2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Jeep's own 2023 documentation lists the 293 hp Pentastar V6 as the only gas engine across Laredo, Limited, Overland and Summit, a mid-pack figure for a Premium-priced mid-size SUV. The 5.7L HEMI carried over onto early 2023 order sheets but was quietly discontinued within the model year, so the volume trim a 2023 buyer actually got is the V6.

The naturally aspirated V6's 260 lb-ft peaks high at 4,000 rpm, so low-end pull is modest against the turbocharged rivals it is cross-shopped with at this price. With the HEMI leaving the order sheet during 2023, the 4xe became the only way to get real low-rpm shove.

293 hp hauling a 4,413 lb Limited 4x4 puts instrumented runs of the WL V6 in a tight 7.3–7.7 second band — adequate but unremarkable, and slower than the turbo-four and turbo-six rivals in the price bracket. 2023 is a mechanical carry-over of the 2022 V6 powertrain, so 2022/2023 test results are directly comparable.

The Pentastar is well isolated at cruise inside the WL's heavily sound-deadened body and its throttle response is linear with no turbo lag, but reviewers of the 2023 car consistently call it merely adequate — it has to be revved to deliver and turns audibly coarse near its 6,700 rpm limit.

The ZF-derived TorqueFlite 8HP70 eight-speed is a class benchmark — smooth, quick to downshift and rarely caught out despite the V6's peaky delivery. It is standard on every 2023 trim, so the volume Laredo/Limited buyer gets the same unit as a Summit.

6,200 lbs is strong for a unibody mid-size SUV — level with the Explorer and well clear of car-based crossovers, though short of the body-on-frame Wagoneer. The rating is identical for 2WD and 4WD, so drivetrain choice costs nothing in capability; the 7,200 lb V8 figure is excluded because Jeep's own 2023 spec sheet and press kit publish only the V6 rating after the HEMI left the lineup.

Three escalating 4x4 systems span the 2023 range — single-speed Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II with a two-speed transfer case and 2.72:1 low range, and Quadra-Drive II with a rear electronic limited-slip differential — backed by five-mode Selec-Terrain. Only the rear-drive entry configurations keep this off a perfect score.

Genuine light-to-moderate trail hardware is available: Quadra-Lift air suspension raises ground clearance from 8.4 to 10.9 in and approach angle from 20.5° to 30.1°, with 24 in of water fording, and Overland's Off-road Group adds skid plates, a rear eLSD and Goodyear all-terrains. It sits a clear step below purpose-built off-roaders, and for 2023 the dedicated Trailhawk trim moved to the 4xe only — so the gas configuration scored here has no factory off-road trim at all.

2023 is the last year the two-row Grand Cherokee offered three distinct engines: the 3.6L V6, the 375 hp 4xe plug-in hybrid, and — on early builds only — the 357 hp 5.7L HEMI V8, which Jeep pulled during the model year. That covers mainstream, muscle and electrified needs better than the 2024 car's two, but there is still no turbocharged gas option and no full EV.

22 MPG combined is mid-pack for a gas mid-size SUV — respectable for a 4,400 lb Jeep carrying real 4WD hardware, but well behind the turbo-four and hybrid crossovers it shares showroom space with. Notably the 4WD rating is identical to 2WD, so choosing four-wheel drive costs nothing at the pump.

19 MPG city is the weakest part of the Grand Cherokee's efficiency picture — the port-injected V6 has no hybrid assist or cylinder deactivation to lean on in stop-and-go traffic, and the vehicle's mass tells there. Engine stop-start with an auxiliary battery is standard, which is the only mitigation.

26 MPG highway is the V6's strongest figure, helped by a tall eighth gear and a 0.357 drag coefficient — the Grand Cherokee is at its most efficient on a long cruise, which is where its range advantage comes from.

A large 23-gallon tank turns middling economy into genuinely long legs — 506 miles between fills is well above the mid-size SUV norm and the clearest efficiency-related strength the gas Grand Cherokee has.

EPA puts the gas Grand Cherokee's annual energy bill at $2,800 — high in absolute terms and a real running-cost penalty against hybrid rivals, though it is at least regular-grade fuel rather than premium or the midgrade the V8 asked for.

The Pentastar V6 is certified on regular 87-octane unleaded, so there is no premium-fuel surcharge on a Premium-priced SUV — a meaningful cost advantage over the turbocharged European rivals in the segment. Nothing exotic is required, and the 4xe elsewhere in the range adds cheap home charging as an option.

