This is the full story of the Jeep Cherokee — the surprisingly French, world's-first 5-door, unit-body compact SUV. — responsible for cementing the recipe for today's most popular body style.
Meant to replace the full-size "SJ" Jeep Wagoneer (later known as the Grand Wagoneer,) the XJ (for "Experimental Jeep") did something no other "four-wheel-drive" had: prioritized efficiency, ergonomics, and on-road driving dynamics.
It was 21 inches shorter, 6 inches narrower, and 1000 lb lighter than the SJ, but had 90% as much interior volume. With an innovative new 2.5-liter four-cylinder, it was vastly quicker and more efficient, too.
At the time of its late development, American Motors Corporation (AMC) was owned by the French company Renault, which certainly had an influence in the soft ride and adept handling. And also the styling — done in America, and certainly influenced by both the Land Rover Range Rover (Classic), which in turn had been influenced by the SJ Wagoneer. (To say nothing of the Mercedes G-Wagen, which also looked similar.)
The incredibly award-winning XJ did it all, including straight-line speed, when it inherited Jeep's new 4.0-liter iron-block straight-six. Its 190 hp was the most in all SUV-land, and was enough to easily out-drag the then-new 2.0-liter, 16-valve, top-spec Volkswagen GTI 16V.
The XJ was a massive commercial success across the globe. Both for Jeep, but also for the rest of the industry, which took the recipe and ran with it. Today, half of all cars produced around the world are SUVs — a formula that started here.
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