Jeep Commander Limited 2006 review

Draw up, and build, a square-rigged off-road wagon, slap on a Jeep badge and the rabble are calling it a Yank Tank.

Whereas the all-new, seven-seat Jeep Commander is shorter, lower and just 24mm wider than Toyota's seven-seat Prado. The American Jeep certainly takes up less road space than a Toyota LandCruiser.

Now while it may be argued the Cruiser is a fair-sized machine, the very competent smaller Prado wagon, used to its full ability, is a mid-sized family wagon. The new Jeep is smaller again, yet also offers seven seats and a decent amount of interior space, thanks in large part to that box design.

And that angular stance, not unlike a softer version of a Hummer, has been winning over the punters. Unscientific surveys across the southeast corner of Queensland would suggest that for each tyre kicker who decries the Jeep's style there are nine bystanders in love with the idea; the Commander attracts attention, perhaps because the style is not ambiguous — here is a four-wheel-drive wagon.

There may be some questions about too many lines and folds around the Commander's nose and protruding front bumper, there may be a question about the faux allen bolts around the guards but this all-new Jeep definitely has road presence among today's sea of soft-contoured four-wheel-drive wagons and crossover machines.

Inside, the squat style can leave the windscreen a little shallow for high-mounted traffic lights. The three rows of seats are "theatre" arranged, each a touch higher than those in front with the wagon's roof being stepped higher toward the back. There are skylights over the second row, any number of seating arrangements and flat cargo spaces to be had plus a separate lot of heating and airconditioning for the third row of seats.

The Limited version adds a whole lot of leather and fancy trim, rain-sensing wipers, bigger sound stereo plus front and rear park assist (which, thankfully, can be switched off in the scrub). The Limited also has Jeep's intuitive remote controls for the stereo.

Mounted on the back of the steering wheel spokes, these are the best in the business for switching between modes, stations, tracks and volumes.

All Commanders have a fair swag of standard fittings, from power-adjustable front seats to traction control, electronic stability program and electronic rollover mitigation system. There is a tyre pressure monitoring system and trip computer.

And on both Commander and Commander Limited there is a flat dashboard that makes sense. As on the outside, here there are no swoops and curves, just an upright dash with all the bits and pieces clearly marked and all usable.

Perhaps the only whinge for some will be that driver's footwell. As with most modern Jeeps the transmission tunnel intrudes on left foot room.

There are three engines on offer here— the 5.7-litre Hemi V8, the 4.7-litre V8 and the 3-litre, turbocharged diesel.

In the Limited the 5.7-litre V8 is a smooth and eager bit of kit with 240kW and 500Nm of torque. Mated to the five-speed automatic transmission and with Chrysler's Multi-Displacement System (cutting out four cylinders during cruising) the Hemi does a power of work, best appreciated on the highway.

For a week of mixed on and off-roading, fuel consumption averaged 16.8 litres per 100km, just that little beyond the factory's claimed 16 litres per 100km.

The Limited versions also boast Jeep's Quadra-Drive II, the top-of-the-tree four-wheel-drive system which can transfer 100 per cent of drive to just the one wheel if needed. It never put a Wrangler wrong through some 6/10 off-roading and some longer country runs; it was always quiet and relaxed.

But it was the diesel Commander, one without quite so many fancy bits and with Jeep's Quadra-Trac II (another active four-wheel-drive system with 48/52 split and ability to send 100 per cent of drive to front or rear axle) that won the most plaudits.

It is cheaper, runs around 10.5 litres per 100km yet offers a good deal of performance on and off the bitumen. It may need a little extra prod to get the diesel off the line but once that turbo starts spinning, somewhere past 1500rpm, the Commander picks up its skirts and moves out with a flurry. As it should with more torque (510Nm) than the Hemi V8 plus a very handy 160kW of power.

Judicious flicking through the five-speed automatic can help, yet the diesel is flexible enough to be left alone in most on-road situations.

For serious off-road work it is a matter of lifting a discreet lever for low range and letting the Commander crawl.

Jeep has long maintained a decent reputation for able off-road machines. The Commanders will not disgrace the team.

And these new wagons — both the Hemi V8 and the mighty diesel — are most impressive on the road.

There's an independent front end and a live rear axle. Both ends are well-behaved, the wagons sit firm and square on the road, the steering is quick and precise and, unless trying for a new hillclimb record up the Border Ranges, there is little alarm about any body roll.

The ride quality also is good, excellent for this type of wagon on big or small road imperfections.

All this makes the Jeep Commander a very pleasant, very safe touring machine with good road manners, good grip and a decent amount of road performance for a machine with proper off-road ability.