NHTSA crash-tested the 2023 Grand Cherokee and awarded five stars in every measure it ran — frontal driver and passenger, side barrier front and rear, and side pole — but never ran the rollover test, so the agency's published OverallRating for 2023 is literally 'Not Rated' rather than a star count. The item's instruction to use the latest tested year of the generation resolves this: the structurally identical 2024 WL scored 5 stars overall (4-star rollover, 17.9% risk, No Tip), so 5 is the generation's real overall figure and 2023's own subscores are consistent with it.

The 2023 Grand Cherokee holds IIHS Top Safety Pick+, the top award, which by the letter of the prompt's guidance is an 80-100 result — but two qualifications keep it at the top of the middle band instead. First, the award is restricted to cars built after March 2023: earlier-built 2023 units leaked fuel in the updated side test until Jeep revised the underbody sheet metal, so a large share of the model year carries no award at all and a known structural defect. Second, the crashworthiness data underneath the plaque is identical to the 2024 car's lesser Top Safety Pick — Good in driver and passenger small overlap, original moderate overlap and updated side, but **Poor** in the updated moderate overlap front on rear-passenger head, neck and chest measures, plus Marginal seat belt reminders. The TSP+ is genuine, but it reflects 2023 award criteria that did not yet require the updated moderate overlap test; it does not mean the second row is well protected.

Every element the item names is standard on the 2023 base Laredo rather than trim-locked: full-speed forward collision warning with active braking and pedestrian/cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, Active Lane Management (lane centering) alongside LaneSense lane departure warning with lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross path detection, advanced brake assist, ParkView back-up camera and ParkSense rear park assist. Standard stop-and-go ACC and standard BSM on an entry mid-size SUV trim are both above segment norms for 2023, which puts this at the top of the band rather than merely inside it. NHTSA independently records FCW and LDW as 'Standard' for 2023, a change from the 2022 car where the agency recorded both as 'No'.

Under the protocols in force for the 2023 model year the Grand Cherokee posts the clean sweep the top band describes: Superior vehicle-to-vehicle, Advanced pedestrian daytime, and Superior pedestrian nighttime — nighttime pedestrian detection explicitly rated, not merely present. It sits at the bottom of that band rather than higher for a reason worth stating plainly: IIHS re-tested the same hardware for 2024 under a revised protocol that combines daylight and dark runs and rated it only Acceptable, so the Superior/Advanced results reflect an easier test rather than genuinely class-leading hardware. Note also that the nighttime Superior carries a high-beam-assist credit available only on trims above the volume Laredo.

Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross path detection is standard on every 2023 trim including the Laredo, which places this in the better half of the middle band. It does not reach the top band because the coverage is alert-only in both directions — no steering or braking intervention against a vehicle alongside, and no safe-exit alert for occupants opening a door into traffic. Reverse automatic emergency braking, which the 2024 standard-equipment sheet does list, is not confirmed as standard 2023 equipment by any source consulted here; the 2023 press kit lists only ParkSense rear park assist and Advanced Brake Assist, so the backing-out intervention that would lift this score cannot be claimed for this year.

The 2023 car pairs LaneSense lane departure warning and lane keep assist with Active Lane Management's true lane centering, all standard on the Laredo, and reviewers of this generation describe the centering as trustworthy rather than merely functional — free of the sharp corrections and ping-ponging that define the middle band. It is held at the bottom of the top band because the supporting evidence is review prose rather than an instrumented or independently rated comparison, and because the system is a plain hands-on Level 2 implementation with no lane-change assist.

Adaptive cruise control with full stop-and-go is standard across the 2023 range rather than reserved for upper trims, and reviewers report smooth braking and acceleration rather than the late braking or sluggish resume that defines the middle band. It is integrated with Active Lane Management into a coherent hands-on Level 2 highway assist, so the longitudinal and lateral halves behave as one system. Confidence is MEDIUM because the behavioural judgment rests on review prose for the generation rather than 2023-specific instrumented testing.

There is no hands-free option on the 2023 Grand Cherokee at any price or trim — the bottom band, unambiguously. Stellantis' Hands-Free Active Driving Assist launched in February 2024 as a $2,995 option on 2024 Overland 4x4 and Summit 4x4 cars, and the 2023 order sheet offers only the hands-on-wheel, eyes-on-road Level 2 Active Driving Assist. This is not merely an absence but a broken promise: Jeep announced hands-free for the WL Grand Cherokee L 'later in 2021' and buyers of the 2022 and 2023 cars never received it. Scored slightly above zero rather than at the floor only because the hands-on system is competent and the hardware groundwork (driver eye-position monitoring on upper trims) is present.

