Jeep Laredo Reviews

Jeep has cut the price of its outgoing plug-in hybrid Grand Cherokee 4xe by tens of thousands of dollars as the carmaker clears old stock dating back two years.

Jeep does two things well: it makes some great off-roaders (e.g. the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon) … and it hides a stack of Easter eggs (subtle design features, not chocolate) in its vehicles.

Chinese cars aren’t just about being the budget option anymore, and their ability to act fast, take risks and disregard the status quo is an existential threat to some of the world’s biggest manufacturers in Australia.I’ve increasingly had these thoughts as I’ve been driving ambitious new Chinese cars week-to-week against new offerings from their more established European, Japanese, and Korean rivals.It’s not as though these new offerings aren’t riddled with issues, some of them mundane and others extremely frustrating as you can read about in our recent reviews of cars like the Leapmotor C10, Geely EX-5, and Jaecoo J8. But outside the pricing and sheer speed to market, it’s the complete lack of fear to try something new which is making them stand out even in the most congested market segments.My favourite recent examples include Zeekr’s wild 009 performance people mover and the smaller but absurdly modular Mix, as well as the 7X electric mid-size SUV.There’s XPeng’s range of cars, from the surprisingly tidy G6, which has already arrived in Australia, alongside the soon-to-arrive G9 large SUV and Mona M03 sedan.Most recently there’s the wild GWM Tank 700, a $100k-plus twin-turbo V6 plug-in hybrid off-road monster clearly designed to rival some of the biggest names in the industry like G-Wagen, Defender and LandCruiser.That’s not to mention BYD’s mould-breaking Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute, which has single-handedly upended the predominantly diesel segment and suddenly made heroes of the post-Falcon and Commodore era like the HiLux and D-Max look relatively antiquated.These new Chinese options have a lot in common. They have ambitious futuristic designs, feature-laden cabins with clever software features (albeit not all of them good) and a complete disregard for established industry norms.Performance people mover? Any other manufacturer would say a resounding ‘no’ to that, but Zeekr and XPeng both reckon they can simply create the hype for one out of thin air.Even just the concept of people movers in general. Toyota’s local division constantly dismisses the idea of bringing its luxurious Alphard to our market, despite the fact that it consistently ranks as Australia’s most popular grey import and sold in numbers orders of magnitude greater than the now-discontinued and diesel-only Granvia, which the brand offered as an also-ran alternative thanks to its parts commonality with the HiAce.Yet soon Australia will be again flooded with people mover offerings from the likes of BYD’s Denza brand as well as Xpeng and Zeekr, an existential threat to the Kia Carnival, which has remained largely unchallenged for the last few years.Even the entire concept of a Chinese semi-luxury brand like Jaecoo or Zeekr would have been scoffed at a handful of years ago, yet here they are, and not with one or two models, but fully-fledged line-ups.You can go even more granular than that. Recently I had a new Suzuki Swift ‘hybrid’ as a long-termer. It’s a sweet little car and technically ticks a lot of boxes for the intended buyer. The issue? It goes into battle against the new MG3.There’s a few problems with this. Firstly, the Suzuki feels like a facelift of the previous car, rather than a new-generation as claimed, and secondly, it’s not a ‘real hybrid’ in the sense that there’s no electric motor large enough to independently drive the wheels.In