Isuzu MU-X vs Jeep Grand Cherokee

What's the difference?

Isuzu has proven that you don't need a lot of horses in the stable to get things right and the MU-X 4x4 LS-T is a horse I can back. It offers kid-friendly growing space, a roomy interior for parents and a powerful engine. It also has just enough creature comforts to make it competitive against its rivals but I would have liked to have seen a few more scattered throughout for the price tag, especially in that third row. While the driving is pretty solid, the ride isn't as refined as it could be, but my family really enjoyed the MU-X this week and it earns a solid 8.0/10 from us.

A wise man* once said "Being first can sometimes feel like being wrong" and perhaps that's how it is with the 4xe, but at least Jeep Australia is giving the large SUV hybrid realm a good ol' try.

* Former CarsGuide Big Kohuna, Glen Knowles.

The company's first plug-in hybrid, the Grand Cherokee 4xe, is not perfect by anyone's standards, however, it is a definite move in the right direction.

It's a quiet and refined drive, it retains the brand's renowned 4WD capability, and even its hefty price-tag likely won't dissuade Jeep loyalists from giving it a go.

At 1825mm tall, the MU-X has clear SUV proportions, but urban drivers need not stress because, at 4850mm long and 1870mm wide, it's still accommodating in a tight car park.

The nose is nicely tapered and accentuated by a large chrome grille with black highlights and sharp LED lights. It's very similar to its stablemate, the D-Max, but the addition of the ‘boot' doesn't compromise it's kerb-side appeal. There are no sharp blocky-looking edges on this and while handsome, it doesn't prance to announce its presence. There's a subtlety to it's styling that should see it age well.

The interior has soft touch points throughout that are mixed with a nice combo of trims to make it feel refined but it is let down by flimsy/plasticky sun visors and door panelling.

As with any vehicle, some will like it, some won’t, and some simply won’t care all that much. 

The 4xe certainly has a distinctive Jeep look to it.

A few exterior design cues hint at its PHEV leanings: the plug-in point on the front left-hand panel and a ‘4xe’ designation on the rear door.

The interior is roomy with decent leg and headroom available to front and middle-row passengers. The side steps made it easy for my six-year old to get in and out without my help (always a plus) and the high ride ensured a good view for him this week.

Storage throughout is adequate for an SUV of this size but the middle console and drink bottle holders could be a little deeper and wider. The double glovebox and hidden retractable cupholders in the dashboard are a highlight, though.

There are enough creature comforts in the front and middle rows to satisfy individual family members, however, I was disappointed that there is only one USB-A port up front and no wireless charging pad. But the second row gets two USB-A ports, which should help with staying charged up on a road trip.

As far as third-row amenities go, it's a bit lean and tall adults will complain about the space, but it was fine for my 168cm height (5ft6). It's easy to climb back there because of the tumble-fold function of the middle row and the multiple grab handles.

I always like to have a powered tailgate and the level load space of the boot made it very easy to slide gear in and out this week. The boot is very practical with 311L of space available when all rows are in use but you can bump that up to a massive 1119L when the third row is flat. You can also knock it up again to a whopping 2138L with all back seats are folded down, if you need it.

Impressively, you also get a full-size spare tyre too.

The 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is easy to use once you get used to it and the built-in satellite navigation was a plus. It has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and it was simple to get the connection going but it did take a few minutes for the CarPlay to kick in once you started the car up. I prefer to see a 360-degree view camera on large SUVs like this but the reversing camera in the MU-X is adequate and clear.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV retains the regular model’s level of functionality but adds a reasonably classy touch to everything.

All seats offer adequate comfort, support and room.

There are plenty of storage spaces, cupholders etc, and charging points - two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 12V socket in the front and two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 230V point in the back.

Controls are generally easy enough to locate and operate although some buttons are positioned in awkward places – including drive-mode buttons under the steering wheel – and it sometimes takes a few finger-stabs at the multimedia touchscreen to get to where you want to go in the operating system.

In terms of packability, the rear cargo area has a listed 1067 litres of space, and, with the second row folded and out of the way, that space opens up to 2004 litres.

The five-seat Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a MSRP of $129,950 (excluding on-road costs).

Standard features include a 10.1-inch multimedia system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 19-speaker audio system, quilted Palermo leather-trimmed seats, air suspension and 21-inch alloy wheels.

It also has a heated steering wheel, 12-way power-adjustable seats and four-way power lumbar adjustment with memory for driver and front passenger, driver and front passenger seat massage function and heated and ventilated seats (driver, front passenger and rear outboard passengers).

A Mode 2 charging cable is also included.

An 'Advanced Technology Group' pack is available as a $5500 option and that includes a head-up display, a 10.25-inch screen for the front passenger, wireless phone charger, and night vision camera.

Exterior paint options include 'Bright White', 'Diamond Black', 'Silver Zynith', 'Velvet Red', 'Baltic Grey', 'Rocky Mountain', 'Midnight Sky' and 'Hydro Blue'.

All MU-X models share the same 3.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine but it perfectly complements the 4WD system. With a maximum output of 140kW of power and 450Nm of torque, most weekend adventures can be pursued. It also doesn't feel like you're digging deep for that power, which is great.

