The Jeep Grand Cherokee is the vehicle that took Jeep into the mainstream of suburban transportation. From its debut for the 1993 model year, it earned instant cachet as a daily commuter, mall prowler and family adventure machine. More luxurious than other Jeeps, but fully capable of extreme off-roading, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is the Jeep for people who never needed — and never knew they wanted — a Jeep.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee was developed as a follow-up to the wildly successful Jeep Cherokee of the 1980s. Developed by AMC when it owned Jeep and introduced for 1984, the midsize "XJ" Cherokee was the first Jeep built with a unibody chassis rather than a separate frame, and the only domestic SUV in its class that was then available as a five-door. It packed station wagon utility without the stigma. Utility, however, only goes so far. The Jeep Grand Cherokee added luxury to the equation.
Development of the Jeep Grand Cherokee started under AMC, but by the time it went into production at a specially built plant in Detroit, Chrysler owned Jeep. Like the Cherokee, the slightly larger "ZJ" Grand Cherokee was built around a rugged unibody with solid axles on coil springs front and rear. But while the Cherokee was available only with four- and six-cylinder engines, the Grand Cherokee came with either a straight-6 or Chrysler's familiar 5.2-liter OHV V8 (Chrysler's 5.9-liter V8 was later offered). With its well-finished interior, long list of available options and the unchallengeable credibility that comes whenever the word "Grand" appears on a vehicle name, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was an instant hit.
Not wanting to screw with a vehicle that was selling extremely well, Jeep conservatively restyled the Jeep Grand Cherokee for 1999. The most significant refinement was the introduction of a new 4.7-liter OHC V8 for the now "WJ" Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The third "WK" Jeep Grand Cherokee appeared for 2005, offering Chrysler's new 5.7-liter Hemi V8 as an option above the carryover 4.7-liter V8. It was also offered with the 6.1-liter Hemi to create the meanest Jeep Grand Cherokee of them all, the SRT8.