The 2023 model year is split by build date and both halves are compromised, which drops this to the boundary between the bottom and middle bands. Cars built before February 2023 rate **Poor** on every trim — Laredo, Limited, Trailhawk, Overland and Summit alike — so a meaningful share of MY2023 production has headlights IIHS considers inadequate regardless of how much the buyer spent. Cars built after January 2023 improve to Good on Limited, Overland and Summit but only **Acceptable** on the volume Laredo scored here, which is the middle band exactly. No trim offers curve-adaptive headlights, and the Laredo does not get high-beam assist at all — the same omission that costs it the nighttime pedestrian AEB credit in 3.2.2.

Squarely the middle band: average visibility with real blind zones that the volume trim does not compensate for. The WL's upright greenhouse and relatively narrow rear roof pillars give decent rearward and quarter sightlines for a mid-size SUV, but reviewers single out forward visibility as a weakness — the protruding hood, thick A-pillars, large sideview mirrors and the cluster of camera and radar hardware occupying windshield space all work against the driver. The camera compensation that would lift this higher is optional: the 360-degree surround-view camera and the night vision camera are extra-cost, so a Laredo buyer is left with the standard back-up camera and rear park sensors, and Edmunds recommends paying for the surround-view system specifically to take the guesswork out of parking.

The hardware itself graded an A in Cars.com's 2023 car seat check — two sets of lower anchors under a single large upholstery flap, easy to find and connect, and three clearly marked top tether anchors — with A grades for both the infant seat and the rear-facing convertible and no loss of front passenger legroom in either configuration. What holds it below the top band is the older-child end: the fixed rear head restraints block a booster from sitting properly (C) and interfere with a forward-facing convertible whose back is raised for a taller child (B), the tether routing opening through the head restraint is too small to push a strap and tightener through easily, and the second row's short buckle stalks sit flush with the cushion where small hands cannot work them unaided.

The two-row WL Grand Cherokee is a strict five-seater across every 2023 trim, so it forfeits the seat count that eight-passenger mid-size SUVs use to top this item.

Comfortably above the mid-size SUV norm for front headroom, helped by the WL's tall 70.8-inch roofline.

Front legroom is the weakest of the WL's interior dimensions — adequate but near the bottom of the mid-size SUV band, though 9.8 inches of seat travel means tall drivers still fit.

Near the top of the mid-size SUV band — second-row occupants get almost as much headroom as those in front.

A genuinely roomy second row by the numbers, though Consumer Reports found taller passengers still want more, and the 4.1-inch knee clearance is modest for the class.

There is no third row at all — the two-row Grand Cherokee seats five, and Jeep sells the three-row body as the separate Grand Cherokee L nameplate. Scored in the low band per the item's rule for two-row SUVs rather than omitted.

Average-at-best for a mid-size SUV: the number is respectable in isolation but scores low against a band whose top end is set by three-row SUVs measured with the rearmost seats folded.

Below the mid-point of the SUV band — the two-row body simply has less total volume than the three-row crossovers it shares a segment with.

Competently equipped everyday storage rather than anything innovative: a full-length console with two-tier armrest storage and a twin-device bin, a carpeted cargo area with a removable tray, four tie-downs and a side bin, plus 12-volt and 115-volt outlets. No underfloor bin, frunk or fold-flat front passenger seat to lift it higher.

Front seats are well shaped and generously adjusted on the volume Limited — eight-way power with memory plus four-way power lumbar, heated as standard, ventilation available — but the second row is the weak link, with cushions reviewers describe as flat and short on contour.

A firm underlying tune that still absorbs the big hits well on the standard multi-link coil setup, and the optional Quadra-Lift air suspension with semi-active damping lifts it further without going floaty. Good, not segment-leading.

The WL architecture was engineered specifically to cut NVH and the cabin is quiet at a cruise, with active noise cancellation standard from Limited; the deduction is for the Pentastar V6, which turns coarse and vocal when worked.

Richly equipped on the trims buyers actually take: the Limited gets dual-zone front plus rear climate, heated front AND second-row seats, a heated wheel and remote start as standard, with four-zone climate, ventilated seats and massage available above it.

