The 2023 Jeep Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L are all about more room. Nevertheless it doesn’t damage that the premium SUVs are displaying off brand-new engines, as properly.
To create the Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L, Jeep actually solely needed to make one change. As a substitute, it made two: all the pieces beneath the hood and all the pieces from in regards to the B-pillar again.
A brand new engine household takes its place beneath the hood, whereas all the pieces behind the driving force will get stretched out. This provides 7 inches to the wheelbase and a foot to the general size to maximise cargo and passenger house.
Jeep introduced us to Bozeman, Montana, to drive the 2 Ls. That’s large sky nation for 2 large SUVs. Beginning at round 5,000 toes and climbing into the mountains across the metropolis was good to check the efficiency of the brand new engines. Loopy Mountain Ranch — previously a retreat for Marlboro cigarette contest winners — offered the views, grime roads, and cattle tracks.
2023 Jeep Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L Evaluation
Hurricane Drive Energy
We’ll begin with the brand new engines, as a result of, frankly, they’re the larger shock. An extended-wheelbase mannequin is nothing new — GM and Ford have been doing it for many years with their large SUVs. However a brand new engine household in 2022 — that’s an enormous deal.
The three.0L inline-six is known as Hurricane, most likely due to the pair of turbochargers that huff horsepower down the consumption manifold. Wagoneer L will get a model of the engine that makes 420 horsepower and 468 pound-feet of torque.
The Grand Wagoneer L will get a few of its grandness from extra enhance stress, solid pistons, and a second gasoline pump to make 510 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque.
Within the L fashions, solely the brand new 3.0L I6 engines can be provided. The usual-length vehicles will get the remaining V8s in stock from final yr. In Wagoneer, the three.0L six replaces a 392-horsepower 5.7L V8, whereas within the Grand it’s a 471-horse 6.4L.
Jeep says the inline sixes will ship “one to 2” miles per gallon higher on the mixed cycle. The quantity would possibly look like splitting hairs, however when your V8 is simply able to 15 miles from a gallon of fuel, the gasoline financial savings add up.
With a price ticket crossing over six figures, we don’t assume it’s the gasoline financial system patrons will care about with the brand new engines anyway. It’s the texture of the brand new powerplants, an space the place they ship.
New Engines Are a Higher Match for Wagoneer Character
The usual Wagoneer L’s 420 horsepower is a lot to maneuver this beast of burden alongside briskly. The engine is torquey and responsive, however extra importantly, it’s clean. Stellantis has achieved an ideal job with its Hemi V8, however the I6 and its pure stability is a significantly better match on this luxurious SUV.
On the freeway, the engine is barely audible, with wind noise additionally at a minimal because of laminated glass. Mash the fuel and the eight-speed auto drops gears till the I6 sings. Blissful to spin to redline with sounds that remind us why BMW and Mercedes-Benz are such followers of this similar format.
The Excessive Output Hurricane is extra of the identical. The additional 90 horsepower and 42 pound-feet make the Grand Wagoneer L transfer faster than the Wagoneer L. Lots faster, thanks to just about 100 horses greater than any of its opponents. (We’re not counting the 682-horse Cadillac Escalade-V as a type of opponents.)
Toggle Sport mode on the middle console and the pc each quickens the shifts and retains the revs up, making it extra participating than something this measurement has a proper to be.
Chassis Tuned for Consolation, Not Carving
Dealing with received’t reside as much as that energy promise, although that’s probably not a shock. The coil springs on the bottom Wagoneer L and the semi-active air commonplace on Grand Wagoneer L are biased extra towards consolation and experience high quality.
Tuned to the brand new chassis traits — extra weight and extra size — the pair of Ls are stable and serene cruisers that do virtually nothing to provide away their truck-based underpinnings. However they are going to by no means be confused with even a three-row crossover when the street will get twisty.
Making House
To create the L, Jeep says it needed to design a brand new rear flooring, rear ladder construction, rear tub, and new load flooring. The body wanted a brand new middle rail and rear extension, and the third-row seat brackets and reinforcements are additionally new. There may be numerous new steel, about $3,000 value based mostly on the sticker value hikes.
