Jeep Commander

Big and boxy, the Jeep Commander's styling flies in the face of more streamlined offerings. Though many who purchase the Commander will be doing so because of it's family-friendly accomodations, they'll be getting the best Jeep offers in terms of technology and offroad-proven components.

Built with the same attention to detail and quality control as the Grand Cherokee, the Jeep Commander has a unique two-tone instrument panel. The Commander remains quintessentially Jeep in appearance from the 4-dial main gauge cluster and steering wheel to the gear shift knob. The front seats are new designs which offer excellent support and comfort. And, for the first time ever, there are three rows of seats - though using the third row seriously

decreases cargo space. Thankfully for your passengers, Jeep follows a long tradition used by Land Rover and now offers stadium-style seating in the Commander. This allows all passengers a better view forward. By folding the 2nd and 3rd row seats flat, Jeep has allowed the creation of a flat load floor.

With all this extra room inside, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Commander is a much larger vehicle on the outside. Truth is, though, it's only 2 inches longer than a 2005 MY Grand Cherokee. This means that 99% of the Grand Cherokee's offroad abilities carry over to the Commander. In fact, they even share the same 109.5 inch wheelbase.

The Jeep Commander’s unique stepped roof design allows rear seat passengers plenty of head room. Part of a package, and complementing the available front-mounted sun roof is Command-View™. These new and innovative skylights (complete with shades) are located over the second row of seats and are an interesting take on, again, an old Land Rover design touch.

Yes, the Jeep Commander earned the Trail Rated badge

* Three full-time four-wheel drive systems, Quadra-Trac I®, Quadra-Trac II® and Quadra-Drive II®
* Two transfer cases offering Brake Traction Control System (BTCS), and Electronic Limited Slip Differentials (ELSD) for best-in-class tractive performance
* Three available engines: the 5.7-liter HEMI® V-8 with the Multi-Displacement System, the 4.7-liter SOHC Power Tech V-8, and the 3.7-liter SOHC Power Tech V-6 engine

Having driven a top-of-the-line Commander with the 5.7 Hemi V8, I can honestly say this is a great rig. Driven in anger with a full-load of passnegers it can quickly empty a tank of fuel, but the Commander manages the task calmly and with ease - the only penalty being fuel economy.

Your passengers won't really notice much, since they'll likely be watching the built-in DVD system or marvelling at the sky through the sky-lights.

We loaded the Commander with 7 full-size guys to see if everyone would survive some real-world, around-town driving. No issues at all - everyone was comfortable and entry and exit to the third row of seats was about as good as could be expected.

The view forward from the driver's seat is worth the price of admission alone. This truck is aptly named - the view from the Commander is, well, commanding.