Rare Rides Icons: The Jeep Wagoneer, The First Luxury SUV Ever (Part XV)
After the unsuccessful relaunch of the Grand Wagoneer nameplate on the ZJ platform in 1993, the storied model name was put on ice. The years rolled by as SUVs of all sizes continued to gain popularity and morph into the adjacent Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV). This was great news for Jeep, which saw its sales increase throughout subsequent two decades. During that time the Grand Wagoneer name was not entirely forgotten: Various projects aimed at resurrecting a Grand Wagoneer came and went but never moved past the ideation stage. But that was about to change.
The 2000s were not a great time for Chrysler, in general, and saw the company fall to Daimler ownership, and subsequently was purchased by Cerberus Capital Management. The Great Recession of 2008 was the final nail in the coffin. Chrysler declared bankruptcy in 2009.
Cerberus was a step ahead, and separated Chrysler Financial into a separate entity prior to the bankruptcy. The firm purchased the entirety of Chrysler in 2007 for $7.4 billion ($12.175B adj.) and sold Chrysler Financial in 2010 for $6.3 billion ($9.682B adj.). After its bankruptcy, Chrysler formed a strategic partnership with Fiat and merged into the Fiat-Chrysler group in 2014.
Fiat’s chairman Sergio Marchionne (1952-2018) was very interested in Jeep, like Lee Iacocca before him. In January 2011 even before Fiat and Chrysler joined in marriage, he announced Jeep would resurrect the Grand Wagoneer name. At that time, it was announced the model would return on the same platform as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. However, the path to the eventual Grand Wagoneer was a winding and oft-delayed one.
In September 2013, FCA announced the Grand Wagoneer project was delayed and rescoped. The stated reason for the delay was to allow the new third-generation Durango to find its customer base, and the rescoping planned to push the Grand Wagoneer further upmarket. This new model was to compete with the Escalade and Navigator, and Chrysler announced it would enter production in 2015.
FCA promised a new Grand Wagoneer would debut at the company’s dealer convention in August 2015. But in a Tesla-like move, when August arrived FCA moved the timeline yet again. The Grand Wagoneer was delayed to 2018 and would be built at Warren Truck Assembly. That was a good indicator it would no longer be atop the Grand Cherokee platform, but FCA didn’t say that at the time.
In October 2016, two images were leaked from a dealer meeting showing the Grand Wagoneer’s general styling (largely scrubbed from the internet since). Journalists were content to believe the Grand Cherokee was still the basis, even though it would be built at Warren Truck Assembly. That meeting indicated the Grand Wagoneer would launch in 2019.
The Grand Wagoneer next resurfaced in December 2019, when it was spied in heavy camouflage riding on a Ram 1500 body-on-frame chassis. There was a chance the Wagoneer would have entered production in 2020, but COVID pushed back all timelines. The first official announcement of the Grand Wagoneer’s return (with photos) was on Sept. 3, 2020.
Billed as a “concept” but presented in production-ready format, the new Grand Wagoneer was big and brash, and once again on a truck platform like its predecessor. However, the new SUV was still a ways off. It did not begin production until 2021 and arrived for model year 2022.
A detail perhaps missed by many was the arrival of two new models in 2022, in multiple trims and two different length configurations. In a lineup not seen since the '80s, the Wagoneer returned alongside the more upscale Grand Wagoneer. Primarily differentiated by their grille and badging, large block WAGONEER or GRAND WAGONEER lettering was worn on the front doors and tailgate.
Grand Wagoneer models also received more chrome trim and a slightly more intricate grille texture. Grand Wagoneers wore nicer wheels with lower profile tires than Wagoneer. Crucially (though an often-requested option), exterior wood tone was not available from the factory for either Wagoneer model.
Standard length versions of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer rode on a 123-inch wheelbase, with an overall length of 214.7 inches. Spanning an 83.6-inch width, it was about three inches larger in all directions than a contemporary Chevrolet Tahoe. Overall height was 75.6 inches, or a tenth of an inch shorter than Tahoe.
The “L” long wheelbase models used a longer 130-inch wheelbase and had an overall length of 226.7 inches. Though its wheelbase was four inches shorter than the Suburban, it managed a longer overall length. That resulted in notable overhangs at the rear. And while standard models were already hefty at between 5,960 and 6,420 pounds, L versions when fully equipped could weigh as much as 6,700 pounds. A full 700-plus pounds over a fully loaded Suburban.
Basic Wagoneers used rear-drive as standard, with four-wheel drive optional. Grand Wagoneer had four-wheel drive as standard and could be optioned with Quadra-Trac full-time four-wheel drive. All models were initially offered with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 as standard, but optional on the Grand Wagoneer was the 6.4-liter Hemi V8. These engines were available on 2022 to 2024 models.
From 2022 through 2024 there was an additional mild hybrid option, where the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 was paired to a 16-horsepower electric engine from Magneti Marelli. From 2025 onward, all models used the new Chrysler Hurricane twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six.
It was the first time the Chrysler group produced a full-size SUV since the discontinuation of the original Grand Wagoneer. One could argue until out of breath about the money left on the table via the lack of a Ram 1500 based full-sizer from 1994 onward, but we’ll save that for another day. In our next installment we’ll take a look at the exterior styling of the new 2022 Wagoneers.
[Images: FCA, Bring-A-Trailer]
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Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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1-had no idea its almost the same size as tahoe- suburban. looks much bigger.
2-rear 3/4 view looks "off." No backlite visor & goofy side window?
3-no idea how they stack up against tahoeclass and expedition.
I hope they do well. Competition improves the breed.
That is, bar none, the most gracious description of Cerberus' reign of error and terror bringing Chrysler to the absolute brink of existence. I would think the Hounds of Hell owe you a hefty honorarium for such light and deft handling to their benefit.
There was absolutely nothing wrong (in the context of the American market of massively huge vehicles) with the idea of a Ram 1500-based Wagoneer.
But, boy, did Stellantis lay an egg with the styling, both inside and out. It should have communicated old-money restraint, like the GMT900 Tahoe or even the 200 series Land Cruiser. Instead, it said "I'm here, huge, and just as tacky as the worst McMansion in McMansion Hell."
It's a really good example of bad taste wrecking a brand's image.
Incidentally, speaking of vehicles that whisper money instead of shouting it: have you seen 200 Series Land Cruiser values lately? Low-mileage ones are selling for their new price, or more. It's insane. People have figured out the secret.
Bankable concept, decent execution, too late to market, dorky styling and WAY too expensive.
I see what Jeep was going for - "American Range Rover" - but those buyers are not going to want to rub elbows with the Ram brodozer / 350-FICO-trying-to-get-bought-on-a-Scat-Challenger-and-end-up-in-a Dodge Journey set at the FCA store.