FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2022 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE L SUMMIT RESERVE

This is the long-awaited 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L is a large American seven-seater SUV, that a lot of you have been asking me to review for a while now. So, without further ado, I can not wait to jump in and put it through our BabyDrive testing…

In the BabyDrive garage this week is the top-spec Summit Reserve version of the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L. Spoiler alert: this is an absolute corker of a BabyDrive, so those looking for maximum family friendliness tune in now.

The top-spec Summit Reserve is the only of the three Grand Cherokee L models on offer with full off-road capability and at $115,000 it is a big jump from the $88,000 middle spec Limited and entry-level $83,000 Night Eagle.

I have to say,  the interior of this Summit Reserve model is beautifully decked out!

There is wooden dash and side door panelling – seems to be actual wood – and quilted leather seats in all three rows.

This model is full of all the lovely trims and features a family wants, so let's get started!

When it comes to child seats, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L ISOFix in ALL THREE second-row seats! They are all behind a flap of seat upholstery leather.

There are also top tether anchorages on the back of ALL FIVE rear seats and they are all easily accessible either through the boot or by bringing the seatbacks forward.

I could fit five Infasecure child seats really easily into the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L.

You can install three Infasecure child seats across the second row of seats using ISOFix which is AMAZING! Very few cars have that available (see the link here). I installed three Infasecure Attain More child seats across in their rear-facing setting and also found the Infasecure Versatile Folding Booster Seat fitted nicely alongside two Attain More seats in rear-facing mode.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L also has fantastic third-row access. With either forward or rear-facing child seats installed using the ISOFix rather than the seatbelt, you can bring the second-row seat forward with a nice step through to the third-row seats.

In the third row the seats are also very generous in size and space and you can fit two full-size Infasecure child seats easily in the back. I installed one Achieve More and one Aspire More forward-facing. They both fit well for ceiling space and legroom.

Those wanting to use all three rows for infants in child seats or for teenagers or adults can rejoice as the Jeep Grand Cherokee L has sooo much legroom and headroom! It was completely capable when loaded up with five child seats and when I took it away for a weekend in Noosa with my daughters' Mums Group it had plenty of room for all seven beautiful Mummas 🙂

You can also easily fit a 180cm passenger in the third row behind a fear-facing child seat in the second row as well as a 182cm or taller driver in the front. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L is an incredibly spacious seven-seater SUV.

To buy or learn more about the child seats used in this video just click on the link here.

There are built-in window blinds in the second-row doors of this model to keep rear passengers shaded from the sun while driving along.

Storage in the third row of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is great; there are cup holders for each passenger and a small slot by the seat bases for phone storage. Passengers also have USB and USB-C sockets for charging devices too.

Storage is great for second-row passengers too with good size door bins for refillable water bottles…

…cup holders in a central seat fold-down armrest and small map pockets.

There is great connectivity throughout the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, with USB/USB-C and a 240V socket in the second row.

In the front passengers have heaps of storage options. With two cup holders in the central console to hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a phone charging tray with USB/USB-C and 12V sockets.

The central console box is enormous with a tray in the top and the glove box is very generous for storage space too.

The front door bins are even bigger than in the back and hold an iPad and a refillable water bottle.

When it comes to aircon, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L has my favourite rear air vents in the second- and third-row side pillars.

These are great for giving a nice flow of air without being easy for little fingers or feet to tamper with! There are also vents and controls in the back of the central console box too.

The rear climate can be controlled through the front media screen, which is perfect for keeping rear passengers at the right temperature while driving along.

Storage in the boot of the Grand Cherokee L is pretty impressive too, holding twenty shopping bags from empty when using the first two rows of seats. That's more than the BMW X7, Land Rover Discovery and Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series which all hold 18 shopping bags and the Audi Q7 which holds 17.

A twin or side-by-side pram fits in the boot of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L with 12 shopping bags.

Any size of single or tandem modular pram or stroller will fit in the boot of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L with lots of space still for shopping bags or bikes and scooters or whatever other equipment your family needs to carry. Or you can fit your large family dog in the boot of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L!

When you are using all three rows of seats then seven shopping bags fit in the boot of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L. That is the same in the Audi Q7 and BMW X7 or three bags in the Land Rover Discovery and four bags in the boot of the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series when using all three rows of seats.

A twin side-by-side pram fits in the boot of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L when using all three rows of seats with two shopping bags. You can see which other large SUVs fit a twin pram in the boot here.

Or you could fit a small family dog in the boot!

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L has a ‘FamCam' in the rear ceiling! This is great fun when you have seven mums on the loose in Noosa!

On a more practical family note… it is rather useful for keeping an eye on little rear passengers, especially that rear-facing in child seats. The camera view comes up in the media screen and is nice and clear and easily visible. The eight-seater Hyundai Staria also has a rear seat camera which I think has a slightly better quality image, however, it is mainly for the second-row seats, not the third row.  So far these are the first family cars in Australia to have ‘Fam Cams'. Hopefully, it is the start of many!

The media system in the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is really lovely and simple to use.

You can control the front and rear climate from the media screen…

…the massage front seats (YES they are excellent) can also be controlled through the front media screen. The front seats are also heated and cooled and you have a heated steering wheel you can control from here.

The sat-nav built in to the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is easy to use and you can control the guidance volume easily.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can easily and safely access your phone's navigation, communication and listening apps while driving.

The exterior cameras were excellent until they stopped working on the Jeep Grand Cherokee L while I was filming it! Apparently, this was due to it needing a software update!

They did work for the first couple of days of my testing though and were really nice and clear, had good quality visuals and were really needed for reversing and manoeuvring such a large vehicle. When they are working, you can easily turn off the parking sensor sound with a button above the media screen.

I have driven A LOT of electric and hybrid vehicles recently so it was unusual for me to have this V6 petrol engine and it felt quite agricultural in comparison. Agricultural or not, the Grand Cherokee L is really enjoyable to drive and it's just as at home off-road as it is cruising past the cafes of Noosa's Hastings Street!

When you take it off-road you can raise and lower the height of the vehicle really easily with a paddle in the central console, which is really helpful.

The turning circle is surprisingly small in the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, which makes driving around town and parking and manoeuvring much easier. Visibility is good out of the rear and side windows even when you are loaded up with five child seats and when the cameras are working they really help too.

In conclusion, I am not sure if any other car can compete with the Jeep Grand Cherokee L as a BabyDrive! This family SUV is PACKED full of family-friendly features including the FamCam and rear window blinds, great storage in the cabin and boot space. FIVE Infasecure Child Seats fit easily in the back with three ISOFix child seats across the second row and legroom is FANTASTIC in all three rows of seats!

When it comes to safety the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L has yet to be given an ANCAP crash test Safety Rating. It does have eight airbags as described below by Jeep:

Advanced Multistage Front Air Bags, Driver Inflatable Knee-Bolster Air Bag, Passenger Inflatable Knee-Bolster Air Bag, Supplemental Front Seat Side Air Bags and supplemental Side Curtain Front & Rear Air Bags.

There is also electronic stability control, hill start assist, trailer sway damping, rain brake support, ready alert braking, full speed forward collision warn plus, advanced brake assist, pedestrian and cyclist emergency braking, intersection collision assist, drowsy driver detection, speed control, adaptive cruise control with stop and go highway assist system, traffic sign recognition, active driving assist system, active lane management system, park view rear back-up camera, 360-degree surround view camera, rear back up camera washer, integrated off-road camera, blind spot and rear cross path detection, park-sense front and rear park assist with stop, parallel and perpendicular park and unpark assist with stop, side distance warning, occupant detection sensor – second row and third-row and rear seat reminder alert.