The Car Connection Jeep Wagoneer Overview
The Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer return to the U.S. market for 2022 after a 31-year hiatus, representing a new luxury-oriented sub-brand for Jeep. The full-size SUV seats up to eight and rides on a body-on-frame platform distinct from the Ram 1500. Powered by a choice of V-8 engines, it offers three four-wheel-drive systems, as well as the latest tech conveniences and luxury touches but without the classic wood paneling.
MORE: Read our 2022 Jeep Wagoneer preview
The Wagoneer competes with American-made full-size SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Ford Expedition, while the Grand Wagoneer aims for the luxury-class Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator.
The new Jeep Wagoneer
Sized between the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the three-row Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer wear the latest in Jeep style even though the SUVs have no Jeep branding. Up front, a shorter seven-slot grille leans forward, extending a long hood into the wind. The wheelbase is long at 123 inches, and the Wagoneer rides on 20-inch or available 22-inch alloy wheels. "Wagoneer" lettering stamps a grille that is accented by liquid chrome and slides into thin LED headlights that wrap around the fenders.
The most notable design elements are the U-shaped windows quartered by blocky body-color pillars. They create an expansive greenhouse that allows in plenty of light, especially when equipped with a panoramic glass roof. There are no wood panels or thin chrome pillars from the original, nor are there blacked-out rear pillars like so much of the competition, though the Grand Wagoneer's roof is blacked out. Around back, the Wagoneer's slab of a tailgate is framed by a rectangular window and thin horizontal brake and taillights.
Inside, the Wagoneer seats up to eight passengers unless the second-row bench is replaced by captain's chairs to reduce seating to seven. It's luxurious, with a chrome-trimmed wing shape to the lower dash inlaid with available wood trim and crowned on top with soft-touch materials. A deep center console features padded armrests and available quilted leather upholstery ensconces a cabin loaded with screens.
Underlying this beauty are a pair of beastly V-8s mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The Wagoneer uses a 5.7-liter V-8 that makes 392 hp and 404 lb-ft of torque, and is supplemented by a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that can add 130 lb-ft of torque. The Grand Wagoneer gets a 6.4-liter V-8 that churns out 471 hp and 455 lb-ft of torque. Four-wheel drive comes standard, but there are three systems to choose from depending on all-weather needs or off-road pursuits. Ground clearance is 8.0 inches, but Grand Wagoneers equipped with an available air suspension can boost it to 10 inches for 24 inches of water-fording capability. Jeep also claims a 10,000-pound towing capacity.
The cabin can as much as 75 inches of screens. The Wagoneer features a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and a 10.1- or 12.0-inch infotainment touchscreen that stacks above an available 10.3-inch climate control touchscreen; the Grand Wagoneer gets a 12.3-inch cluster. If that's not enough screens, the front passenger can get a 10.3-inch screen shielded from the driver so the passenger can view Amazon FireTV or fire up navigation destinations to be sent to the central touchscreen. Rear-seat riders can tune in to two 10.1-inch rear entertainment screens, and a 10.3-inch screen for rear climate controls.
Standard equipment includes the 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and the Uconnect 5 infotainment system, eight USB ports, a hands-free power liftgate, leather seats, 12-way power front seats, and driver-assist features such as automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control down to a stop, active lane control, blind-spot monitors, and parking sensors.
Available features run the luxury list from a console cooler to 24-way seat adjustments with massage, heated and cooled seats, 19- or 23-speaker McIntosh sound systems, and 22-inch wheels.
Wagoneer history
The Wagoneer debuted in 1963 as a full-size Jeep and was far ahead of its time as a wood-paneled family-hauling off-road vehicle loaded with luxury features such as power steering and leather upholstery. The Jeep Grand Wagoneer launched for 1984, also powered by a V-8 that made just 140 hp. Prior to its return in 2022, Jeep last sold the Wagoneer in the U.S. in 1991.
