China only Jeep Grand Commander reveals its interior

MANILA: The Grand Commander is a unique SUV in Jeep’s lineup. Scheduled for an official reveal in April at the Beijing Auto Show, it is the topmost in Jeep’s range of SUVs. Now only a month after its reveal, Jeep has revealed the interior of the Grand Commander.

The Grand Commander seats 7 and yet is exclusive for the Chinese market. The rest of us looking for a Jeep with three rows of seating will have to wait for Wagoneer or the Grand Wagoneer, which are slated for production in 2020.

The Yuntu Hybrid concept based design gets extended in the interior too. The spacious interior is focused on luxury to appeal to the Chinese customers. The pictures distributed by the company also show some controls for the second row. What can also be seen is the surprisingly small cargo space behind the third row of seats. There is a two-tone leather treatment going on in the cabin with contrasting dark and light shades of grey. Dominating the dashboard is the large Uconnect infotainment touchscreen. The infotainment systems promise to be equipped with Apple CarPlay. The instrument cluster also appears to be a screen, bathed in a calming blue light.

The exterior is as Jeep like as it gets. There are squared off wheel arches, slim LED headlamps, and a chromed grille. Power is supposed to come from a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine that also does duty in the Wrangler. Transmission is through a nine-speed automatic transmission with the final drive using a four-wheel drive system. Although the Chinese don’t really like to take their SUVs off-roading and stick to the roads.

The last time Jeep decided to make a three-row SUV, was a decade ago in the form of the old Commander. Since then there was always a noticeable gap in Jeep’s lineup. With the Grand Commander, this gap has been filled but only for the Chinese market. Is there a demand for a 7 seater Jeep in the rest of the world? Definitely. Hopefully, the Grand Commander will not be kept within the confines of the Chinese market for long.