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car review

2015 Jeep Cherokee TrailhawkDan Heyman

You have to hand it to Jeep. Year after year, they manage to take models that have been around for a long time and inject new life into them by building a special edition or two.

Some of these work well, others not so much, but they tend to do a good job of adding some colour to an automotive landscape that seems to get blander by the year. I mean, how many times have you looked down a neigbourhood street and seen nothing but grey and white cars? (Overall score: 7.8)

Walkaround

First of all, you can imagine how that dreary neighbourhood would get a shot of life if you had one of these babies parked there, in all its Mango Tango Pearl paint glory. Somewhat questionable name aside, that paint is one of the juicier ones you'll find on the dealership floor today. If it's too much for you, you can always select one of the more sedate colours: "Anvil," "Billet," and "Viper GTS Blue".

Other Trailhawk-specific exterior additions include a 25-millimetre bump in ride height, 17-inch off-road wheels and tires, front and rear tow hooks, red Trail Rated badging, LED taillights, fog lights and contrasting grille surrounds. The black wheels and hood decal are optional.

And it looks fantastic. You've still got that wacky front end, but when you factor in all the gaudiness of the rest of the Trailhawk conversion, it all works rather well.

Plus, it fits rather well with the Jeep's rough n' tumble, nothing-can-stop-me-no-matter-what-colour-I-am ethos. Really, there are few other manufacturers that could pull off something like this. (Score: 8.3)

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Interior

The interior additions aren't quite as marked; you get leather/cloth seating with red stitching as standard, which were upgraded to an all-leather, ventilated set-up on our tester. It costs a combined $1,595 for both features ($800 for leather, $795 for ventilation and memory seating, plus power fold-away mirrors) and while on one hand a cloth set-up is more "Jeep," the leather is actually easier to clean. So if you're planning on hawking some muddy trails in your Cherokee, then you may want to consider the leather. Skip the other fancy stuff, however, and you get to keep the neat underseat storage found on the passenger side, which you lose one you add ventilated seats.

In-cabin storage takes another hit on our tester thanks to the addition of a remote CD player, which takes up a healthy portion of the centre console's storage bin. Leave it out, save $225, and stick with your satellite radio and streaming Bluetooth.

The front seats are a great place to sit, providing a generous view forward and plenty of space for legs, shoulders and heads. It's a little more snug in back, but isn't any more crammed than any mid-size crossover you'll find on the market today. The optional panoramic sunroof, meanwhile, really opens things up. (Score: 7.5)

Tech

Also standard is a 7-inch customizable display set between the two main gauges. It may be a bit anti-Jeep in its ultra-techiness, but it's still nice to have considering the vast array of info it displays in gorgeous full-colour, from infotainment, drive mode, and navigation.

Then there's the standard—and massive—8.4-inch Uconnect infotainment screen, as well as standard XM satellite radio and Bluetooth. The Garmin-based navi system will run you an additional $600, however. (Score: 8.5)

Driving

Two engines are on offer: standard 'Hawks come with the 2.4L MultiAir I-4, while $1,590 will get you a 3.2L version of the company's award-winning Pentastar V-6 engine. It's money well spent.

The V-6 makes 271 hp and 239 lb.-ft. of torque, and while those aren't sky-high numbers, it works well with the nine-speed transmission to keep things copacetic. I've driven the Cherokee with the four-banger, and I found it had a hard time getting along with its transmission (the nine-speed is your only option). The V-6 is much better at this, keeping progress smooth if not quite as efficient as the four-pot.

Plus, you don't get the way-cool dual-exhaust tips unless you select the V-6.

Of course, this is a Jeep and smooth progress may not be what it's all about for many buyers, especially buyers of an off-road special like this.

In that light, the Trailhawk comes standard with Jeep's Active Drive II 4WD tech. It adds both rock-crawl and neutral modes for the drivetrain, in addition to the standard Snow, Sport and Sand/Mud modes.

When Rock mode is activated, you can pretty much let the Trailhawk do its own work (you can leave your feet off the pedals during descents, allowing you to focus solely on steering) over the rough stuff, as the locking differential and transmission, along with the hill descent feature, all do their part to keep things solid over the roughest, loosest terrain.

Of course, the offshoot of this is that progress over smoother surfaces is a little louder in the 'Hawk than other Cherokees. Indeed, on the highway, those tires sound almost as loud as the colour looks. (Score: 7.9)

Value

With a starting MSRP of $31,595, the Trailhawk is quite a tantalizing option. All that 4×4 goodness, those eye-popping looks and some pretty good tech for under 32 grand? Not bad.

Until you look a little closer at the options list: a heated steering wheel and front seats will cost you $795; the fancy nine-speaker sound system, $400. And if you want rear cross-traffic alert and power folding mirrors, you're looking at an additional $895. Adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, power seats, even a tonneau cover come as part of various option packages, pushing the MSRP of our tester to $42,135 before taxes. (Score: 6.8)

Conclusion

Choose your options wisely and you'll end up with an immensely capable crossover with neck-snap looks and a sense of adventure. It's great, and we encourage Jeep to keep recalling the cool factor associated with its products ever since Daisy Duke's white CJ-7 trailblazed through Hazzard County.

Autofocus.ca is a Canadian automotive website dedicated to making car shopping easier and driving more fun. Follow Autofocus on Facebook and Twitter.

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