Review of the 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Elite

Back in 2013, I went with a buddy of mine to pick up his European Delivery BMW 435i M Sport.  While in Germany, we went to Stuttgart, and visited the Porsche Museum (which you can read about by clicking here).  After touring the museum, we went to an absolutely huge (perhaps the biggest in world) Porsche dealership across the street, and while browsing the 911’s and Cayman’s, I spotted the most gorgeous Porsche Cayenne Turbo I’d ever seen – before or since.  Guards red with black wheels – it was stunning.  It made a huge impression on me because A)up to that point, I’d never even considered buying an SUV, and in fact hated them, and B)I never liked black wheels on any vehicle.  But for some reason, they looked fantastic on this Porsche.  I remember thinking that if I had the money (I recall the price tag being North of 100k) I’d most certainly own that Porsche.

It would only be about a year after that trip that I would purchase my first SUV – a 2003 GMC Yukon Denali (which you can read about by clicking here).  We bought the vehicle to transport myself, my wife, and our four large dogs to dog shows.  And in the roughly four years I owned my “dog hauler” I did gain an appreciation for SUVs.  My buddy who is a fellow BMW guy also is a Jeep guy, and has owned about 3 of them – all Cherokee variants.  Jeep was never a car brand I paid much attention to, as I had no interest in off-roading.  But back in April of this year, my buddy test drove a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, and he shot me a phone cam pic of it – Firecracker red, with black painted aluminum wheels.  I was struck not only by how attractive the vehicle was, but also by how much it resembled that Porsche Cayenne I’d seen in Stuttgart.  Interest piqued, I went over to the Jeep website and did a “build” to see features they had and the options which were available.  A HUGE requirement for me any vehicle I will own is Apple Carplay support.  I replaced the factory stereo system in my Yukon Denali with Pioneer system which supported Apple Carplay.  Back in 2015, no cars offered it as a factory option, but a couple of forward-thinking aftermarket car stero manufacturers (Pioneer and JVC if memory serves) offered units which support Apple Carplay (and of course the Android equivalent – Android Auto).  After using it for four years, I’ll never go back.  Unfortunately, as of this writing not all car manufacturers offer Carplay/Android Auto, and those that do tend not to offer it in all their model offerings.  So I was elated to see that Jeep did.  Equally satisfying was to see a standard V6 in the Cherokee Trailhawk – the 3.2L Pentastar® V6 engine.  Every few years the auto industry as a whole starts pushing four-cylinder engines, and right now we’re in one of those periods.  The turbo four-cylinder seems mostly responsible for the revitization of the V4 – I blame BMW (though to their credit, their turbo four banger is a darn nice engine).  Jeep offers a Turbo four as option on the Cherokee Trailhawk – a $500.00 up charge due to it providing more useable torque than the V6.

The more I read about the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, the more impressed I was.  By June of 2018 I had made my decision – we weren’t showing our dogs anymore, so the need for a monsterous SUV like our Yukon Denali had passed.  On the weekends I was traveling more to shooting competitions – some as little as an hour away, but some a state or more away.  And of course, I liked have a good, reliable, and capable SUV to navigate the Ohio winter weather that my 2013 BMW 335i M Sport was ill-suited to traverse.  I was ready to get a Jeep Cherokee Tailhawk.

My process started on the Jeep website, where I built and priced a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Elite.  The “Elite” trim has very few options available – and I got most of them.  Here’s a break down of the options I chose as well as the ones I didn’t.

OPTIONS I DID GET:

• Cold Weather Group – $795.00
• Confort & Convienence Group – $795.00
• 17-Inch x 7.5-Inch Black Painted Aluminum Wheels – $655.00
• Rock Rails – $1095.00
• Uconnect 4C NAV with 8.4-Inch Display – $795.00
  
• Full Sunroof with Power Front and Fixed Rear – $1295.00
  
• 9-Amplified Speakers with Subwoofer – $695.00
  

OPTIONS I DIDN’T GET:

• Trailer Towing Group – $795.00
• Technology Group – $995.00

I have no need to tow anything, so the Trailer Towing Group was an easy pass.  The Technology Group contains some gee-wiz features like Adaptive Cruise Control, Advanced Break Assist, and Automatic High Beam Headlamp Control.  Neat technology to be sure, but I didn’t see a need for these features when I ordered my 2013 BMW 335i M Sport, and I still don’t have a requirement for them in 2018.