comparison, the MG launches with a clean-sheet, screen-centric interior (for better or worse), and an interesting dedicated hybrid transmission system with plenty of electric driving potential. Again, the MG is far from perfect, but it’s the relative ambition on show which could make or break a sale.Another example I drove recently was the Audi Q6 e-tron. It’s a great luxury mid-size electric SUV. The problem is, Volkswagen Group made a big song and dance about its brand-new PPE platform as though it was going to revolutionize the space, and the problem is the end product is just good when it needs to be stellar.In comparison, the Zeekr 7X I drove at the end of 2024 in China completely outgunned my expectations. It’s a similar offering; a ground-up new mid-size luxury electric SUV, but it brings a surprisingly plush interior (in some aspects, nicer than the Audi), with very clever software features, a coherent and innovative design and solid motor and battery specs.Zeekr was so confident we’d be impressed by it, they brought a current BMW X5 for us to test it against, and, to put it simply, the 7X felt much more a product of today. Plus it looks set to cost closer to $75k than the $100k of the base Q6.Now I'll stop at this point to add the caveat that just because these new offerings are ambitious - whether it's their design, price, market segment, or features - they're not always objectively better vehicles.The point is: at both ends of the price spectrum now, Chinese brands are putting the pressure on and tempting buyers away at a time where traditional brands can't afford to lose their audience.You don’t even need to take my word for it. It’s clear as day in the latest VFACTs figures for new car registrations in Australia.At the low end of the market, the squeeze is undeniable. The once-dominating Suzuki is down 19.8 per cent this year as it faces particular pressure from both MG and Chery, and cult hero SsangYong from Korea is taking a big hit as GWM and JAC muscle in on the territory of its humble Musso ute, the brand’s sales also dropping 27.6 per cent year-on-year.Even Mitsubishi is struggling to keep up, its affordable ASX now discontinued and new competition particularly fierce in the same segments as its core Triton ute and Outlander mid-sizer.BYD’s surge to the front of the EV charts has the once-dominant Tesla on the ropes for the first time, and it’s clear that some niche parts of the market are struggling to deal with the new car landscape, with Volvo down 21 per cent year-on-year and Jeep down 20.8 per cent.Granted it’s hard to attribute new Chinese players purely to these issues, with some ageing product no doubt to blame, but it’s worth pondering whether the lost volume will ever be recovered with so much competition tempting buyers away.Some traditional players are fairing better than others. Toyota is stable thanks to a steady stream of refreshed versions of its popular range of hybrids (although a question mark hangs above its ageing HiLux), while Kia and Hyundai take a different path, leaning into offering a diverse range of hybrids and electric cars with their own ambitious design allure.None of this will last. Despite a new range of ambitious products, even the once trailblazing MG is feeling a bit of heat, down 12.7 per cent this year as it tries to outgrow its cheap and cheerful phase, the mantle of which has been taken up by Chery.No doubt the same fate could await its contemporaries, as even more Chinese brands have designs on the Australian market - widely seen as a microcosm of other markets like the US and Europe - a perfect testbed for global expansion plans.Eventually the dust will settle, but how many automakers - new or old - will survive an increasingly intense race to 2030 seems impossible to tell.

