it’s in another league.

The Jeep’s ‘high-output’ 4-litre straight-six closely matches the Range Rover’s V8 for power, and gives the Cherokee sub-10-sec 0-60mph ability

The ‘high-output’ variant of the 4-litre straight-six, as fitted to our test car, made the Jeep the fastest mass-produced off-roader in the world in 1993.

A prod of the throttle in the Cherokee draws a drastically different response to the Range Rover, whose gearbox feels recalcitrant in comparison and whose engine – although increased from its original 3.5 to 3.9 litres – feels undersized for the car.

It does at least provide the better sound, with a real V8 snarl at high revs, and remains relaxed at impressive cruising speeds – it just takes much longer, and a lot more revs, to get it there.

Despite being smaller and lighter, the Jeep Cherokee (left) has the same amount of legroom as the Range Rover

This isn’t a case of off-roader versus ‘soft-roader’, though. Both cars feature suspension set-ups designed with serious mud-plugging in mind, with live axles front and rear.

Inevitably that makes them a bit shaky over bumps, both feeling as if their chassis are moving laterally beneath you over rutted surfaces, though the effect is less pronounced in the lighter, more squat American.

A near-sporting flavour can be detected in the Jeep, its compact dimensions and brilliant vision helping it feel biddable on narrow British roads.

‘Jeep knew it was making a sacrifice by using a monocoque, but luxury 4x4s weren’t being used to cross the Darién Gap’

Most will mainly keep their Cherokees in rear-wheel-drive mode to gain a few extra miles per gallon, and in this form it’s like a slightly wallowy sporting estate – terrific fun on a loose or muddy surface.

The Range Rover’s saving grace is its high driving position, which gives you greater confidence than the car might otherwise warrant as it rolls its way through bends.

This 1990 example narrowly missed out on the anti-roll-bar update the Range Rover had received by the time the Cherokee arrived in the UK, but even those stiffened cars list around corners.

The Range Rover (closest) has significantly more roll in the corners than the Jeep, but offers a softer ride

In more gentle driving the Rangie makes a better account of itself, still feeling a touch ponderous but delivering a level of comfort the Jeep can’t match, especially in its secondary ride.

That said, the Cherokee is hardly uncomfortable, and its steering is the quicker and more feelsome of the pair, though it does have an unnerving vagueness around the straight-ahead at higher speeds.

The Brit once again shows its cruising ability in feeling more secure at speed. That a long-wheelbase LSE version joined the line-up in 1992 reveals the car’s increasing appreciation as a limousine, and was a sign of where the model would go over the following decades.

Land-Rover’s luxury 4x4 sprouted rear doors in 1981, inspired by Monteverdi’s conversions of early cars

It also points to the fact that neither of these cars is particularly spacious in the back: their rear rows are very cramped by the standards of modern SUVs.

Both interiors are spruced-up versions of older, more basic cars. The Cherokee was nine years old by the time it landed in the UK, the Range Rover older still.

It’s all very plasticky inside the Jeep, with lots of right angles, very reminiscent of the interiors of 1980s General Motors cars, though there’s no relation.

Retrospective ‘Classic’ tag applied after the launch of the P38A Range Rover

The faux-wood trim on the dash is a bit… American, but some items, such as the padded dash top and the steering wheel, feel truly luxurious.

The seats, a British-market ruched leather option, reflect the prestige appeal Jeep was keen to push for the Cherokee in the UK – more basic versions were offered back in the States.

In typical US fashion, it’s in the equipment levels where the Jeep is most indulgent. The Limited came with air-conditioning and cruise control as standard, both of which were expensive options in the Range Rover unless you ticked the box for the flagship Vogue SE – at £35,419, weighing in at nearly twice the price of the Cherokee in 1993.

Three-spoke wheel design is recognisably Range Rover

Following the Jeep’s arrival the Range Rover quickly moved further upmarket, a signal that Land-Rover had no ambition to fight the Americans on price – at least not with its range-topping model.

Few enthusiasts will begrudge the British car for its lack of cruise control, but there’s no escaping the baffling design of the dashboard.

That high floor and low window line combine to squeeze the fascia, leaving little room for the controls and meaning that buttons are hidden behind the wheel, with unmarked switches in strange places and a cramped letterbox of a heater control that presumably makes intuitive sense only to the person who designed it.

‘Every time you find yourself railing against the Range Rover, it does something to remind you what a special driving experience it offers’

Its 1970s roots are clear in just how similar the cabin is to the Rover SD1, both in appearance and feeling less robust than the Jeep’s.