Laredo A is the entry point of the 2023 two-row lineup and lands at $38,290 with destination, but it is a deliberately stripped fleet-facing trim — the Laredo most buyers actually see started $3,040 higher, and every trim above it carried the peak pricing Jeep spent the next two model years walking back.

Limited 4x4 is the volume configuration of the two-row gas Grand Cherokee and the trim the rest of this nameplate's scorecards describe; 2023 is the most expensive year of the WL run, roughly $2,900 above the 2024 Limited and $5,900 above the 2025 one after two consecutive rounds of factory price cuts.

Published estimates split sharply by basis — CarEdge's owner-cost model says $3,512 while KBB's dealer-retail cost-to-own totals $9,229 — so the midpoint is the honest figure, and it is weighted toward the high end because the 2023 car specifically draws heavy owner reports of electrical, battery and suspension failures inside the warranty period.

The Grand Cherokee already depreciates faster than its segment, and the 2023 model year is the worst-placed of the WL run for retention because it was sold at the lineup's highest-ever stickers — Jeep then cut prices up to $4,595 for 2024 and again for 2025, which drags 2023 used values down against a sticker nobody pays anymore.

Stellantis' standard Basic Limited Warranty applies to every 2023 Jeep model and trim and sits at the floor of the segment band, well short of the 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper coverage Hyundai and Kia rivals include.

The 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain term covers the 3.6L Pentastar V6, eight-speed automatic and axles on every 2023 Grand Cherokee trim — the bottom of the framework band, and half the term Hyundai/Kia offer.

2023 is the best model year of the WL run for this item, but only for half of it: Jeep Wave carried a 36-month membership with the first three oil changes and tire rotations for vehicles bought before July 17, 2023, then reverted to the 24-month/two-service plan that 2024 and 2025 buyers get. Either way the surrounding perks — 24/7 roadside for the full 5/60 powertrain term, $1,000 trip interruption, same-day loaner allowance, an onX Offroad Elite trial — are richer than bare roadside, but the included maintenance still falls short of the two full years of scheduled service Toyota and Hyundai bundle.

$52,575 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (46% retained, or about $24,185) leaves about $28,391 in depreciation. Add the projected $7,000 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $35,391 in total.

Consumer Reports rates the 2023 Grand Cherokee less reliable than other cars of its model year, and MY2023 carries the heaviest owner-complaint load of any WL year: 381 NHTSA complaints against 240 for MY2023's successor, dominated by electrical system (176 of 381) with battery drain and Uconnect faults appearing at very low mileage. Unusually for a scored year this old, the prediction is no longer a prediction — the J.D. Power 2026 VDS surveys three-year-old cars, i.e. this exact MY2023 cohort, and put Jeep 63 problems per 100 vehicles worse than the industry. J.D. Power's own 77/100 quality-and-reliability rating for the model sits in its "average" band, so the sources are mixed rather than uniformly bad, which keeps this off the floor.

Jeep is a bottom-tier dependability brand in both major long-term surveys and has been for several consecutive years — a structural drag on any Jeep nameplate rather than a one-model-year artifact. The most recent VDS cohort is model-year 2023 cars, so for this vehicle the brand figure is not merely indicative but measured on its own cohort. The one genuine offset is initial quality: Jeep finished above the industry average in the 2023 IQS, climbing to 19th from 23rd, so the brand's problem is durability over three years rather than how the cars leave the plant.

MY2023 is the worst recall year of the WL generation: NHTSA lists 21 campaigns against the nameplate for 2023, against 15 for MY2024 and three for MY2025, and Consumer Reports independently counts 22. Several are serious hardware defects rather than software resets — an incorrectly assembled steering column, upper control arm ball joints that can separate, a loose second-row seat belt buckle bolt, and a blower motor that can fail and overheat. Worst is the rear coil spring defect, which has now generated three separate campaigns on the same 2022-2023 cars (23V413, then 26V051, then 26V562): two attempted remedies did not close the problem, which is the definition of systemic rather than routine recall activity.

