2026 Jeep Cherokee Trades Its Trail Rating For More Efficient, Civilized, Even Fun On-Road Dynamics

Small unibody SUVs didn't take off until Jeep's beloved XJ Cherokee went on sale in 1984 and quickly earned a place in millions of driveways across the country. Recent Cherokees haven't made quite the same cultural impact, but the redesigned 2026 Jeep Cherokee and its turbocharged hybrid powertrain is here to do its darndest to make grandpa XJ proud.

Now, I didn't get a chance to drive the new Cherokee on anything but tarmac — Jeep cancelled the off-road experience because LA's recent rains made things "too gnarly" — but I don't think the new hybrid Cherokee will live up to the XJ's off-road reputation. In a world where almost all SUVs live their entire lives on paved roads, though, the sixth-generation Cherokee has a good chance at winning over a lot of new buyers.

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Full disclosure: Jeep invited me out to the incredibly lush Malibu canyons to drive its new 2026 Cherokee and the facelifted Jeep Grand Cherokee with its new Hurricane turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant. It also kept me sustained with food and drinks for the day.

The biggest news about the new Cherokee is its hybrid drivetrain. It's comprised of a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-4 engine, two electric motors sandwiched in the transmission, and a 1.03-kWh battery pack. Total output is 210 horsepower and 230 lb-ft of torque, sent to all four wheels through an ECVT. It employs Jeep's Active Drive I all-wheel-drive system, which has a physical driveline that disconnects under certain conditions in the Auto drive mode, while the remaining drive modes (Sport, Snow, and Sand/Mud) all lock the system in all-wheel drive. The EPA reckons the new Cherokee will return 39 mpg city, 35 mpg highway and 37 mpg combined, which is a huge 50% improvement over its predecessor.

For 2026 the Cherokee has grown significantly in size, so it's not that much smaller than the Grand Cherokee anymore. Compared to the fifth-generation model, the new Cherokee is 4.7 inches longer, 1 inch wider, and 2 inches taller. And thanks to its 6.4-inch-longer wheelbase, the interior is more spacious, too.

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Despite all of its room and technology, the new Cherokee represents a good value, with base prices starting at $36,995 including destination. Standard features include adaptive cruise control, a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment screen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, blind-spot monitoring, a 6-speaker stereo, passive entry on all doors, keyless go, rain-sensing wipers, and intersection collision assist.

I only had a couple of hours behind the squircle-shaped wheel of the new Cherokee on highways and canyon roads, and I quite enjoyed the driving experience overall. The powertrain does a good job of moving its hefty 4,295-pound curb weight, with a subtly exciting boost of electric torque when pulling away from a stop. When the turbocharged four-cylinder kicks in, it picks up where the electric motor left off and keeps acceleration feeling sufficient at highway speeds.

Flipping the drive mode selector into Sport livens up the throttle response and makes the gas engine jump right up into its powerband, sometimes too quickly. It's a bit over eager, and made smooth throttle modulation difficult during my short drive. There's definitely some CVT wailing that comes through, but overall the cabin is well insulated from road and tire noise.

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The ridiculously girthy steering wheel does not offer much feedback, but the steering is quick, which makes turn-in feel sharp and responsive, and the lower center of gravity and firm suspension tuning makes the Cherokee fun to hustle down some twisty roads.

When you step inside the new Cherokee you're greeted by a wide, flat dashboard with lots of visually appealing materials and textures. Jeep did a great job elevating the appeal of its hard plastics. There's a strip of ribbed plastic on the dashboard that's echoed on the center console; I'm a certified hater of hard plastic in cars, but this looks and feels great. There is some piano black surrounding the start button and gear selector, but the rest of the lower-end materials are disguised behind clever design.

The 12.3-inch infotainment screen is nicely integrated into the dashboard design in a time when most competitors are tacking on iPads and calling it a day. I wasn't able to familiarize myself with the UConnect 5 interface much during the drive, but my first impression was that it's a bit complicated. That's exacerbated by the lack of a convenient place to stabilize your hand to make precise touchscreen interactions while driving, but owners will likely get used to it with more time. The digital gauges look fine at a standstill, but the display is laggy, especially the power/regen gauge. At least it's configurable so you don't have to watch that gauge lag if you don't like it.

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Climate controls are integrated into a touch-sensitive panel below the infotainment screen, and though I'm grateful to have permanent dedicated controls, real buttons and knobs would make the system easier to adjust without looking away from the road. There are more dedicated touch-sensitive buttons to the left and right of the infotainment screen that allow the driver and passenger to quickly adjust their heated seats (and ventilated seats, if equipped). The controls closest to the driver are totally blocked by the thick steering wheel rim, though, so I found myself bobbing around like a parakeet trying to get a clear look at them.

There's a lot of room in the front seats of the new Cherokee. I'm 6'8" and I fit comfortably, but my long legs wished for less wheel-arch intrusion in the driver's footwell. Otherwise, headroom is good, and the wide cabin makes for plenty of elbow room. If you're planning to fit lots of tall folk in your Cherokee at the same time, beware of battery intrusion into the rear footwell. I was able to fit behind my preferred driving position, but the hybrid battery juts out a bit from under the rear seat bottom, eating up foot room. I had to shove the front of my feet under the seat and wedge my heels up against the battery, but if the people in the front seats scoot forward a bit it's less of an issue. The back seat is really wide and spacious, though, with over 5 inches more hip room than the old Cherokee.

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That spacious feeling translates to the cargo area, too, but there's a catch: it's wide and long, but it's very squat. The trunk opening is only 28.1 inches tall, and when I set my backpack upright in the trunk, it took up about half the height of the trunk opening. If you're planning to haul tall items in your Cherokee, it might be necessary to take advantage of its 3,500-pound towing capacity and chuck your stuff in a trailer instead.

I quite liked my time with the new Cherokee, but there are some drawbacks. The firm suspension that makes for a playful driving experience also makes for a ride that borders on rough. It causes some structural creaks going over rough pavement, and they're particularly noticeable when pulling into and out of driveways.

This may be Jeep's first traditional hybrid, but it has extensive experience building plug-in-hybrid vehicles, so I expected better refinement. The Cherokee's brakes are extremely touchy at low speeds, so parking lot maneuvers require a gentle, precise foot. When I first got into the Cherokee and crept through a parking lot, I barely pressed the brake pedal and the car came to a tire-chirping halt. Luckily the issue isn't as apparent at higher speeds, but the first few inches of pedal travel are still squishier than I'd want.

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The only real dealbreaker that I noticed in the new Cherokee were its seats. My butt got sore after 10 minutes in the driver's seat, and the seat back felt lumpy and un-ergonomic. That issue is made even worse in the top Overland trim, where it felt like someone had tucked a folded blanket behind the perforated Capri leatherette seatback and my thoracic spine. Every body is different, though, so be sure to test it out for yourself if you're looking at a Cherokee.

Overall, the 2026 Jeep Cherokee and its turbo-hybrid powertrain made a great first impression on me. I liked its power, efficiency, playful chassis, quick steering, and hushed, spacious and upscale interior. The touchy brakes, complex infotainment and creaky structure detracted from the experience, but not as much as the lumpy seats. But if you can overlook those issues, the Cherokee is a good option in the crowded compact crossover segment.