Cherokee's military life, the development history of the Cherokee family

For the old guns who are now in the off-road circle, Cherokee represents their enlightenment model-Jeep Cherokee XJ, which is the small Cherokee we are familiar with.

Different from people's previous perception of Cherokee's petite body, in fact, when it was born in 1974, Cherokee existed as a full-size SUV under AMC (American Motors Corporation), which was completely on par with the Wagoneer (predecessor of Grand Cherokee) at the time, and both were built on the SJ platform.

At the beginning, the first generation Cherokee only had a two-door version, while the Wagoneer at that time already had a four-door version, so the Cherokee was labeled "Sporty". The concept of "Sport Utility" also appeared for the first time in the Cherokee's brochure in 1974, which also represented the birth of a new model category that was well known to modern people at that time - SUV.

However, in 1977, Cherokee finally ushered in its own four-door model. In terms of power, the first generation Cherokee used AMC's straight six or V8 engine, with displacements including 4.2L, 5.9L and 6.6L, equipped with a four-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission, and provided two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive for consumers to choose.

Speaking of its birth, it can be said that it was caused by many factors. Because the famous oil crisis in the 1970s made all car manufacturers confused, they had to think more deeply about their car-making concepts. For Chrysler, which acquired Jeep at the time, the result of thinking was to let Cherokee abandon the pickup chassis, full-size body and engine with amazing displacement. So under this car-making concept, the second-generation Cherokee was born in 1984. It can be said that except for the name, this car is completely different from the first generation.

In the second-generation Cherokee, the load-bearing body was used ahead of time, and the length and wheelbase were reduced by 533mm and 180mm respectively compared with the previous generation, and the body weight was also reduced by 455kg accordingly. As a result, Cherokee has turned from a full-size SUV to a compact SUV. And it is precisely because of this series of changes that the second-generation Cherokee has made a leap forward in comfort and driving experience. More importantly, the second-generation model also pioneered the use of a part-time four-wheel drive system that can be switched while moving. Its suspension design connected to the axle through a four-link coil spring is also a "high-precision" product of the year, thus ensuring that it still has super strong passing ability.

In terms of power, this generation of Cherokee has 5 displacements and 10 models of different engines - from 2.5L l4, 2.8L V6, 4.0L l6 to 2.1L l4 and 2.5L l4 diesel supercharged engines. The gearbox has also been equipped with eight different models three-speed automatic, four-speed automatic four-speed manual, and five-speed manual.

As for the straight and hard lines and trapezoidal wheel arches, they will become the iconic design of the Jeep family in the future. At the same time, it is precisely because of all kinds of excellent designs and outstanding performance that it has successfully become one of the "20 Greatest Cars of All Time" selected by Automobile magazine.

In fact, the third-generation Cherokee has a very complicated identity. At that time, a model called Liberty appeared in people's sight, because its design concept and actual performance are exactly the same as the original intention of the creation of the Cherokee series.

In 2002, Jeep replaced Cherokee with Liberty in the North American market, while Cherokee was still used in areas outside North America. Until the launch of Compass and Patriot in 2007, Liberty was the smallest four-door Jeep at the time.

The design of this car was inspired by the 1997 Dakar concept car and the 1998 Jeepster concept car. It is powered by two gasoline engines, 2.4L l4 and 2.7L V6, and two diesel engines, 2.5L l4 and 2.8L l4. The gearbox also uses a five-speed or six-speed manual, and a four-speed or five-speed automatic, a total of six models.

However, no matter what name this car is translated into, it cannot be denied that it has the same genes as the second-generation Cherokee in terms of body appearance and power configuration.

The fourth generation Cherokee was born in 2008 when the economic crisis was rampant. At the same time, this "new model" can also be considered the Jeep version of Dodge Nitro.

In terms of appearance, the most intuitive change is that the fourth generation model abandoned the previous rounded and flexible shape and returned to Jeep's iconic square design, and the overall design was infinitely close to the commander model at that time. At the same time, there are special details. The wheel eyebrow daytime running lights on the current Wrangler JL have already appeared on the Liberty KK at that time.

In terms of power, the new 3.7L V6 gasoline engine and 2.8L l4 diesel engine ensure sufficient power reserve. At the same time, it is equipped with a four-speed and five-speed automatic transmission, or a six-speed manual transmission, and the performance is still strong.

The fifth-generation Cherokee, which was born in 2013, may be the most controversial model. Although the name finally returned from Liberty to Cherokee, its unique shape and its pedigree based on the Fiat CUSW platform have made it the focus of public opinion for a while.

On the fifth generation Cherokee, the original vertically arranged seven-hole air intake grille has quietly changed. Several rectangular air intakes break the constraints of the plane and adopt a folding angle treatment, making it more three-dimensional. At the same time, the split headlight design also became the world's first at the time, and the streamlined design once again occupied the entire appearance. The once tough guy shape disappeared again. In terms of power, the fifth generation model is equipped with a total of 3.2L V6, 2.4L l4 gasoline engine, and 2.8L l4 diesel engine, but the Chinese market only has a 2.4L l4 version.

Today, the fifth-generation Cherokee has also completed a mid-term facelift, and the controversial split headlights and folding grille have also been quietly replaced. However, the AD LOCK of the high-performance version and the AD 1 four-wheel drive system of the ordinary version still make it the most passable in its class.

In general, the history of the Cherokee is very similar to that of the Grand Cherokee, which is a process of slowly turning from the wild to the city. Although in the eyes of many people, such a change makes it no longer hardcore and pure, it is undoubted that today's Cherokee is more in line with the needs of most families, which is also the original intention of the design of the first generation Cherokee. In a sense, perhaps this is also a manifestation of not forgetting the original intention.