Seven inches of the L’s additional size goes between the B-pillar and the rear axle, as with the Chevrolet Suburban, which has pushed the rear axle properly behind the rear door body. Each Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer L get an extended rear door because of this, with the brand new door benefiting from the additional size to provide rear-seat passengers more room to get out and in.
Within the curiosity of being thorough, I climbed into the third row regardless of a foul left ankle. Even injured, getting again there was simpler than climbing into the rearmost seats of the standard-length car. And I didn’t rip my denims getting out, which I can’t say in regards to the standard-length Grand Wagoneer.
Surprisingly, there isn’t any additional passenger house for both again row. Legroom is equivalent, headroom in row three has a tiny change, and that’s all. The adjustments listed here are about making getting out and in extra accessible, which they’ve completed.
Cargo House Finest-in-Class
Cargo house is the opposite main operate of the L. Behind the third row of seats, Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L rework from prepared for an upright carry-on to massive sufficient to put down and have a nap.
The 42.1 cubic toes of house behind the third row versus 27.4, 85.3 cubic toes with the third row folded versus 70.8, and a whopping 130.9 to 116.7 cubic toes with the entire seats folded. Grand Wagoneer L will get about two cubes extra on all of these figures.
It’s best-in-class for cargo house behind the third row and the identical for general passenger quantity. That can assist you use that house, all L fashions get six cargo tie-down loops, and Grand Wagoneer L fashions get a cargo administration rail system as commonplace. The roof rack is longer on the L fashions, however at simply 150 kilos, the max capability doesn’t change.
The additional wheelbase makes solely a slight distinction to towing. Two-wheel drive Wagoneer L fashions can tow as much as 10,000 kilos, similar to the short-wheelbase mannequin. A 4×4 L can tow as much as 9,850, with the Grand Wagoneer L at 9,450 kilos.
The latter two are 150 and 350 kilos lower than a regular wheelbase mannequin. Even the bottom determine is finest at school, so that is nonetheless the selection for SUV patrons who need to pull.
Wagoneer L’s Further House Comes With Much less Functionality
Payload does undergo from the L’s stretch. A totally loaded Grand Wagoneer L Collection 3 has a payload as little as 1,330 kilos. Cut up that over seven and even six passengers, and also you may not have any capability left for cargo or your trailer’s tongue weight.
It’s 60 kilos much less payload than an SWB mannequin within the prime trim, with most trims that surrender 100 kilos of payload. That’s numerous gear you would possibly want to depart behind.
Off-Street Capability Intact
The occasion’s official off-road path was restricted to SWB fashions solely. That didn’t cease us from taking the Grand Wagoneer L on some grime roads and ranch trails in addition to an precise cow path.
With the air suspension lifted for Off-Street I mode (about 9.0 inches of clearance), the GWL had no drawback rolling between cows on the rocky and rutted path to one in all our obtainable photograph ops.
Method, departure, and breakover angles are all barely decrease due to the stretch, but it surely’s splitting hairs. If you happen to’re prepared to drive down it, the L ought to have the ability to do it.
On washboard gravel, the stretch didn’t reveal any new creaks, rattles, or flexibility within the chassis. Actually, gravel and the Hurricane HO simply made me want for a rear-drive mode so I may dangle this beast’s tail out. As a substitute, I needed to take the yacht out for some four-wheel slides.
L Provides Round $3,000 to Sticker Value
The Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L, like the usual wheelbase fashions, are precisely what they must be to compete on this class. Large, stable, highly effective, and roomy, with the power to tow a ship or a camper behind them.
The L fashions offer you extra of that cargo room, make it simpler to get out and in, and debut a stellar new engine. Which makes the Ls a prime choose.
The 2023 4×4 Wagoneer L fashions begin from $65,495 for the bottom trim, whereas Grand Wagoneer L’s base value is $91,495. A top-spec Collection III Obsidian Grand Wagoneer L rings in at $111,990. The 2 ought to go on sale quickly.