The scored configuration is the 3.6L Pentastar V6 (293 hp) with the 850RE eight-speed, a Kokomo-built licensed ZF 8HP75 — both long-serving designs with a documented high-mileage record, and comfortably the strongest element of this car's reliability case. For 2023 it is also the only gas engine: the 5.7L Hemi V8 was dropped from the two-row Grand Cherokee partway through the model year, so every gas 2023 car up to Summit Reserve runs the proven V6. Known weak points keep it out of the top band rather than in it: Pentastar oil filter housing leaks, rocker-arm/camshaft lobe wear and cooling-system attrition, plus 850RE torque-converter shudder and harsh cold upshifts. Nothing in the MY2023 record points at a new powertrain-family defect — the 26V413 campaign is a gear-indication software error, not a mechanical fault.

The WL cabin is the Grand Cherokee's strongest card and 2023 is the same launch-fresh interior, with the volume Limited getting standard Uconnect 5 NAV on a 10.1-inch screen, soft-touch coverage across the main touchpoints and a convincingly hand-stitched dash top and door trim; open-pore wood and quilted leather arrive on Overland and Summit. Reviewers place it at or above the segment mean for the money — one road test judged a $55,000 Grand Cherokee close to vehicles $20,000 dearer on materials and refinement. The consistent criticism is that some panels and secondary controls feel unsubstantial for the price, which caps it short of Genesis GV80 / Volvo XC90 richness at a Premium price class.

Assembly consistency is the weakest part of the build-quality picture, and for 2023 there is recall evidence rather than only review anecdote: an incorrectly assembled steering column, improperly fastened infotainment screen module connections, an untightened second-row seat belt buckle bolt, an unsecured side airbag connector, improperly seated rear coil springs and a missing air bag warning label are all line-assembly escapes on 2023 cars — a heavier set than MY2024's. Edmunds found build quality did not feel as solid as the price implies, and owners flag exterior plastic trim and door-closure feel against older Grand Cherokees. Two things hold this above the bottom band: Jeep scored above the industry average in the 2023 IQS, and the unibody structure still assembles more tightly than the body-on-frame rivals in the class.

Coverage is a genuine strength — roughly 2,500 US Jeep rooftops give metro and rural reach few rivals match, which matters for a nameplate sold heavily outside major markets and for a car that will visit the service drive more often than the segment average. Service satisfaction is the offset: J.D. Power puts Jeep below the mass-market SUV/minivan average, so the network is easy to reach but not well regarded once you are in it.

The Grand Cherokee's very large installed base underwrites abundant OEM and aftermarket parts at ordinary prices, and measured repair cost and frequency land at or slightly better than midsize-SUV norms. Deductions are configuration-specific rather than model-wide: optional Quadra-Lift air suspension and adaptive dampers are expensive out-of-warranty items against a coil-sprung rival, and the electrical/infotainment fault pattern that dominates this year's complaint record generally means module replacement at dealer prices.

The volume trims ship the small 8.4-inch screen, which is well behind mid-size SUV rivals now clearing 12 inches. Jeep's own launch release and the FA sheet disagree here, and the later production document is taken as authoritative.

Uconnect 5 is one of the genuinely good mainstream systems — Android-based, quick to respond, logically laid out, and backed by retained physical climate and volume controls. Only the small base screen holds it back.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto are built into every Uconnect 5 variant, including the base 8.4-inch head unit standard on the cheapest Laredo — full marks territory for the era.

Voice command with Amazon Alexa compatibility is standard, but native TomTom navigation is not — the volume Laredo and Limited get the non-NAV head unit, so most owners navigate through phone projection.

A strong ladder for 2023: a decent six-speaker base, six premium speakers with active noise cancellation standard on Limited, a nine-speaker Alpine, and a 19-speaker McIntosh system that 2023 newly made available as a standalone option on Overland and Summit.

A full-color, frameless 10.25-inch reconfigurable digital cluster is standard on every trim including the base Laredo — unusually generous for a 2023 mid-size SUV and the strongest single item in this category.

Real but limited over-the-air capability: firmware OTA on every Uconnect 5 head unit and maps OTA on the NAV versions. This is infotainment-scope updating, not the whole-vehicle feature delivery that scores in the top band.

The Uconnect app covers the core remote set — start, lock/unlock, locate, vehicle health — but it is subscription-gated after the trial and there is no phone-as-key, which is where the segment's better apps had already moved by 2023.

Six USB ports mixing Type-A and Type-C are standard on every trim, alongside two 12-volt outlets and a 115-volt household outlet standard from Limited up. The one gap is wireless charging, which stays inside an option package on all four trims.

Solid conventional keyless convenience — passive entry, key-fob remote start standard from Limited, and a power liftgate that goes hands-free on Overland and Summit — but front-door-only passive entry on the volume trims and no phone-as-key keep it out of the top band.

