Jeep Going Upscale For New Grand Wagoneer

1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (Credit: Jeep)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or completely avoiding news about Jeep for the past while, you should know that the brand is bringing the Grand Wagoneer back. Details about the model have been pretty scarce, but some more information has leaked, indicating that Jeep is going to position the Grand Wagoneer as a premium vehicle that will compete with the likes of Land Rover’s Range Rover.

It was already known that the new Grand Wagoneer will feature seating for up to seven people, boldly taking kids to soccer practice by traversing deeply rutted trails. Apparently, the decision to make the SUV more luxurious and expensive was made in part because Fiat Chrysler wants to sell it in the European market.

Oh, and there’s the small detail that the Grand Wagoneer is probably going to sharing a fair amount of its parts with the upcoming Maserati SUV, called the Levante. If there’s anything to these rumors, it also means the Jeep could be offered with some pretty impressive engines, including a turbo 3.8-liter V-8. Europeans will almost definitely get a diesel-powered version of the vehicle, while Americans likely won’t.

Another factor that’s reportedly fueling the upmarket pricing strategy for the Grand Wagoneer is the fact that people keep loading up Grand Cherokees with so many options that Jeep’s seeing there’s demand for more luxurious large SUVs. The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT has also performed well, which carries a purchase price in excess of $60,000, proving that consumers will indeed pay a premium for Jeeps.

Some might think that a luxury Jeep sounds ridiculous, but the fact is that a fair amount of well-heeled consumers actually cross-shop Jeep and Land Rover when they’re looking for an off-roader. The new Grand Wagoneer might do for Jeep what the Cayenne has done for Porsche, stuffing the brand’s pockets with cash so it can develop all sorts of cool new models, including twenty-plus versions of the Wrangler.

Stay tuned for more information on the Grand Wagoneer as it becomes available.