Spotted: a mysterious Jeep Cherokee
The spotted specimen
In The Hague, just about on the border with Scheveningen, we saw this 2000 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 Green Wood. At least, that’s the version listed on the back. We can’t find anything about a version called Green Wood. We do know of the existence of the Cherokee Briarwood, the successor to the Wagoneer (XJ). However, the Briarwood was only delivered in 1991 and 1992, making it even well before the facelift we see here. The one spotted seems to be a self-designed version after all. That wood patterned vinyl was (and is) for sale as an accessory set. If you put that on nicely with some professionally recreated badges added, it quickly looks convincing. But whoever knows more about a possible official Green Wood version may tell us.
The Jeep Cherokee XJ
In 1983, for model year 1984, Jeep introduced an all-new Cherokee, referred to internally as the XJ. It was the first all-new Jeep since the introduction of the Wagoneer (SJ) in 1963. Despite the same type name, the new Cherokee was a very different kind of car from the pre-existing Cherokee based on the SJ model. First of all, it was much more compact. It was almost 80 cm shorter, about 15 cm narrower and 10 cm lower. In addition, it had a self-supporting body – a first for an American off-road model. That allowed for a compact build, so the Cherokee XJ offered about 90 percent of the interior volume of the Cherokee SJ despite its smaller dimensions.
For completeness, the more luxurious Wagoneer SJ remained in production, alongside the Cherokee XJ. The Wagoneer SJ also, but was renamed Grand Wagoneer. In fact, the most luxurious versions of the XJ were also called Wagoneer. We will leave the Wagoneer XJ models aside for now.
Jeep Cherokee creates new market segment
In terms of market positioning, the Cherokee XJ also brought innovation. It was one of the first off-road models that offered a serious alternative to a conventional car with its practical features and ride comfort. GM had started that segment just a little earlier with the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer and GMC S-15 Jimmy, but offered them only in three-door versions. Jeep offered a three-door variant as well as an extra practical five-door. This made the Cherokee XJ the first to make the market segment truly successful. It soon led to a five-door variant of the GM models – and to the arrival of more competitors – but Jeep remained the benchmark in the segment for a long time. Incidentally, the three- and five-door versions of the Jeep were the same length, although you wouldn’t say so at first glance.
Engines Jeep Cherokee
At introduction, the Cherokee XJ came with a 2.5-liter four-in-line (78 kW (106 hp)) and a 2.8-liter V6 (82 kW (112 hp)). The four-cylinder gasoline engine came from in-house AMC, but the V6 remarkably came from competitor GM. Four-wheel drive was standard. Shifting was manual with four or five gears or a three-speed automatic depending on engine choice.
Many updates
The following years saw a number of updates. These included a more economical rear-wheel-drive-only version and a pickup variant, which was positioned as Jeep Comanche as a separate model. On the technical front, the three-speed automatic was replaced with a four-speed, a four-cylinder diesel was added, and GM’s V6 was replaced with a six-in-line from the company’s own factory. Finally, little by little, the engines became more powerful.
Great innovation
Shortly after the Cherokee XJ, parent company AMC introduced something else innovative: the concept of the product life cycle. Soon after the debut of the Cherokee XJ, work began on the development of its successor, which already included the use of CAD software. The product life cycle soon proved to be a successful approach. When Chrysler acquired AMC in 1985, the method was immediately rolled out across the entire group. Back to the Cherokee: its successor was planned for model year 1993. However, the new model was a step larger and the compact XJ was still selling very well. Therefore, it was decided to keep the XJ in production and position the new model above it as a new model line. That became the first-generation Grand Cherokee.
Facelift for the Jeep Cherokee
(Only) for model year 1997, the Jeep Cherokee XJ underwent a real facelift. The car was significantly modernized. The exterior received a more modern look with an all-new front end and new taillights. The interior was revised with a completely new dashboard that better accommodated equipment with two airbags. Modifications to the frame, among others, reduced driving noise and vibration, especially at higher speeds. The engine range was reduced to a 2.4-liter four-in-line gasoline engine with 92 kW (125 hp), a 4.0-liter six-in-line gasoline engine with 140 kW (190 hp) and a 2.5-liter four-in-line turbodiesel with 84 kW (114 hp).
Thanks in part to the arrival of a new executive, the “old” Cherokee was done for in 2001. That year, the car was replaced for the 2002 model year by the Liberty, a model that continued to be called simply Cherokee in most markets outside the US – including ours. Yet it wasn’t quite over, because through Chinese joint ventures, the Cherokee XJ remained in production in slightly modernized form until 2014.