Andinrecentyearswiththegrowthofits“Trailhawk”packageformostofitsSUVsandcrossovers,Jeephasdoneanadmirablejobatspreadingits“TrailRated”credacrossitslineup.ButwhatexactlyisaTrailhawkandhowdoeachofthefouravailablemodelscompareLet’stakealook.
Firstup,wehavetheoldestandthemosttraditionalmemberoftheJeepTrailhawkfamily,theGrandCherokee.
TheGrandCherokeeTrailhawkistheonlyoneofthefourmodelsbuiltoutofatraditionalRWD-basedSUV,althoughtheTrailhawkversionnaturallycomesstandardasa4x4.
ThekeydifferencesthatsettheTrailhawkapartfromotherGrandCherokeesareofcourseits4WDsystem,thetopofthelineQuadra-TracIIsetupwhichfeaturesandelectroniclimitedslipreardifferentialandJeep'sSelec-Terrainsystem.
Suspension-wise,theGrandCherokeeTrailhawkgetsadditionaltravelalongwithadjustableairsuspension,alongwithoff-roadorientedtiresmountedon18"wheels.
LastbutnotleastaresomeofthethingsthatmaketheTrailhawkmodelmostnoticeabletotheoutsideobserver,includingfullskidplating,largered-paintedtowhooksinthefrontandrearanduniquebadging.
EnginechoicesfortheGrandCherokeeTrailhawkareeithera3.6LV6thatmakes295horsepowerorthe5.7LHemiV8with360hp.DespitethefactthatthecurrentGrandCherokeeisoneoftheoldervehicleplatformscurrentlyonsale,theTrailhawkmodeliseasilyoneofthemostoff-roadcapableandpracticalSUVsavailablenow.
NottobeconfusedwiththelargerandmoreexpensiveGrandCherokee,the"regular"JeepCherokeeisacrossoverSUVthatcompetesinthehighlypopularsegmentagainstvehiclesliketheHondaCRV.
Yet,despitebeingacar-basedcrossoverwithatransverseFWD-basedlayout,theCherokeeTrailhawkisconsideredoneofthemostcapablecrossoversevermade.
AmongitstricksareaanActiveDriveII4WDsystemwhichontheTrailhawkmodelalsoincludesalockingreardifferentialandaSelec-Terrainsystemcompletewitharockmode—featuresthatareunheardofinjustaboutanyothercrossovervehicle.
AlongwiththattheTrailhawkalsogetsa1"highersuspensionwhencomparedtootherCherokeemodels,alongwithoff-roadspecifictiresandthesameredtowhooksthathelpidentifyallofJeep'sTrailhawks.
TheTrailhawkversionoftheCherokeeisavailablewithtwodifferentengineoptions.Thelowerlevelengineisa271hp3.2LV6naturallyaspiratedV6withanoptional2.0Lturbochargedfour-cylinderthatmakes270hpbutat295poundfeetoftorquehasasignificantadvantageovertheV6inlowendpower.Bothenginescomematedtoanine-speedautomatic.
AcrossoverliketheCherokeeTrailhawkisnevergoingtobethefirstchoiceofseriousoff-roaders,butforsomeonelookingforafamily-friendly,relativelyinexpensivecrossoverthatdeliversoff-roadcapabilitythatgoesfarbeyondwhat'stypicallyfoundinthesegment,theCherokeeTrailhawkisanintriguingchoice.
Ifthere'samiddlechildoftheJeepTrailhawkfamily,thentheCompasswouldbeit.SimilartoCherokee,theCompassiscrossoverandataglancedoesn'tlookmuchdifferentthanitsslightlylargercousin.
UnliketheGrandCherokeeandCherokeeTrailhawk,theCompassTrailhawkhasjustoneenginechoice,a2.4Lnaturallyaspiratedfour-cylinderthatmakes180hpandisconnectedtoanine-speedautomatictransmission.
TheCompassTrailhawkofcoursepacksAWDandgetsaunique"crawlergear"aspartofitsActiveDrivesetup.AndliketheCherokee,italsogetsa"rockmode'aspartofitsSelec-Terrainsystem.
Elsewhere,you'llfindtheotherTrailhawkgoodieslikeskidplating,additionalgroundclearance,and,ofcourse,thosesignatureredtowhooks.
LiketheCherokee,theCompassTrailhawkisn'tatrailmonsterbutitstilldeliversmuchbetteroff-pavementtalentthanthesmallcrossoversitcompetesagainst.Mostbuyersinthissegmenthavenointentionofgoingoff-road,butwelikethefactthatCompassTrailhawkexistsnonetheless.
Lastbutnotleastwegettothesmallest,cheapestbutalsoperhapsthemostinterestingofthefour—theRenegadeTrailhawk.
TheItalian-builtRenegadehasbeenthesubjectofmixedopinioneversinceitwasreleased.Despisedbysomeforitsvery"un-Jeep"roots,butalsoenjoyedforitsfunimageandboxybutcharacter-ladenapproachtothecrossoverformula.
Likeitscousins,theRenegadeTrailhawkpackssomeprettylegitoff-roadstuffforwhat'sbasicallyatallhatchbackwithsomeextragroundclearance.ActiveDrive4WDisstandardofcourse,andtheTrailhawkalsogetsa"low"setupwitha21:1crawlratio.ItalsogetsahilldescentcontrolsetupaspartofitSelec-Terrainsystem.
For2020,theRenegadeTrailhawkhasjustoneengineoption:a1.3Lturbochargedfour-cylinderenginethatmakes177hpand210poundfeetoftorque,againwithanine-speedautomatictransmission.
Improvedgroundclearance,skidplating,largertiresandredtowhooksroundouttheTrailhawktreatmentforwhatwasalreadyasmallcrossovernotshortonpersonality.
Again,nooneisgoingtopickaRenegadeTrailhawkastheirdedicatedoff-roadrig,butwithitssmallsize,decentfueleconomyandrelativelycheappriceitcouldpotentiallymakeasoliddailydriverthat'smuchmorefunthanothertinycrossoverswhenthepavementends.
No,theymayneverbe"real"Jeepsintheeyesofcertainpurists,butinaworldwhereSUVsandcrossovershavecometodominatethemarket,weseenoreasonnottoappreciateJeep'seffortatspreadingitstrail-orientedDNAacrossitslineup.
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