The 2006 Commander – launched at the New York motor show this week, is the first Jeep with three rows of seats.
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“The 2006 Jeep Commander is significant for a number of reasons,” said Jeep chief Jeff Bell.
“This is the first seven-passenger 4×4 that is Jeep Trail Rated. [It] is the only SUV in its class to offer two V8 engines. And [it begins] the expansion of the Jeep vehicle lineup that will take place during the second half of this decade.”
Stylists based the boxy Commander’s looks on past models such as the Willys Station Wagons (1946 to 1962), the Wagoneer (1963 to 1991) and, especially, the Jeep Cherokee (1984 to 2001 and exported world-wide).
Parts sharing with the current Liberty/Cherokee and recently redesigned Grand Cherokee is not likely to be very much evident when the Commander reaches US showrooms later this year. Exterior and interior styling and the dashboard are unique while the V6 and V8 engines – including the acclaimed 5.7-litre Hemi – are shared with a number of Jeep and Chrysler models and the platform is largely the Grand Cherokee’s.
That upright styling and a three-inch (75mm) kink in the roof line – cleverly hidden mostly by roof rails – have helped the interior packagers shoehorn in a third seat row without cramping occupants too much, and with generous headroom throughout.
As seen in some other seven seat SUVs and minivans, each seat row is slightly higher than the one in front of it – this so-called ‘stadium seating’ arrangement (sometimes dubbed ‘theatre-style’ here in Europe) makes forward viewing easier. The second and third row seats fold forward to create a flat load floor.
The Commander is only two inches (50mm) longer than the Grand Cherokee and rides on the same 109.5-inch wheelbase.
Complementing the optional front-mounted sun roof is so-called Command-View – new skylights, complete with shades, over the second row of seats, not unlike those that can be ordered for a Land Rover LR3/Discovery.
The Commander shares three four-wheel drive systems, suspension and powertrains with the Grand Cherokee.
Engine choice are that 5.7-litre Hemi V8 with multi-displacement system (aka cylinder cut-off), a 4.7-litre SOHC V8 and the 3.7-litre V6 familiar to Liberty/Cherokee owners.
No mention yet of diesels (Jeep is test marketing Liberty turbodiesel models in the US this year), or exports.
Graeme Roberts
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