Once I had the build confirgured to my liking, I made not of the pricing/financing options the website provided, and did a search in dealer inventories near me for a matching model.  This worked better than anticipated, as a model matching my exact configuration was found at a dealer just down the street from where I work – I had assumed I’d have to order one to get everything I wanted without stuff I didn’t.

Once I got to the dealer, the experience was less pleasant.  I’ve become accustomed to dealing with luxury brand dealerships like Acura and BMW.  Dealing with dealerships and salespeople is never “fun” but it’s considerably better at luxury brand dealerships, as you might imagine.  My salesperson was woefully ignorant, and unable to answer some basic questions I had like, “what kind of tire life can I expect from these tires?”  “I work just down the street – will you guys come pick up my vehicle and provide me a loaner when oil changes are performed like BMW does for me?”  Uh, no.  Worse was the game of what I call “3 card monte” when it came to negotiating a final price.  I’m not unreasonable, and fully realize they have to make money, but neither am I stupid.  In the end, the Sales Manager came over and I got the reasonable terms I was seeking.  The 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Elite was mine:

Now that I’ll be going into the meat of the actual review, I’ll be abreviating the mouthful that is Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Elite to just “Jeep TH” going forward.  The first day of ownership of my Jeep TH was spent acuainting myself with all the features and controls.  A number of things stood out as being very impressive.  Overall, the controls are very intuitive and easily understood.  I’ve been driving BMW’s since 2006, and to this day there are various controls and symbology in the cabin which elude me.  Little things like putting the words “front” and “rear” below the icons on the front and rear defrost buttons are so welcome.

Jeep does a very good job at making owner needed information and functionality available through both their website and their app.  All service information and history (including any recalls) can be found in the Mopar app:

There’s also a PDF of the owners manual in the Mopar app, which I found handy while doing some of the initial setup of things, though it would have been MUCH more useful as a searchable PDF:

SiriusXM Guardian is offered through Uconnect.  So either via the SiriusXM Guardian app, the Uconnect app, or even via the Uconnect website, you can lock and unlock your vehicle, start or stop the vehicle, or activate the horn & lights (panic mode).  The advantage which SiriusXM Guardian offers (which is included as a free trial for the first six months) is that you can activate these functions from anywhere.  I had sort of assumed that you’d need satilite line-of-sight access to your vehicle.  But apparently this isn’t the case as my buddy regularly uses it on his Jeep while it’s parked in the parking garage at work.

This is pretty nifty functionality which apparently Jeep is a leader in implementing in their vehicles.  Few manufactures it seems even offer remote start capabilities as a factory offering.

I’m also extremely impressed with the “creature comforts” my Jeep TH provides – particularly at the price point.  With everything I got on the vehicle, it priced out at just over 42k, which is a high price for many.  But that price about 10k less than my BMW went for…five years ago.  Aesthetically speaking, the cabin interior is really sharp, and doesn’t look “cheap” as many American car interiors tend to look to my eye:

I’m a sucker for red stitching on black leather, and it looks awesome on my Jeep TH:

Yes, I know most cars have stopped putting “real” leather in cars – I think that’s a good thing.  I’ll take the durability of these alternative premium seating choices over the smell and feel of real leather.  For one, I have large dogs that will take ocassional rides in this vehicle.  For another, I like knowing these seats will look virtually new for years to come.  Leather shows wear relatively quickly and is expensive to replace.

I’ve yet to drive my Jeep TH on a long trip longer than about 30 minutes, but the seats are quite comfortable.  They are firm, in a sporty sort of way, and definitely keep you in place.  They are also very adjustable to allow you to find an optimal position.  My old Yukon Denali was REALLY tough to beat in this regard – it was probobly the most comfortable vehicle I’ve ever experienced.  But I expect that the seats in the Jeep TH will perform quite well on longer trips.  The seats both heat and cool – cooling is a new feature for me.  I’m actually surprised to see a “luxury” feature like this on a Jeep.  Additionally, the steering wheel is heated.  The temperature controls for the seats and steering wheel have discreet controls accessible via the touchscreen, but can be set to come on automatically on remote start.  Very nice.  Again, these are not features I anticipated enjoying on a Jeep.  Given that my Jeep TH was aquired in June, I haven’t tried the heating systems, but the AC comes on quick and cools great – no complaints here.