A strong standard floor — rear camera plus rear park sensors with automatic braking on every trim — with a 360-degree SurroundView camera (lens-washer equipped) available on Limited and up and automated parallel/perpendicular parking standard on Summit. The surround camera not being standard on the volume trim is the only real gap.

A large 10-inch full-colour windshield head-up display exists but is locked behind the Advanced ProTech Group on the two most expensive trims — unavailable at any price on the Laredo and Limited that most buyers take.

Good bones for daily kid logistics — wide rear door openings, a 20.2-inch sill step a toddler can climb, and 38.2 inches of second-row legroom so a rear-facing seat fits without pushing the driver forward. It loses ground on boosters, where the buckles are hard for a child to work alone, and on five-seat-only capacity.

The safety proposition is strong precisely where families shop: an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ for cars built after March 2023, five-star NHTSA frontal and side results, and a full driver-assist suite — adaptive cruise with stop-and-go, blind-spot monitoring, lane keeping and collision braking — standard on the cheapest Laredo rather than packaged.

A properly equipped long-haul family car: heated second-row seats standard from Limited, 39.4 inches of rear headroom, a quiet cabin, 37.7 cu ft of cargo with everyone aboard, roughly 500 miles between fills, and an optional dual-screen rear entertainment system. Only five seats, and flat rear cushions, keep it from the very top.

Easy-going in traffic: the 293-hp Pentastar and eight-speed automatic pull away cleanly and shift smoothly, the electrically boosted brakes and light steering keep effort low, and adaptive cruise with stop-and-go is standard on every trim. The size and thick-pillared forward view are what stop it short of effortless.

This is the Grand Cherokee's weakest mission. EPA rates the volume V6 at 19/26/22 MPG and $2,800 a year in fuel, and 19 MPG in the stop-and-go city cycle is where a 4,400-lb unibody SUV with a naturally aspirated V6 gets punished. Regular 87-octane is the one saving grace.

Mid-pack and no better: 193.5 inches long, 77.5 across the body (84.6 with mirrors out) and a 38.0-ft curb-to-curb circle make it manageable but never nimble in tight urban work, and reviewers single out the forward sightlines. A rear camera and rear sensors with automatic braking are standard; the surround camera that would really help is an option.

Best-in-class towing for a two-row premium mid-size SUV — 6,200 lbs properly equipped with the Class IV receiver, comfortably past the 3,500–5,000 lbs most unibody crossover rivals manage, and the rear suspension includes load levelling. Payload of roughly 1,200 lbs and a cargo bay rather than a bed cap it well short of a pickup.

The hardware that matters under load is proven — the Pentastar V6 and the ZF-derived eight-speed both have long high-mileage records — but the vehicle around them does not inspire confidence for abuse: Consumer Reports rates the 2023 below average for reliability, NHTSA lists 21 recall campaigns, and there is no work-oriented trim with vinyl floors or a rubber-lined cargo bay.

The basics are covered — factory roof rails on every trim, four cargo tie-down loops with a removable tray and a side bin, two 12-volt outlets including one in the cargo area, and a 115-volt household outlet standard from Limited — but there is no bed, no onboard generator-grade power and no meaningful commercial upfit ecosystem behind it.

A very good mile-eater: a 23-gallon tank against 26 MPG highway gives roughly 500 miles of interstate legs, the cabin is quiet at a cruise, the front seats are praised for hours-long comfort, and hands-free Active Driving Assist is available on Overland and standard on Summit atop standard stop-and-go adaptive cruise.

The core of the nameplate and its best score in this category: three genuine 4x4 systems including Quadra-Drive II with a rear electronic limited-slip differential, Selec-Terrain with five modes, and Quadra-Lift air suspension good for 10.9 inches of clearance and 24 inches of fording — capability no unibody mid-size rival matches.

Flexible enough for most adventure loads without being exceptional: 37.7 cu ft behind the second row expanding to 70.8 with the row folded, factory roof rails on every trim, four floor tie-downs, a cargo tray and a side bin, plus a Class IV hitch for a rack or trailer. A 32.4-inch load-floor height and no underfloor bin are the limits.

Secure and forgiving rather than agile: the all-aluminum multi-link suspension keeps a 4,400-lb SUV composed and predictable at its limits, but testers found grip and driver engagement below the segment average and short of the Explorer's sharpness.

