Ever thought about where just the name 'Jeep' comes from?

Nowadays, the name 'Jeep' can be as well-known through the world as Coke, but still greatly regarded as the maker of tough offroad vehicles of precisely the exact same name.

The link? I really learned to drive in any of those things, because it was the sole car my old man would enable us to drive, considering that it was almost indestructible. It was likewise cheap to purchase and cheap to operate. The sole difficulty was the rain, therefore we took loads of industrialgrade wetweather equipment within the back storage bins on the path to college. These were the times.

Whilst the Jeep Wrangler, especially the 'Rubicon' form, is the contemporary equivalent of the conflict-tough, go-everywhere, WW2 edition, the Jeep Cherokee Sport is really a midsize SUV with the advantages of room and baggage capacity but using a great dose of this offroad DNA that is so intrinsically 'Jeep'.

The styling is more masculine than more off-road capability that is implied by a brick-like stance, plus previous designs with heavyduty wheel arches.

It really is fascinating how the designers purchased the conspicuous front bumper assembly to reflect the appearance of the first metal bumper bar which was part of the traditional appearance of the WW2 Jeeps, just these were hardly what you'd describe as pedestrian-friendly, as is the present layout.

There's some sensible plastic cladding underneath the doorsills, including a door guard strip. Even though I discovered the peculiar pushbutton style more of a bother when compared to a mechanism, the oversize door handles seem unbreakable.

Inside, it is practical, together with the switchgear in each of the right spots, but the issue is there is lots of budgetlooking gray plastic within the cottage, and none of it is softtouch. The hard-plastic across the ignition barrel feels awkward and especially lowgrade.

That said everything works well enough and there aren't any rattles, even on the potholes that trash Sydney's suburban road system, which is as great a proving ground as any when examining how well an automobile is screwed together.

Substances aside, there's a feeling of robustness inside this cottage, that it might take some severe punishment from children.

You sit fairly tall within the Cherokee. Over-all vision is really great - the beltline is comparatively high, however there is plenty of depth within the windows. That makes it fairly simple to set the automobile in corners or when parking, though there isn't any rear camera option, and of course the rear parking sensors.

You will not need for storage within the Cherokee either; you will find all kinds of nooks and crannies for telephones, wallets, coins, in addition to among the largest center storage bins I have noticed in a passenger automobile.

When loading big boxes for example video and computer equipment the real load peak is higher-than most Sport utilities, which is great news to your back.

The back seats fold dead level, which means a useful as well as reasonably big cargo capacity of 1404 litres. Having said that, there is not a great deal of depth to the load area, with the seats up that capability is reduced to merely 419 litres.

The hardwearing fabric upholstery is amazingly tough and comfy (if child-proof) and also the not front seats are nicely bolstered and provide great support even if punting along through corners., as the Cherokee Sport misses out on leather trim.

While back legroom is good for people who are not giants, I discovered the driver's side footwell limited on space, and accentuated by the shortage of the foot rest. That's a little an issue on an extended drive, despite the rest stops every two hours.

Beneath the bonnet sits a pretty unsophisticated 3.7litre SOHC 12valve V6 petrol engine, which for the sizeable displacement, creates a quite typical 151kW and 314Nm of torque. On the street, it is a little better compared to the figures imply with loads of grunt on tap. You should have a hefty right foot for punchy acceleration, however it's there if you want it.

That is more a consequence of the insufficient fourspeed automatic, and also the less said about that the greater.

Regrettably it does not contain the most recent Chrysler Pentastar double overhead cam 24valve V6 powertrain, which we experienced in the recently published Jeep Grand Cherokee, though there is a minor upgrade with the 2011 model Cherokee.

From the dynamics standpoint, the Cherokee Sport is better-than I anticipated. Gone is the day of the somewhat boat-like suspension and handling the early Cherokees endured from, that is replaced by what's a chassis for enhanced handling when cornering. There is not a great deal of body roll, even if carrying a little pace through the bends which is really fairly nimble. The tradeoff is a ride that's less compliant than other vehicles within this section.

In case the wether gets poor, and there is lots of water traveling, or you also must reach a fire path, then a 4WD Vehicle mode will supply the right amount grip for all such obligations. You too can use this mode for fulltime driving. The sole time you'd have to engage 4WD Low is in case you're negotiating steep inclines (off road) or maybe towing a big boat-ladened trailer from the sandy bottom.

We did go into some sand and trail driving, where in fact the Jeep performed effortlessly with no need to engage low range, while we did not get the opportunity to set the Cherokee to the evaluation in the hardcore trails near Lithgow.

For additional security within the event of the serious accident, where air bags are deployed, the Enrich Accident Response System will change to the hazard and inside lights, unlocks doors and shuts off gas flow.

Extra Attributes for MY11 Jeep Cherokee: $39,000 Drive-away (for Sport version)

-- All engine versions now adhere to Euro 5 emissions rules
-- New Jeep brand company multifunction steering-wheel (Satin Silver spokes on Athletics,
- - White, Deep Cherry Red and Blackberry paint colors added
- - Stone White, Inferno Red and Deep-water Blue paint colors deleted
-- Diesel power output improved to 147 kW