Another fantastic “creature comfort” interior feature my Jeep has is the panoramic style sun roof.  A sun roof is a “must have” feature on any vehicle I own.  I find that vehicles without them feel much more confining and “claustrophic” – letting in some light from above really makes a huge difference in my driving experience.  At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this a feature I would expect to see on a luxury brand, but surprised to see on a Jeep.  Controls for the sun roof (located near the rear view mirror) are very well executed and easy to use – on set of buttons to control the power sun shade, and another that controls the roof itself.

In the research I did prior to purchasing my Jeep TH, I read near universal praise the touch screen control console which allows the user to control most functions in the car.  In the below photo, you can see Carplay mode is active, but you can easily and quickly navigate to any of the availble control center screens (radio, climate, Nav, etc.) via the icons running along the bottom of the screen.  The display itself is bright and crisp, and the touch screen is extremely responsive.  Note that it’s displaying the temperatures set for both driver (left) and passenger (right) as well as the clearly designated outdoor temperature.

It’s worth mentioning that the color schemes for the display can be customized via 17 different “themes” which can be found in the settings menu.  Nice touch.

For grins, I tried out the onboard navigation system (as opposed to using Apple Maps as I normally do) and it was certainly fine.  One nice advantage the onboard nav system has is integration with the vehicle screen which sits between the analog tachometer and speedometer – an upcoming course change shows up on this screen which is viewable in peripheral vision.  This is nearly as good as the heads up display on my BMW which shows immediately pending course changes directly in the line of the driver’s view on the lower left portion of the windshield. I don’t think it will replace my use of Apple Maps, but it’s nice to know I’ve got an alternative available if I forget my phone.

Even when not running the onboard Nav system, the driver’s side information screen imparts a great deal of useful information to the driver, and the display can be customized to the driver’s preference.  The system is controlled via steering wheel buttons on the left side of the steering wheel.  The entire instrument cluster has an extremely clean, unclutered look that I find quite refreshing.  Functional and effective design execution is something I find to be admirable – and this instrument cluster is well done.

For my uses, the interior cabin space is “just right” but definitely not what I enjoyed with my full size Yukon Denali XL.  My wife and I are “empty nesters” to I don’t have to worry about needing a lot of extra seating for passengers. I’m also only about 5′ 7″ in height, so headroom isn’t a problem for me, though I’ve heard some reviewers of this vehicle indicate that tall friends may not have a lot of headroom in the back, bench-style seat. Rear passengers will have some modest temperature controls, USB ports, and there’s also an actual 3-prong electical outlet (just like in your house) which I’m sure the camping/outdoorsy folks appreciate (I’m not what you’d call a outdoor guy).

The back cargo area is, according to my research, a bit smaller than some competitors:

There is of course more ports and hooks that the outdoor crowd will appreciate, and storage for a full sized tire along with some nice “cubby holes” for things I like to keep in the back, like a first-aid kit.  I find the space available adequate for my needs.  I do a lot of competitive shooting, and this vehicle will be used quite a bit to transport myself and my gear to matches.  Here’s a typical load just for a couple of hours of practice at my local range:

If I want to transport one of my Rottweilers or my Lab, I’ll need to put down the split folding seats, and throw down a sheet.  It should work just fine.  Opening the hatch back for access to the rear cargo area can be done in one of three ways – there’s a button to open it in the front cabin area, and a button to do so on the key fob.  But my vehicle is also equiped with the “hands free” access feature which I found (and still do find) gimmicky on my BMW, where rather precise body is positioning is required to get the trunk to open.  Not so with the Jeep – just wave your foot under the back bumper and the hatch opens every time.  I did find it handy while my hands were full with gear I was loading up to head to the range.  There’s also a handy button on the left side wall of the cargo area to close the hatch back.

Moving to the exterior of the Jeep TH, I’m constantly marveling at how attractive Jeep has made a utilitarian piece of machinery like an SUV.

