Jeep Commander 2007 Review

Indeed it gets downright cramped for leg room when all three rows of seating are in use. Worse still, it is an outright struggle to try to squeeze the luggage in.

Before embarking on a family driving holiday from Sydney to Victoria and around Tasmania last month we considered installing a roof pod to take the luggage.

However, the guys at one of Sydney's leading roof-rack installers explained that a kit was not yet available for the car and they were not willing to adapt one in case the extra weight on the roof set off the curtain airbags.

So travel lightly became the rule.

The big machine, with its rugged and very-American styling including distinctive Allen key bolts all over the dashboard, is not alone in facing this problem.

The third row of seating in many large 4WDs on the market is really suitable only for small children and luggage space is limited. Transporting six or more adults is really the domain of people movers.

In the Jeep, the available storage space shrinks from 1028 litres with the third row folded to just 212 litres with it in use.

One consolation was that the customs inspectors involved with the Spirit of Tasmania boat took a sympathetic look at the well-stacked rear luggage area and did not ask to open it up, as other passengers had to.

Nonetheless, once the show hit the road, the car's handling, performance and relatively miserly fuel sipping 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine shone through.

Diesel fuel was readily obtainable, even at the most remote of service stations.

We averaged about 12-13 litres per 100km for a journey that spread across city driving, highway cruising, bush tracks and some of the best twisting and windy mountain roads the Apple Isle can offer.

The Jeep pulls its significant weight up hills with ease and has a surprising amount of acceleration power. This was particularly demonstrated on the run from Strahan, on Tassie's west coast, to Hobart, a 300km stretch mainly through mountainous world heritage areas, plus the twisting pass through the bald hills out of Queenstown. On these roads, you would love to be in a nimble two-seater sports car but the big Jeep handled them well.

The Commander sits at the top of Jeep's offerings in Australia. It is the company's first seven-seater here, but it retains the typical Jeep rugged outdoor styling made famous by the smaller Wrangler and Cherokee models.

Interior features include a six-stack CD player, climate control (front and rear controls) — third-row passengers get their own independent air-conditioning controls — onboard computer readings that include your direction of travel and outside temperatures plus all-important parking sensors. The sensors are particularly vital in the Commander as rear visibility is not good.

The seating is set up theatre-like with the second row higher than the front and third higher than both.

It provides better sight for the passengers but with the seats filled, the driver's rear window view is blocked. The sensors are aided by large side mirrors that give you a clear view of what's around you. A rear-view camera with screen would be an asset.

The seats were leather and their comfort level did not receive any complaints on the trip. The seat trim was matched by a wood trim dash. Driver controls include a handy cruise control set-up, a multi-adjustable power-operated seat and an easily-adjustable gear shifter for the five-speed QuadraDrive II automatic.

However, the conversion from left-hand to right-hand drive has meant the park brake is on the wrong side of the centre console and the footspace next to the pedals is cramped.

Access to the rear of the car is achieved in two ways. The glass window opens separately to allow access when the rear luggage area is full or, alternatively, by swinging up the large rear door for full access.

The test car did not have a towbar but once installed it has a towing capacity of 3500kg, which will pull something substantial.

Safety features include multi-stage airbags plus side curtain airbags, ABS with brake assist and all-speed traction control. The Electronic Stability Program (ESP) comes with Electronic Roll Mitigation (ERM).

The Commander's striking looks ensured it captured attention throughout the trip with mostly favourable comments from people.

Overall, the big Jeep handles and performs well. There's plenty of power and once you deploy the cruise control, highway travel is a breeze. It's comfortable for five passengers but a squeeze for more.

Safety levels are high and, with the diesel engine, the Commander is not an expensive drain on fuel its size would suggest.

The diesel is priced from $59,990 but the Limited model tested starts from $69,990.

If the thought of lining up with trucks and vans and cute little French cars at the diesel pumps is too much, the Commander also comes with either a 4.7-litre or the top-of-the-heap 5.7-litre HEMI V8 petrol engine. However, fuel consumption is more significant with the claimed combined figures being 14.8 litres per 100km (4.7) and 15.5 litres per 100km (5.7) compared to the stated diesel figure of 10.8 litres per 100km.

Optional accessories include a power-operated sunroof ($2700) and, importantly, adjustable roof crossbars ($480) which would be a wise investment to help alleviate any future luggage squeezes.