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The Commander is partly an attempt to revive the look of the original, much-liked, much smaller Cherokee – spot the trapezoidal wheelarches and seven-bar grille – but the proportioning has lost much in the inflation. And the obsession with Allen bolts (they appear on the dash, the arches and even in the headlights) seems crass. The point of this rebodied Grand Cherokee? Apart from ruggedness, it’s a seven-seater. The rear pair, which fold to form a flat but high-decked load bay, would be comfortable were the floor not so high that your knees achieve the same altitude as your nipples. That rules it out for most grown-ups. The raised seating of the second row is much better, but thigh support is short. The Grand Cherokee’s offset pedals reappear and the interior, a weird mix of faux military and World of Leather luxury, falls well short. Rearwards visibility is poor, the mirrors rustle at speed, agitating roads agitate the ride and … – Autocar

The modifications by Chrysler’s tuner, Sports and Racing Technology (SRT), have transformed the Grand Cherokee [SRT8] into the kind of machine it should have been all along. The suspension can’t match the adaptability of the air systems used by rivals and there’s a lot of dive under braking and too much rebound over bumps, but it’s a vast improvement over the standard car.

source: evo

UPDATE: from Inside Line:

You can tell where they spent the money. As Executive Editor Richard Homan stated: “One lean into the brake pedal or a turn of the steering wheel makes it clear that this is a performance-engineered project, not a ‘guess it needs more power’ also-ran vanity vehicle. SRT placed the needs of the enthusiast first — engine, drivetrain, suspension, brakes, steering and seats. The best carmaker in the U.S. right now is team SRT.”

Click here. (We’re speechless).

...GL class, essentially a stretched version of the M class with 3rd row seating. It’s a familiar DaimlerChrysler trick in a world increasingly bent on platform sharing – after all the Grand Cherokee Commander is a stretched Grand Cherokee with 3rd row seating.

(Autoweek has posted the Mercedes Benz PR photos here; the squashed roof proportions reminded us of the Mitsubishi Montero Sport).

To increase profitability, the Alabama-built R, ML and GL class cars not only share their platforms suspensions and engines but their dashboard, instruments, steering wheel, switchgear, seats and trims as well. Translation: as when wearing a mall-bought shirt, you might not remember what you’re in unless you double-check the label.

Meeting someone who had just purchased a Jeep Liberty, our first reaction was “Did you really prefer it to the others you drove?”

The response was of course that they hadn’t tried anything else. The purchase was made based on looks and internet research of prices and specs. Not having driven the Forester, the RAV4 etc. the Liberty felt great compared to her 8 year old car…

The most surprising thing: this 8 year old car was a 98 Civic EX. (We’ve always found that one good car spoils a person to only purchase more of the same – apparently not).

The moral: contact us before you set your heart on something…