New for 2019 are the redigned LED headlights.  When I ordered my BMW 5 years ago, the LED headlights were a rediculously expensive option.  Now they’re being offered as a standard feature on many vehicles, and they function fantastically.  My previously mentioned Jeep-owning buddy calls the non-LED headlights on his 2015 Jeep “barely adequate” for illumination.  The LED headlights on my 2019 Jeep TH are oustanding – I particularly appreciate how a left or right hand turn will trigger a corresponding side LED to illuminate as you turn.  Aesthetically, they look nice too.

My mother used to say “I like the color red.  No mater what color it is.”  Like her, I like red, but I find red is an easy color to get wrong on a car.  Examples of red done right can be see with the “prancing horse” of Ferrari.  Porsche “Guards Red” is also correct.   Jeep’s “Firecracker Red” can be added to that list.

As I mentioned earlier in this article, I’ve never been a big fan of the trend toward black wheels we’ve seen in the last approximately 10 years.  But I think the black aluminum painted wheels on several body colors of the Jeep TH are must-have.  I had some concern that they may prove difficult to keep clean, but so far, so good.

For car people, cars are an emotional thing.  The entire aesthetic of this Jeep TH is one of adventure…”let’s go have fun!” is what this vehicle says to me.  It certainly has a very rugged, capable look that inspires confidence.  Disappointingly, there’s a styling trend that has many SUV’s looking more like mini-vans (yes, I’m talking to you Honda Pilot).  I don’t want my SUV looking like a soccer mom vehicle.  The Jeep TH definitely looks an agressive, off-roading machine, but it’s also a beautiful vehicle that’s pure candy to my eyes.  There’s so much aesthetic attention to detail I appreciate – the red colored tow hooks…the chrome tipped dual exhast.  Bravo Jeep.  Bravo.

Moving on to the driving experience, I was equally surprised (perhaps even mildly shocked) with how my Jeep TH drives as I have been with design, features, and aesthetic.  After seeing all the videos online of professional car reviewers driving the Jeep TH up steep embankments and over fields of bolders (which the vehicle effortlessly navigated) I thought to myself “this thing’s going to drive like hell.”  Quite the contrary however, I find the Jeep TH to be very car-like in manerisms.  It doesn’t have a “bouncy” or truck-like feeling to the suspension.  Rather, it feels quite tight and nimble.  With nine forward gears (and I thought the 8 speed transmission on my BMW 335i M Sport was impressive) gear shifts are smooth as silk.  Placing the driving mode knob in “sport” really does give the engine/transmission a more performance oriented profile that I enjoy for most of the comuting I do in the vehicle (probobly at the expense of some fuel economy, but…eh).  The 3.2L Pentastar® V6 engine produces 270 HP – a not unimpressive number, which can bring a smile to your face when placing your foot upon the skinny pedal on the right.  I didn’t expect BMW like performance from a Jeep engine – in fact, I expected it to feel underpowered.  Far from it.  Cabin noise levels are also quite car like. 

In terms of the off-road capabilities of the vehicle, I’m just not the guy for that discussion.  There’s PLENTY of videos and reviews out there of people demonstrating those capabilities.  Me?  I don’t really have that requirement.  Sure, many of the gun clubs I travel to are out in the middle of nowhere, located at facilities that, in some cases, wouldn’t even be traversable by my BMW.  But certainly not anything that any 4WD/AWD vehicle couldn’t handle.  Maybe I’ll sick my toe into off-roading…MAYBE.  But I think it’s very cool that my Jeep TH wears a “trail rated” bade and is reputed to be 2nd only to a Jeep Wrangler for its off-road capabilities.  Being trail rated signifies that the vehicles have passed off road testing by the Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) — which evaluates vehicles for traction, ground clearance, off road articulation, maneuverability, and water fording. 

This is a review, so it’s important to have a balanced discussion of what I feel are the less than positive aspects of the vehicle.  Try as I might, I can’t really come up with anything major that I’d change about my Jeep TH, but here are a minor few things that I’d categorize as “nitpicks.”

