2023 Grand Cherokee L rides on unchanged — and that’s a good thing

2023 Chevrolet Blazer AWD RS v. 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Altitude 4x4: Battle of the midsize SUVs.

This week: Jeep Grand Cherokee L

Price: $54,070 as tested. $1,440 got us a sunroof and $695 added a trailer towing package. More noted below.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver liked the “good-looking exterior, wide range of available models, high-end models add luxury to the adventure,” but not that “not all models come standard with all-wheel drive, plug-in-hybrid power train needs polish, loaded models carry eye-popping price tags.”

Marketer’s pitch: “Extend your adventure.”

Reality: A nice ride with semi-decent fuel economy, but there is a catch.

What’s new: The Grand Cherokee L is pretty much the same vehicle since its 2021 introduction, a three-row version of the Grand Cherokee.

Competition: In addition to the Blazer, the class includes Ford Bronco, Honda Passport, Subaru Outback, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Venza, and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

Up to speed: Acceleration was fairly strong with the 3.6-liter V-6 engine. Its 293 horses bring the vehicle to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, according to Motor Trend. But the Blazer beats it by almost a full second.

The other engine available is the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, which creates 357 horses and gets to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds.

There was sometimes a touch of balkiness with the V-6, when the vehicle didn’t want to go or pass right away.

Shifty: The 8-speed automatic transmission could be the culprit behind the balkiness as well.

Still, that balkiness was less troubling than last week’s Blazer’s.

The gear selector is a full-on dial, twisting through PRND clockwise and back, my least favorite dial setup. It always struck me as too easy to make a mistake.

On the road: The Jeep Cherokee L didn’t truly get put through its paces as we rode from Savannah to Charleston, a very flat seaside stretch of the country indeed. It handles highways nicely, the cruise control works well, and it changes lanes with good visibility.

The lane-changing abilities come in handy because Georgians and South Carolinians like using their left lane most of the time, so there’s a lot of having to get to the right lane to pass. (I just sighed and let them drive their wrong way, without shouting or swearing.)

Even a 13-mile trip down a back road to a nature preserve — closed for hunting, sadly — featured mostly a straight line. Sigh. Well, at least the Grand Cherokee L corners well in the city.

Driver’s Seat: The cockpit remains pretty much unchanged from previous years tested. The gauges can feature large dials or small, depending on all the info you want in the middle. A minimalist digital version is also a choice.

Buttons above the infotainment screen handle several functions, and they can be hard to read for those unfamiliar with the vehicle. But with a little practice, you can count the hash marks in between to get to the right one without having to stare at them for long periods.

The Capri leatherette/suede seats made for a nice ride. They came as part of a $5,105 package, also adding Altitude appearance, heated steering wheel and front seats, power lift gate, and more.

Friends and stuff: Middle-row captain’s chairs are spacious for passengers. Lots of room for head, feet, and legs.

The third row is a little less generous, as it sits up higher, but not it’s not terrible if the middle row is pushed ahead.

Cargo space is not so generous behind the third row. Three suitcases could hardly fit — stacked two high it was hard to get the lift gate to close. Space in the back is 17.2 cubic feet; 46.9 with the third row folded; and 84.6 with everything down.

Towing capacity: The towing capacity with the V-6 is 6,200 pounds, a third more than the Blazer’s, but still 1,000 pounds short of the Hemi V-8.

Play some tunes: Sound from the system is pretty good, about an A-, clear enough but not quite perfect accuracy.

Operation features dials for volume and tuning, buttons for many functions, and the very clear 10.25-inch touchscreen for everything else.

Keeping warm and cool: Intricate HVAC adjustments require a trip to the touchscreen and can cover important map information for a moment, so consider the timing when you’re far from home.

The heater controls are tucked up against the stereo so some of them can disappear behind knobs.

Fuel economy: I averaged around 23 mpg in mostly town and secondary highway traffic. Some of this may have been due to Jeep’s variable valve timing and electronic start/stop, but I imagine flatlands helped a lot. My cars got much better fuel economy when I lived on the shores of Lake Erie than after I moved to Chester County.

Where it’s built: Detroit

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts a reliability of two out of five for the Grand Cherokee L.

In the end: The Blazer made for nice companion, making it tough competition for the Grand Cherokee L.

Still, with more towing, and more room, and anything close to 23 mpg, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L outclasses the Blazer.

With real four-wheel drive, the Grand Cherokee L is definitely the more rugged experience as well.

But the coming of the Blazer EV may make for some rethinking in 2024, though. And the Grand Cherokee L’s reliability rating gives some pause.