Read the Jeep Commander's real-time logbook entries.
Before now, the simple truth about Jeep was that if you needed an SUV with more than five seats you'd have to look elsewhere. Today's families want the all-weather and off-road promise of an SUV, but they also need to bring a lot of stuff and maybe a few friends as well.
Jeep has had the off-road part of that equation covered for decades with the Wrangler and more recently with the Grand Cherokee. Along with the discontinued Cherokee, those Jeeps were arguably the best in their respective classes for tackling rutted trails, rocky passes, snowy highways, and muddy washes. But today's SUV buyer requires something more. A vehicle that can offer a gentle ride to the shopping mall, rugged off-road ability and seating for the whole family and then some.
Enter the 2006 Jeep Commander. A four-door SUV crafted in traditional Jeep fashion with everything you'd expect from a Jeep and more. Surprisingly plush, the new Commander is the biggest, most expensive Jeep yet.
Ours is a Jeep Commander Limited and it includes virtually all the comforts of home plus the ability to take you far from it. The Commander is "Trail Rated" which is Jeep's way of saying, "Take it off-road, please. We dare you." Less than 2,000 miles into our Commander relationship we've yet to take Jeep up on this offer, but we have used the big Commander in a wide variety of other tasks.
So far there's unanimous praise for the comfortable seats, Inside Line Editor in Chief Richard Homan says, "Thanks to the comfy seats, I like driving this big American SUV." Homan went on to praise not only the seats but the driving position, "Excellent visibility makes it easy to change lanes and parking is easy, too." Homan also noted the bold boxy look by simply stating, "The interior looks cool; the exterior looks even cooler."
Another area of our Commander Limited that's drawing early thumbs-up is the 5.7-liter Hemi engine that puts out 330 horsepower and 375 pound-feet. Road Test Editor Brian Moody said, "The Commander proves this Hemi is terrific no matter what you put on top of it. In this big Jeep, the engine delivers the expected smoothness but I'm surprised how quickly the truck accelerates."
But that powerful engine combined with the Commander's 5,000-pound-plus curb weight has already caused concern regarding its fuel economy. Like other Chrysler Group products with this Hemi, the Commander's engine offers a cylinder deactivation feature that lets the motor run on just four cylinders when cruising. Our editors used words like "seamless" and "transparent" to describe its operation, but is it enough? Although the truck is still new, we're getting less than 13 mpg in combined city and highway driving. However, IL Executive Editor Scott Oldham pointed out that the Commander uses lower-cost regular unleaded so that minimizes the sting a little.
If you're really concerned about fuel consumption, there is a 3.7-liter V6 (210 hp, 235 lb-ft) version of the Commander available and the Limited's base engine is a 4.7-liter V8 (235 hp, 305 lb-ft). But we wanted the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 as we think most customers will opt for the bigger engine. Getting the Hemi requires the $1,495 Quick Order package 25H that also includes the Quadra Drive four-wheel-drive system.
We set out to find a "loaded" Commander to see just how good a Jeep could be. Locating a Commander in our color choice of "Dark Khaki" with such features as a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, navigation system, satellite radio, and UConnect proved to be more difficult than we first thought. After a few weeks of looking, we found the exact Commander we were looking for at Buerge Chrysler Jeep in Santa Monica. They had added $800 worth of wheels which we asked to have removed. We bought the truck for $1,000 under MSRP which we considered to be a good deal since this vehicle had our first choices for options and color. News Editor Mike Hudson helped find and purchase the Commander, and he said, "The deal was simple with no problems. Overall it was a very fine experience."
With the promise of off-road superiority plus seven-passenger seating at our disposal, we anxiously look forward to pressing the Jeep Commander Limited further into service. As the winter thaws we're looking forward to family road trips, summer sand dunes and maybe even the occasional camping trek. We expect the Commander to be popular and suspect it will be a "go-to" vehicle whenever the open road calls. Of course, the trails will probably call, too — is the Commander up for it? Check back for our next update.
Current Odometer: 1,855
Best Fuel Economy: 14 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 11.6 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 12.5 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None.
