Jeep has bolstered its lineup with a pickup truck and more crossover offerings, but one product that has been sorely missing from the range is a three-row SUV. Soon, FCA will remedy that by bringing back the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer nameplates for two SUVs that will sit far above the Grand Cherokee in the Jeep lineup. Details on the upcoming, oft-delayed large SUVs are forthcoming, including what they will look like. So, we’re taking an educated guess with these renderings, whcih could give you an idea what the real-deal Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will look like when they arrive for the 2022 model year.
The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will be built at FCA’s Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan, alongside the new Ram HD. (Ram’s previous-generation 1500 Classic is still built there, too.) FCA is taking advantage of the Warren plant’s body-on-frame focus to, go figure, handle the body-on-frame full-size Jeeps, although the SUVs will share components with the newest Ram 1500.
To wit, we’ve spied unusual Ram prototypes testing nearby that we believe to be mules for the Wagoneer. In some photos of those test vehicles, you can barely make out the truck’s rear independent suspension. Swapping the Ram’s rear live axle out for an independent setup should grant more passenger space in the third row, while better aligning the Jeeps with luxurious competitors such as the Lincoln Navigator and Range Rover (which also have independent rears) and next-generation Cadillac Escalade (which is expected to switch to an independent rear from a solid axle setup). Production of the new Jeep SUVs will begin in the first half of 2021.
Our renderings of what those Jeeps will look like draw heavily from the Jeep Yuntu concept, which was shown a couple years back at the Shanghai auto show. That concept eventually became the Grand Commander, a seven-seat crossover that will only be sold in China. Still, many of the Yuntu’s styling elements could influence the design of the truck-based Jeep Wagoneer. One thing we know the two Jeeps will have in common is a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. In its five-year plan, FCA revealed that the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer would get gas-electric plug-in hybrid variants.
As for other engine options, the Wagoneer could share some of its powertrains with the new Ram 1500. Likely candidates include the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 and 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, possibly with eTorque mild hybrid assistance. The Wagoneer siblings could also get the latest version of the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6, which packs 260 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. But the most pressing question of all—whether or not the Wagoneers will be offered with wood-grain siding, like their classic forebears sold in the ’80s and ’90s—is entirely open. We’re hoping Jeep at least offers customers the option of slapping the old-school garnish (pictured here!) onto their big SUVs in 2021.
Source: Future - motortrend.com
