Jeep is finally going after the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator to reclaim a segment it once dominated.
The company has teased its upcoming Grand Wagoneer, which will enter production in the second quarter of next year. It’s scheduled to be revealed on September 3.
It’ll be accompanied by a lower-spec model called the Wagoneer. Both are expected to use the same body-on-frame platform as the Ram 1500 pickup, much as the Escalade and Navigator are related to the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra and Ford F-150, respectively.
Jeep has yet to confirm whether it’ll introduce these two upper-large SUVs locally.
The company has released several teasers ahead of the truck’s imminent debut.
One of these shows the start button. It’s surrounded by leather trim with stitching details as well as what appears to be wood trim, suggesting the Jeep will have a suitably upscale interior.
Another teaser shows what appears to be the Grand Wagoneer’s rotary dial controller for its infotainment system.
The company has also revealed part of the grille, which follows Jeep’s traditional seven-segment design. It’s also angled back towards the top in a similar fashion to the current Cherokee for a slightly less bluff look than an Escalade or Navigator.
Instead, the rake of the grille more closely resembles that of the BMW X7’s, though the Jeep’s grille looks to be shorter than the tall double kidneys of BMW’s largest SUV.
The Grand Wagoneer nameplate may not be familiar to Australian buyers, though we did get the related SJ Cherokee.
Introduced in 1978 as the Wagoneer Limited and distinguished by its woodgrain exterior trim and plush cabin, Jeep’s flagship model adopted the Grand Wagoneer nameplate in 1984. With no US-market Range Rover until 1987, it was the only luxury SUV in the States.
You’ll likely have seen it in countless TV shows and movies filmed or set in the 1980s and 1990s, typically driven by upper-middle class families. And off the screen, it had the distinction of at one point having a customer base with the highest median income of any American vehicle.
Jeep is going to be a busy brand over the next 18 months. In addition to the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, it’s also announced it’ll begin production of another full-size three-row SUV in the first quarter of next year.
The new SUV is expected to be based on the upcoming, redesigned Grand Cherokee, which will begin production shortly after in the third quarter of 2021.