Read the Jeep Commander's real-time logbook entries.
Before now, the simple truth about Jeep was that if you needed an SUV with more than five seats you'd have to look elsewhere. Today's families want the all-weather and off-road promise of an SUV, but they also need to bring a lot of stuff and maybe a few friends as well.
Jeep has had the off-road part of that equation covered for decades with the Wrangler and more recently with the Grand Cherokee. Along with the discontinued Cherokee, those Jeeps were arguably the best in their respective classes for tackling rutted trails, rocky passes, snowy highways, and muddy washes. But today's SUV buyer requires something more. A vehicle that can offer a gentle ride to the shopping mall, rugged off-road ability and seating for the whole family and then some.
Enter the 2006 Jeep Commander. A four-door SUV crafted in traditional Jeep fashion with everything you'd expect from a Jeep and more. Surprisingly plush, the new Commander is the biggest, most expensive Jeep yet.
Ours is a Jeep Commander Limited and it includes virtually all the comforts of home plus the ability to take you far from it. The Commander is "Trail Rated" which is Jeep's way of saying, "Take it off-road, please. We dare you." Less than 2,000 miles into our Commander relationship we've yet to take Jeep up on this offer, but we have used the big Commander in a wide variety of other tasks.
So far there's unanimous praise for the comfortable seats, Inside Line Editor in Chief Richard Homan says, "Thanks to the comfy seats, I like driving this big American SUV." Homan went on to praise not only the seats but the driving position, "Excellent visibility makes it easy to change lanes and parking is easy, too." Homan also noted the bold boxy look by simply stating, "The interior looks cool; the exterior looks even cooler."
Another area of our Commander Limited that's drawing early thumbs-up is the 5.7-liter Hemi engine that puts out 330 horsepower and 375 pound-feet. Road Test Editor Brian Moody said, "The Commander proves this Hemi is terrific no matter what you put on top of it. In this big Jeep, the engine delivers the expected smoothness but I'm surprised how quickly the truck accelerates."
But that powerful engine combined with the Commander's 5,000-pound-plus curb weight has already caused concern regarding its fuel economy. Like other Chrysler Group products with this Hemi, the Commander's engine offers a cylinder deactivation feature that lets the motor run on just four cylinders when cruising. Our editors used words like "seamless" and "transparent" to describe its operation, but is it enough? Although the truck is still new, we're getting less than 13 mpg in combined city and highway driving. However, IL Executive Editor Scott Oldham pointed out that the Commander uses lower-cost regular unleaded so that minimizes the sting a little.
If you're really concerned about fuel consumption, there is a 3.7-liter V6 (210 hp, 235 lb-ft) version of the Commander available and the Limited's base engine is a 4.7-liter V8 (235 hp, 305 lb-ft). But we wanted the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 as we think most customers will opt for the bigger engine. Getting the Hemi requires the $1,495 Quick Order package 25H that also includes the Quadra Drive four-wheel-drive system.
We set out to find a "loaded" Commander to see just how good a Jeep could be. Locating a Commander in our color choice of "Dark Khaki" with such features as a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, navigation system, satellite radio, and UConnect proved to be more difficult than we first thought. After a few weeks of looking, we found the exact Commander we were looking for at Buerge Chrysler Jeep in Santa Monica. They had added $800 worth of wheels which we asked to have removed. We bought the truck for $1,000 under MSRP which we considered to be a good deal since this vehicle had our first choices for options and color. News Editor Mike Hudson helped find and purchase the Commander, and he said, "The deal was simple with no problems. Overall it was a very fine experience."
With the promise of off-road superiority plus seven-passenger seating at our disposal, we anxiously look forward to pressing the Jeep Commander Limited further into service. As the winter thaws we're looking forward to family road trips, summer sand dunes and maybe even the occasional camping trek. We expect the Commander to be popular and suspect it will be a "go-to" vehicle whenever the open road calls. Of course, the trails will probably call, too — is the Commander up for it? Check back for our next update.
Current Odometer: 1,855
Best Fuel Economy: 14 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 11.6 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 12.5 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None.
Read the Jeep Commander's real-time logbook entries.
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