The six-speed auto transmission is surprisingly smooth but occasionally the pick-up isn't super quick when you're going from a standstill. It can feel heavy in that situation but I was still confident when I had to cut across city traffic, so it wasn't a major bother.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine, two electric motors (one on each axle) and a 17.3kWh battery.

Combined engine and electric outputs for power and torque are 280kW and 637Nm, respectively. The 4xe has it over any of its stablemates equipped with the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine because that yields 210kW and 344Nm.

The 4xe has an eight-speed automatic torque-converter transmission and regenerative braking.

Drive modes include 'Hybrid' (with combined engine and electric motor providing “maximum instant torque and impressive acceleration”, according to Jeep), 'Electric' (“zero emissions”) and 'eSave' (aims to save battery power). 

There are a few options available when it comes time to charge the 4xe.

The 4xe vehicle has a Mode 2 charging cable so you can charge it at home in less than 10 hours, according to Jeep.

With a full charge, the 4xe has a claimed driving range, on electric charge alone, of 52km.

Jeep reckons a Mode 3 (wall box) single-phase electric vehicle charger will fully charge the 4xe in less than three hours.

If out and about and looking for a charge, a 4xe driver can use the onboard 'UConnect' system to locate an appropriate public charging station.

The official combined fuel cycle is 8.3L/100km. Real-world testing saw my figure at 7.7L. I've been doing a good mix of open-road and urban driving this week, so I think that's very respectable for the size of this car.

The MU-X has an 80L fuel tank with an approximate driving range of 900km.

As mentioned, the 4xe has a listed electric-only driving range of 52km.

On our official test day, we drove just under 50km on a full electric charge and then the rest of the trip was courtesy of the good ol’ petrol engine.

Jeep's official figure for the combined cycle is just 3.2L/100km, but that's predicated on keeping the hybrid battery charged at all times. On fuel-only we recorded 11.6L/100km.

The 4xe has a 72-litre fuel tank (you need 95RON premium to fill it), so going by that on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect to get a driving range of about 620km out of a full tank.

Add an approximate electric range of about 50km on a full charge to that figure and you have a total estimated driving range of 670km.

Overall, I've enjoyed driving this. The engine has enough grunt to make you feel you can handle most situations and despite being a turbo-diesel, it's not super loud in the cabin. You do notice a fair bit of wind noise, though.

The only real drawback to the driving experience has been the ride comfort. I'm a fan of the D-Max and feel it outruns its stablemate in this area. I'm not sure if it's the suspension or tyres but you feel a lot of the bumps in the road.

The high driving position and the visibility out of the windows has been fantastic and helps make up for the ride quality. The steering is firm and direct, making this feel like a smaller car than it is and that's a nice feeling to have in a large SUV.

It's not a beast to park either and you'll be comfortable navigating your local shopping centre car park.

We’re all time-poor, right? So, why should I take up your time and rattle on about the 4xe for a thousand words when I can get the essence of it across to you, the reader, in a few sentences? Call me, Mr Thoughtful.

This is generally a big, quiet and refined, easy-steering large SUV, but it feels bulky at times and tends to be quite fussy on irregular surfaces, exhibiting a jittery ride on even brief sections of light corrugations on dirt tracks.

The 4xe’s PHEV set-up is smooth and highly responsive on-road and you can switch between the aforementioned drive modes to suit the circumstance.

Driving range on electric only is listed as 52km. I only recorded a total distance of just under 50km, and it’s a very quiet and smooth drive while relying on electric power.

It regenerates power rather quickly down big hills and via braking, but we’d exhausted all electric charge by the time we’d reached our 4WD test track.

As expected, this Grand Cherokee tackled every off-road challenge without any strife. 

The air suspension, set to full off-road height, is a bonus.

Our 4WD test track consists of difficult set-pieces, including one small steep rocky hill that I’ve seen heavily modified vehicles struggle to conquer and, to the Jeep’s credit, it climbed the incline, no sweat.

The 4xe’s efforts were only ever hampered by its 'all-season' Continental CrossContact tyres (275/45R21) which are much better suited to blacktop driving and the fact the 4xe costs upwards of $129,950 and I didn’t want to risk any damage to it.

The 4xe has a listed wading depth of 610mm but our test track was dry so I never had the chance to do any water crossings. 

The Grand Cherokee has a solid enough rep as a towing vehicle but, take note, the 4xe is rated to tow 2722kg.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from assessment this year.

Safety gear includes AEB with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, driver monitoring, traffic sign recognition, intersection collision assist, and a surround-view parking camera.

The Summit Reserve spec brings with it 'ParkSense' parallel and perpendicular park assist and (low-level autonomous) 'Active Driving Assist'.

It has eight airbags including front, side, and knee (for driver and front passenger), sides (for second-row passengers) and full curtain airbags.

This comes with a six-year/150,000km warranty, but it is usual to see an unlimited kilometre term in this class.

The MU-X comes with a seven-year capped-priced servicing plan and services are competitively priced at an average of $527. Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or every 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a five-year/100,000km warranty and a lifetime roadside assist service.

Servicing is set at 12-month/12,000km intervals and capped price servicing keeps what you pay for each appointment at $399 for the first five.