Mahindra has confirmed that the long-awaited Thar will not be sold in Australia in its current form. The rugged, body-on-frame wagon was expected to arrive sometime this year in traditional three-door and extended-body five-door wagon guises.

Mahindra has finally confirmed that the Jeep Wrangler-style body-on-frame Thar as we know it will not be imported to Australia.

It’s EOFY time again!

Jeep's new larger mid-size SUV revealed with hybrid powertrains, but what's going on with the brand in Australia?

Jeep now holds the title of Australia's cheapest new electric SUV after announcing discounts of up to $20,000 in some states on its Avenger, Gladiator and Grand Cherokee ranges as part of its end-of-financial-year offers.Despite offering the lowest comparative savings of the three models, the European-built Avenger Longitude is now just $40,000 drive-away, meaning it undercuts budget Chinese rivals such as the new MG S5 ($40,490 drive-away) and the BYD Atto 3 ($39,990 before on-road costs). The previous-generation MG ZS EV (the S5's predecessor) is still technically the cheapest electric SUV in the country outright at $36,888 drive-away, as MG tries to offload remaining MY23 stock. For comparison, the Jeep Avenger only launched in Australia in December of last year. Typically, the Avenger Longitude was priced at $49,990 before on-roads, or approximately $55,344 drive-away in NSW – Australia's most populous state. With the inclusion of premium paint, which is valued at $990, savings now top $16,239 in NSW.The Jeep Avenger is powered by a single electric motor mounted to the front axle that outputs 115kW/260Nm. A 54kWh battery provides 396km of driving range under the WLTP cycle.As standard, the Avenger has a 10.25-inch multimedia display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, LED lighting, 17-inch alloy wheels, cloth upholstery, a six-speaker audio system and Jeep’s advanced driver assist safety systems.The biggest savings are examples of the Gladiator Rubicon ute, the top-spec variant, which typically starts at $87,250 before on-road costs or $95,388 drive-away in NSW.Interested buyers can now snag one for $76,000 drive-away across the country, which includes a steel bar and premium paint, the latter of which is valued at $895. That takes total savings to $20,238.The Gladiator Rubicon is powered by a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine that sends 209kW/347Nm to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission.It carries a full-time Rock-Trac 4x4 system with a 4:1 transfer case, front and rear locking differentials, sway-bar disconnect and heavy-duty shock absorbers.Additionally, it carries an 8.4-inch multimedia display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, LED lighting and advanced safety features.Five-seat examples of the Grand Cherokee Limited, which will soon be discontinued for Australia, are being offered at $62,000 drive-away, down from its previous asking price of $72,950 before on-road costs, or $79,454 drive-away in NSW.Once again, premium paint (valued at $1490) is included, taking total savings up to $18,944 once it’s factored in.The Grand Cherokee Limited carries the same 3.6-litre V6 engine as the Gladiator Rubicon, which delivers 210kW/344Nm to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission.It carries a 10.1-inch multimedia display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, a nine-speaker Alpine audio system, heated and ventilated front seats, leather upholstery, LED lighting, a power tailgate and a comprehensive list of advanced safety features.The significant discounts across the Jeep line-up come as the brand struggles on the sales charts.Jeep has offloaded just 711 cars to date this April, a decline of 24.4 per cent on this time last year’s figures.

Jeep has confirmed the next-generation Compass will arrive in Australia in the second half of 2026 after launching overseas in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric guises.The European-designed and built Compass will ride on Stellantis’ modular STLA Medium platform, which currently underpins Stellantis stablemates such as the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008, and will join the smaller Avenger in its electric line-up.It will shape up considerably longer than its predecessor at 4550mm long, up from 4404mm. It subsequently benefits from a new 34-litre frunk, an additional 45-litres of boot capacity (550-litres in total) and 55mm of additional legroom.The Compass’ exterior design has also been refreshed to reflect its larger stature, with boxier, retro-styling, a new front grille and headlight clusters, black plastic wheel arches and a rear LED light-bar.Inside, a new 10-inch digital driver’s display and 16-inch multimedia display will come standard, as well as connected services with over-the-air updates and Level 2 autonomous driving.Customers will have the choice of a 106kW 48V eHybrid powertrain and a 145kW plug-in hybrid powertrain, both are likely to use the 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine carried over from the current-generation. Power on both variants will be sent exclusively to the front wheels.Three additional electric variants will provide optional front-wheel and all-wheel-drive, with power peaking at 279kW on the latter thanks to a new rear electric motor that delivers 49kW/232Nm.All electric variants will carry a 74kWh battery, with driving range peaking at 650km on 158kW front-wheel-drive variants. 160kW DC fast charging will see the battery replenished from 20 to 80 per cent in 30 minutes, with a 22kW on-board charger becoming standard.Despite standard front-wheel drive on the Compass, Jeep claims it will be “100% capable”, offering 200mm of ground clearance, 20°/26° approach/departure angles and a 470mm water wading depth.All-wheel-drive variants will see improved ground clearance and water-wading depths, although Jeep hasn’t confirmed by exactly how much. Approach and departure angles will also increase to 27°/31°, while hill-descent control will come standard.A suspension tune with updated springs, dampers and an antiroll bar across the board will offer what the brand says is “a good compromise between handling and comfort”.Jeep will launch the new Compass in Europe in the second half of 2025 in special electric and eHybrid First Editions. Both variants will carry 20-inch alloy wheels, LED matrix lights, a surround-view camera and a hands-free power tailgate.Six colours will be made available, including a new Hawaii green colour at launch.Jeep Australia will be looking to the new Compass to reinvigorate the brand, which has been in a sales freefall over the last decade after peaking in 2014 with a tally of 30,408 sales.Last year the brand sold just 2377 cars, which preceded an announcement in March that it would axe the Grand Cherokee from the brand’s line-up this year – Australia’s best-selling large SUV in 2014.

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