Firstly, let’s talk about the key fob.  In my mind, it’s the first point of engagement with the vehicle, and an essential part of my “EDC” (Every Day Carry).  Aesthetically, the Jeep key fob is…uninspiring.  It’s a case of being completely function over form in design – it works great, but just looks generic and…”blah.”

My other complaint about the key FOB is that it offers no indicators.  When I activate the remote start, I have no idea if it worked or didn’t until I actually go out to the vehicle.  How do I know if my vehicle is currently locked or unlocked?  The key FOB doesn’t impart any information.  The Viper remote start system I put on my old Yukon Denali had an LCD which provided this type of information which is REALLY useful.

Another thing I noticed right away is that the backup camera is mediocre in image quality.  I’m not looking for a 4K picture out of my backup camera, but the aftermarket camera I bought for my Yukon Denali four years ago provided a better quality video feed than the backup camera on my Jeep TH.

Most of the interior storage areas in my Jeep TH are extremely well thought out.  But there is a small, almost hidden drawer on the bottom of the dashboard, to the left of the steering wheel that has me scratching my head.  It’s diminutive size makes me seriously question what Jeep intended to be stored here?  A few rolled up dollar bills in case of emergency?  Maybe some tissues?  It’s also the only part or component I’ve found on the vehicle which feels cheap and easily broken.  The area in which it is located appears to have room for a larger compartment, so it feels like a missed opportunity to provide the owner with actual useable storage space.

There are a few systems and features which Jeep has purchased from outside manufacturers and integrated into their vehicles – systems which can be found on other manufacturers vehicles.  For instance, the steering wheel controls are nearly identical to those found on some GM cars.  The door handle keyless access (touching the door to unlock, silver button locks) is also found on some GM models I’ve seen.  This fact isn’t inherently bad or negative.  But in my mind the use of these outsounced components diminish from the uniqueness of a brand.  Admittedly, the systems in question seem to work pretty darn well.

I mentioned earlier about the experience being unpleasant with the dealership salesperson, but the level of ignorance and outright incompetence I dealt with was innexecuseable.  I’d be more understanding of a used car salesperson having only a cursory understanding of the product they’re selling (they can’t possibly memorize all there is to know about any and all cars that come through their lot).  But a new car sales person?  The have a limited number of models and features – they should know the cars at least as well as I do when I walk in the door.  Sadly, this is never the case.  The worst example of customer disservice came when I asked about how much I’d be paying for oil changes with their dealership.  She told me “about $60.00.”  Today I called the dealership and spoke with the service dept.  They quoted me about $45.00 plus about $23 for tire rotations.  Then I called the Jeep Wave program to inquire about how much it would cost to enroll in the program, as they offer 2 oil changes and 2 tire rotations per year.  Turns out my vehicle qualifies for 2 years of enrollment in the program for free.  You would think my sales person would know that…or maybe even the service department.  At this point, do we even need sales people?  Why can’t we just order cars off a website, and pick them up from a delivery and service center?  Sales people don’t help.  They only add frustration to the process.

My final nitpick is with the non-locking access door to the fuel intake.  It appears to be not terribly difficult for those with ill-intent either to either siphon gas or put damaging materials into the gas tank.  Now, with all the electronic systems in the car, there may be more and present risk of the car being hacked, but I’d still much prefer to see the access door be more secure.

The mid-size SUV market is probobly the hottest market in the US, as well as in many other regions.  I think in the “bang for the buck” category, the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk wins hands down.  Yes, it has a 42k (as mine is equipped) sticker price.  But after incentives and negotiating, that price came down well below 40k.  I compared the vehicle to many other options – lateral (Ford, GM, Honda) as well as upmarket (Range Rover, BMW).  If you do your research, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a vehicle this well equipped and this capable for under 45k.  I purchased my Jeep TH as a “2nd vehicle” and was willing to make compromises in things I value in my “primary vehicle” in order to get the function and utility I required for my 2nd vehicle at my acceptable price point.  Much to my delight, my Jeep TH doesn’t at all feel like I had to compromise on anything – in fact, my Jeep performs well above my expectations in many regards.  I’m not sure I’m fully converted and on-board with #Jeeplife, but I’m certainly over the moon with my 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk.  Now to work on my “Jeep Wave.”