With the introduction of the 2006 Commander, the company finally fills at least one gaping hole in its lineup. Essentially a Grand Cherokee that's been stretched by just two inches, the Commander is the company's first-ever seven-passenger SUV. Rather than just add a third-row seat to the Grand Cherokee, however, Jeep is creating an entirely new vehicle to accommodate the two extra riders.
Oddly enough, the newest model in the line has been crafted to look like it's the oldest. With its sharp-edged lines, an upright windshield, bold front grille and overall boxiness, the Commander was designed to pay homage to classic Jeeps. In truth, it looks a lot like the long-running Cherokee, which was only recently supplanted by the current Liberty. The Commander has a stepped roofline, which increases headroom.
Four adults can ride in comfort, five in a pinch, with easy ingress and egress. Only smaller children will want to ride (or be able to climb easily back into) the Commander's third-row seat.
Inside, the Commander sports a two-tone instrument panel that features large, round gauges and unique steering-wheel and shifter-knob designs. Both the second- and third-row seats can fold forward to form a flat surface. The top Limited model includes a conventional sunroof and twin skylights over the second row of seats, replete with sunshades.
An important safety feature unique to the Commander is its electronic roll mitigation, which uses multiple sensors to selectively deploy optional side-curtain airbags in both single-vehicle rollover collisions and side-impact crashes.
Other significant safety features include standard Electronic Stability Program, traction control and antilock brakes, all of which work in tandem to maintain traction in varying conditions. No less than three full-time four-wheel-drive systems are offered in addition to rear-wheel drive.
The Commander is mechanically similar to the Grand Cherokee. The base model comes standard with a tepid 210-horsepower, 3.7-liter V6. A larger 4.8-liter V8 that generates a passable 235 hp is optional on the base model and standard on the Limited version. A potent 5.7-liter Hemi V8 with 330 hp is optional only on four-wheel-drive Limited models. It has "displacement on demand," which deactivates half of the cylinders in less demanding driving situations to help boost fuel economy. |
