The Complete History of the Jeep Cherokee
The Cherokee name has appeared on a variety of Jeep SUVs over more than five decades, from the original two-door to the iconic boxy model of the ’80s and ’90s.
first and current jeep cherokee
Jeep|Car and Driver
From trim level to groundbreaker to crossover, the Jeep Cherokee has come a long way in the past 50 years.
It has always had more off-road ability than you expect from the segment, even with a switch to front-wheel-drive architecture.
The second-generation XJ might be the next modern collectible on the horizon.
As one of the earliest mainstream sport-utility vehicles, the Jeep Cherokee was a trailblazer. Early on, that reputation can be taken literally, a 1970s original bouncing across some barely seen track with a box of fishing tackle and rods in the back. Later, in the 1980s, the Cherokee defined the SUV.
But more recently, the Cherokee nameplate is less about breaking trails and more about following trends. It still had a surprisingly decent amount of off-road capability for the segment, but it was foremost a crossover: more carlike than a proper SUV.
Which is fine. If you want to go bobbleheading over roots and rocks with old-school live axles, then Jeep will happily sell you a Wrangler. The Cherokee, on the other hand, is there to be the volume option: with Jeep-like qualities for the odd off-road expedition and a smoother ride for the everyday tarmac.
Now, there’s a new one, back after a brief hiatus with a new electrified powertrain. It looks squared-off and off-road-ready like the originals, but it should be a leap ahead in fuel efficiency and onboard technology.
Here’s a look back on the Cherokee’s trail.
First Generation: The Ur-SUV
Jeep
1974 Jeep Cherokee.
When it arrived in the mid-1960s, the Jeep Wagoneer had essentially no rivals. Combining luxury and genuine 4×4 capability, it would eventually prove adept at climbing both rough terrain and the social ladder, evolving into the Grand Wagoneer and being the kind of vehicle you could spot ferrying golden retrievers around the Hamptons.
Jeep wanted something a bit sportier to appeal to a more youthful market and introduced the Cherokee as a two-door version of the Wagoneer in 1974. It was aimed at the outdoorsy crowd, and when optioned correctly it was shockingly quick for its class. The optional 401-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) V-8 only produced a little more than 200 horsepower but remains the largest engine ever fitted to a Jeep product.
Jeep
1977 Jeep Cherokee Chief.
The original marketing from 1974 trumpets: “Jeep Cherokee: Jeep Corporation’s all-new entry in the sport-utility field . . . It’s a Jeep and a half.” The original SUV had arrived.
Second Generation: The Trendsetter
Robin Riggs|Car and Driver
1984 Jeep Cherokee.
Robin Riggs|Car and Driver
The first-generation Cherokee is certainly retro-cool and something of a collector’s item, but the Cherokee most people are familiar with is the version built between 1983 and 2001. That’s a heck of a production run, and in fact, the XJ Cherokee continued to be built in China until 2014.
This Cherokee’s primary innovation was its unibody construction, rather than a traditional body-on-frame layout. Strong but light, it was smaller in footprint than the Wagoneer-based truck it replaced, while still offering basically the same passenger and cargo-carrying capacity.
The XJ Cherokee performed very well off-road, with even better chops than its predecessor and a smaller silhouette to squeeze down narrow trails. It became a beloved icon in the off-road enthusiast community, to the point that Jeep kept it around after mulling replacing it in the early 1990s with the Grand Cherokee.
John Roe|Car and Driver
2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport.
Today, an XJ Cherokee with the 4.0-liter inline-six is something of a modern collectible, especially the two-door versions. You’re bound to come across a few of them on any of your favorite back-woods trails.
Third Generation: A Cherokee by Any Other Name 1.0
Morgan J. Segal, Getty Images, and the Manufacturer
2002 Jeep Liberty.
The XJ Cherokee’s 2002 model year replacement received chassis code KJ, but was only called a Cherokee when sold in overseas markets. Jeep wanted there to be no confusion between Grand Cherokee and Cherokee models, so it decided to dub this new machine the Liberty.
To some extent, the Liberty meant freedom from on-road drudgery. It featured rack-and-pinion steering and a fully independent front suspension, both significant upgrades to on-road stability and easy daily driving. Driving a contemporary Wrangler was still about as comfortable as hiking in combat boots. The Liberty was far comfier.
That’s appealing when you’re looking to charm people out of their Honda CR-V, but the Liberty still needed solid off-road capability to retain Real Jeep status. To that end, Jeep’s engineers tested it against the Rubicon trail, equipped it with a proper two-speed transfer case in 4×4 models, and added a bit of underbody armor in some versions.
Fourth Generation: A Cherokee by Any Other Name 2.0
Aaron Kiley|Car and Driver
2008 Jeep Liberty Limited.
Back for another generation in 2008, the second Liberty arrived right around the same time as the release of the video game Minecraft. Judging from its styling, it’s almost possible to believe that there was some design team overlap between the two.
Squared off and boxy, the Liberty was also larger and powered by a V-6 only (there was a short-lived turbo-diesel option as well). With the compact Compass now available for people who wanted a thriftier Jeep-badged experience, the Liberty was free to be more of an SUV.
Off-road, this model still delivered more gumption than soft-roader rivals and offered solid towing capacity. It was, however, definitely Jeep-like in ride quality and polish. Arguably, this character gave the Liberty some charm, and it did sell well with buyers who had not previously owned a Jeep.
Fifth Generation: Baby Grand Cherokee
Chris Amos, Jeep|Car and Driver
2017 Jeep Cherokee.
For 2013, the Cherokee nameplate returned to North America, this time on a true crossover. With more urbane styling, front-wheel-drive architecture, and features designed around improving fuel efficiency, the returned Cherokee shed some of the rugged image for a more polished appeal.
Perhaps this time around, Jeep didn’t mind any conflation between Grand Cherokee and Cherokee models. The fourth-generation Grand Cherokee had launched just a couple of years earlier, powerful, slick, and decidedly upmarket. It would be no bad thing for the Cherokee to reflect those elements in a smaller package.
Despite the front-wheel-drive layout, the Cherokee was still plenty capable, certainly offering more than 90 percent of what its owners would ever ask of it. It was also a towing champion when properly equipped, capable of hauling up to 4500 pounds.
But when we last reviewed it, in 2023, we found the Cherokee to be thirsty, expensive, and bordering on cramped considering its footprint. Summing up: it’s time for a new Cherokee.
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Lettermark
Brendan McAleer
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
