Jeep’s modern model lineup is often criticized for its lack of desirability and dismal reliability reputation, even ranking dead last in Consumer Reports’ brand rankings last year, worse than other brands with troubled reputations like Land Rover and Alfa Romeo. If you’re an old fart like me, it seems like it wasn’t all that long ago that Jeeps played starring roles in blockbuster movies, and its offered consumers desirable SUVs that set the iconic American off-road brand apart from its more boring competitors. The model that earned Jeep its mainstream stardom, taking it from being a producer of clumsy but capable trucks to an industry-leading, segment-defining titan was the original Cherokee, otherwise known by its internal model code, the XJ.
Not only did the XJ revolutionize Jeep’s reputation as a company, it revolutionized the global automotive landscape as we know it. Jason Cammisa dives deep into the history and the cultural significance of the original Jeep Cherokee in the latest brilliant video in Hagerty’s Revelations series.
If you drive a crossover, you have the Jeep Cherokee to thank
The Cherokee was the first SUV that was able to combine the traditional SUV trait of off-roadability with genuinely good on-road characteristics and improved ergonomics compared to the traditional family sedan and even the lauded family wagon. In this video, Cammisa even goes so far as to claim that it’s America’s favorite hot hatchback due to the XJ Cherokee’s excellent driving dynamics and peppy power when properly equipped. How did it achieve this unprecedented feat of engineering? By pioneering a new type of packaging for an SUV — the unibody construction that was more space-efficient, lighter weight, better handling, and more structurally sound.
Before the Cherokee, all SUVs, even the ones that were aimed more at on-road family car use, were bodies bolted to heavy, bulky and clumsy frames that severely impeded day-to-day practicality and livability. The Cherokee, in contrast, prioritized on-road competence first. It started with a unibody construction method that had previously been limited to smaller cars and wagons and added a boxed steel frame member welded around the chassis perimeter to keep the Cherokee’s towing capacity competitive. This construction method, as well as other innovations in suspension design and tons of engineering hours, allowed the Cherokee to be the most versatile small SUV, and arguably the most versatile vehicle on the market at the time. The XJ Cherokee’s innovation revolutionized the automotive landscape forever, and paved the way for virtually all of the hyper-refined modern SUVs and crossovers you buy today.