The electric rack is accurate and pleasantly weighted for a vehicle this size, and a fairly quick 15.6:1 ratio on 4x4 models keeps it to three turns lock-to-lock — but it is short on genuine feedback, which is the usual verdict on the WL.

Well-sized vented discs at all four corners behind an electrically boosted pedal that testers describe as reassuringly firm, with a stop from 60 mph around 115 feet — solid for a two-and-a-quarter-ton SUV without being class-leading.

A well-sorted, conventional pairing: the 60-degree Pentastar V6 is inherently smooth-running and the TorqueFlite 8HP70 shifts crisply, with linear response from a standstill. Only the engine stop-start restart keeps it from the top band.

Unobtrusive at a cruise, helped by active noise cancellation from Limited up, but the naturally aspirated V6 has to be revved to move 4,400 lbs and turns coarse and vocal when it is — the standard complaint about this powertrain.

Mid-band for a mid-size SUV — a 116.7-inch wheelbase and 193.5-inch length mean three-point turns in tight lots, though it is no worse than its direct rivals.

A commanding, well-adjusted seat with eight-way power, memory and four-way power lumbar standard on the volume Limited, and physical climate controls retained below the screen. The deduction is for forward visibility, which reviewers criticize, and a manual tilt/telescope column unless you option up.

Pleasant and capable rather than entertaining. The official 2023 documents list the Pentastar V6 as the only engine for the two-row car, so there is no V8 or performance variant to chase; the character on offer is off-road credibility and a Sport terrain mode, not on-road playfulness.

The 2023 Laredo covers the safety and connectivity essentials — Uconnect 5 with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, full-speed forward collision warning with active braking and pedestrian/cyclist detection, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise with stop-and-go, LED lighting, remote start and a new adjustable-height power liftgate — but it is cloth-trimmed on the smaller 8.4-inch screen, and four-wheel drive is a $2,000 option on a $41,330 SUV, which is a hard sell on a Jeep.

2023 is the priciest year of the WL Grand Cherokee — a Limited 4x4 asked $52,575 for a 293-hp naturally aspirated V6 returning 22 mpg combined, against Telluride and Palisade money — and Jeep itself conceded the point by cutting MSRPs up to $4,595 for 2024 and again for 2025. The genuine hardware advantages (three selectable 4x4 systems, available Quadra-Lift air suspension, a 6,200-lb tow rating no car-based crossover matches) are what keep this mid-band rather than lower.

Few mid-size SUVs spread this wide: seven two-row gas trims from Laredo A to Summit Reserve, rear-drive still offered on the upper trims (a choice 2024 removed), a full 4xe plug-in hybrid ladder including Trailhawk, the three-row Grand Cherokee L alongside it, three distinct four-wheel-drive systems and optional air suspension. The one subtraction is the 5.7L HEMI V8, orderable only on early-build 2023 two-rows before being dropped mid-year — it stayed available in the L.

Calendar 2023 was the high-water mark for the WL generation — 244,597 US units, Jeep's best-selling model and among the top mid-size SUVs in the country, and up on 2022 while the brand around it shrank. Everything after this was decline: 216,148 in 2024 and 208,318 in 2025.

Jeep carries emotional pull few mainstream brands can match and the Grand Cherokee badge has three decades of recognition behind it, but 2023 is when the affordability backlash took hold — Jeep transaction prices ran roughly $54,000 against a $48,500 industry average, brand volume fell 6%, and Stellantis axed the Cherokee and Renegade underneath it. The public dealer revolt and the sharpest reliability criticism landed a year later, so 2023 sits a notch above the 2024 trough.

Scored as buyer benefit: 2023 was the year the market turned in shoppers' favour but not yet the fire sale 2024 became. Early-2023 stock still moved close to sticker; by the autumn Jeep was running regional low-APR-or-cash-allowance programs on the Grand Cherokee, and once the 2024s landed, dealers were clearing leftover 2023s with significant discounts.

2023 is the second model year of the WL generation launched in September 2021, so the platform, Uconnect 5 electronics and interior were genuinely current with no replacement anywhere in sight — the freshest year of this generation that CarScore scores, and three model years ahead of the substantial 2026 refresh.

Decorated on safety and holder of a genuine segment award, but the pattern with reviewers is admiration without endorsement — strong expert scores paired with explicit advice that better-driving, more reliable rivals exist, and a consumer rating far below the expert one. It rarely wins a comparison test outright.