First ever seven-seat Jeep

Retro-look vehicles are all the rage these days. Volkswagen started the trend with the Beetle, and was followed in short order by Mini Cooper, Ford Thunderbird and Mustang. Even Toyota joined the foray, reviving the FJ 40 with a beautiful rendition called the FJ Cruiser.

With its Jeep Commander, it appears Daimler-Chrysler is saying, “Let’s jump on the retro bandwagon and bring back the Cherokee. While we’re at it, since we’ve never had a third row seat in a Jeep product, so let’s throw one in to keep up with the competition.”

But something seems to have gone wrong with Daimler-Chrysler’s retro formula. The result is a homely vehicle that isn’t exactly flying off dealers’ lots. It seems as though the Commander has taken its design cues from a Lego model.

The traditional Jeep seven-slot grille sits up front, looking the same as a Hummer H3. The oversized plastic-covered front bumper juts a bit too far out and tow hooks stick out through the lower fascia. The hood is long, low and flat. The entire look just doesn’t do it for me.

The tiered roofline is squared off with a very upright windshield, too-tall side windows and trapezoidal wheel-well blisters that appear to be attached with exposed Torx Allen head bolts (which are thankfully gone on 2007 models). 

The rear plastic-covered bumper juts out below a non-powered rear lift gate with an oversized rear window. A word of caution: When using the key fob to open the rear window, be careful not to stand within striking distance. The window pops open and swings up without warning, and nearly hit me in the head.

Once inside, you might expect all the large windows to provide excellent outward visibility. But you would be wrong. With the third-row seats in place, rear visibility is nonexistent. If ever a vehicle needed a rear backup camera, the Commander is it. Jeep wisely included one as standard equipment for 2007.

Based on the Grand Cherokee platform, the brick-like Commander manages to deliver a more refined cabin, featuring three rows of seats as standard equipment. Seats are theater style, with the second and third rows positioned slightly higher than the ones in front to increase passenger visibility. Third-row seats are tiny and fold flat with a flip of a lever. No power folding option like Ford Explorer.

To keep passengers from feeling claustrophobic, Jeep added cool looking individual skylights that don’t open, but have sliding shades to keep out intense Arizona sunrays. Front seat passengers have an oversized sunroof. Dash gauges are easy to see, read and use. Too much hard plastic unnecessarily cheapens the overall look.

For 2007 the Commander is available in four models: Sport ($29,690), Rocky Mountain ($30,450), Limited ($37,065) and Overland ($41,550). Sport replaces the 2006 base model; gone is the 65th Annivesary addition; Rocky Mountain and Overland are new for this model year. Two-wheel drive is standard and four-wheel drive is optional ($2000) on all models except Overland, where it is standard. Features include a roof rack; air conditioning; AM/FM/CD with six speakers; and power windows, heated mirrors and driver’s seat.

I tested a very well equipped Sport 4x4 that included the optional Customer Preferred Package ($4280) with power sunroof, fog lamps, heated leather seats, power passenger’s seat, adjustable pedals, premium audio system and other features. Other options include a Trailer Towing Group, QuadraDrive II 4WD system and, of course, the venerable 5.7-liter hemi engine.

The front seats are generally comfortable and handling is good for a large sport utility. Body lean is modest in turns. Parking is easy due to a fairly tight turning radius. Brakes are good and the five-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly. Standard stability control helps in avoiding spinouts during quick steering and on slippery surfaces.

Because Commander is built on the mid-sized Grand Cherokee chassis, it’s sized more like a Ford Explorer than a Chevy Tahoe. That size difference shows up in tight seating for second row passengers and in the kids-only-sized third row. 

The ride is generally quiet, however the non-aerodynamic styling does impact interior noise at highway speeds and drags down fuel economy.

Standard safety features include anti-lock brakes and BrakeAssist, a system that works in panic situations to provide the shortest possible stopping distances. Side-curtain and front airbags are included on all models. Commander earned the highest possible 5-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in front crash tests and a modest 3-stars for rollovers on four-wheel drive models.

Commander is a very large, heavy (5047 lbs.), oversized vehicle that tries to do too much. It’s well built and certainly capable off-road, but Commander just doesn’t get the packaging right and seems overpriced compared to the competition. The style is too tank-like and industrial in an age when sharp styling and curvy sheet metal is what sells.


Return to the Auto Reviews home page.