Every time you find yourself railing against the Range Rover, however, it does something to remind you just what a special driving experience it offers.

With that lack of air conditioning (and with the heater controls still bamboozling), it soon begins to get warm so it’s all windows down. And how. That huge glass area means that it’s only one step removed from a convertible once they’re open.

Designer David Bache’s simple interior gradually added more luxury, with leather trim and an automatic transmission arriving in ’84

The breeze howls through the cabin, putting the driver in mind of an open-sided Safari vehicle.

With the smooth V8 burbling beneath you, the suspension gliding over the road and the elevated driving position giving that distinctive sensation of command, the Range Rover suddenly makes sense.

Most drivers won’t worry too much about handling, have just a vague sense of performance and judge a car only by how it makes them feel. The Rangie offers a feeling unlike anything else.

The combination of high floor and low window leaves little space for buttons on the cramped dashboard

But there’s no getting away from the fact that, for a keen driver, the Cherokee is the much better car in all objective measures except for outright off-road ability.

It’s easy to ignore the Jeep by taking a ‘go hard or go home’ approach – which means picking the best off-roader at going off-road, or not bothering at all.

But that kind of binary logic that would surely make the Caterham Seven the only sports car, and even the Range Rover would be ditched in favour of a Land-Rover Defender or Toyota Land Cruiser.

The Buick-derived all-alloy V8 grew to 3.9 litres with electronic fuel injection in the Range Rover, supplying plenty of lazy grunt

As much as we Brits like to think of the Range Rover as a world-beater, the XJ Cherokee was a more innovative car with arguably even greater significance in the course of automotive development.

The monocoque XJ was a huge leap forward in the confluence between passenger cars and 4x4s, the progenitor of the first SUV boom of the 1990s.

The Range Rover only refined what the Wagoneer was already doing, and brought it to Blighty.

No wonder nearly nine Cherokees were built for every one Range Rover, over a shorter lifespan.

Although better off road, the Range Rover is trumped by the Jeep on smooth Tarmac

So perhaps it’s time the Cherokee got more recognition. This is a car that does a bit of everything: sportiness, luxury, everyday utility and off-road ability.

Had it been on sale in the UK earlier, allowing even greater numbers to be sold, it would surely now have the same nostalgic appeal it enjoys in the USA, and in which the Range Rover basks.

That said, while familiarity and patriotism have given the Brit an inflated reputation, it is impossible to deny the car has a certain x-factor.

These classic prestige off-roaders both have a strong following today

At times it seems almost unnecessary in its excess, with depths of off-road talent most drivers will never delve into, but such profligate ability, in the face of practicality or rational benefit, only adds to its sense of luxury.

It remains a unique driving experience, and one to savour.

Images: John Bradshaw

Thanks to: Michael David Cars for the Cherokee and Kingsley Cars for the Range Rover

Factfiles

Jeep Cherokee 4.0 Limited

Sold/number built 1984-2001/2,884,172
Construction steel unitary
Engine all-iron, ohv 3958cc straight-six, with electronic fuel injection
Max power 190bhp @ 4600rpm
Max torque 225lb ft @ 3000rpm
Transmission four-speed automatic, 4WD
Suspension: front coil springs, leading arms, track bar rear leaf springs; live axles, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted recirculating ball
Brakes discs front, drums rear, with servo and anti-lock
Length 13ft 11½in (4255mm)
Width 5ft 8in (1725mm)
Height 5ft 4in (1626mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 5½in (2575mm)
Weight 3349Ib (1519kg)
0-60mph 9.8 secs
Top speed 108mph
Mpg 15-25
Price new £18,995 (1993)
Price now £5-20,000*

Range Rover 3.9 SE

Sold/number built 1970-’96/326,070
Construction steel chassis, steel and aluminium body
Engine all-alloy, ohv 3947cc V8, with electronic fuel injection
Max power 185bhp @ 4750rpm
Max torque 235lb ft @ 2600rpm
Transmission four-speed automatic, 4WD
Suspension: front Panhard rod rear upper A-frame; live axles, radius arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers f/r
Steering power-assisted recirculating ball
Brakes discs, with servo and anti-lock
Length 14ft 8in (4470mm)
Width 5ft 7½in (1718mm)
Height 5ft 10in (1778mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 4in (2540mm)
Weight 4383Ib (1988kg)
0-60mph 11.3 secs
Top speed 110mph
Mpg 15-20
Price new £27,839 (1993)
Price now £10-40,000*