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Thursday, January 24, 2013
What It Is: An artist’s rendering of what the Jeep Liberty replacement could look like. We say “Liberty replacement” because there’s a chance Jeep could bring back the Cherokee moniker for its smaller SUV. The Cherokee name was used on the outgoing Liberty in Europe and other markets, and many U.S. buyers fondly remember the ravishingly rectilinear 1984–2001 XJ Cherokee, so the change isn’t as radical as it sounds.
Platform: Critically, the new Liberty is switching from a rear-drive-based, reinforced-unibody platform to a new, Alfa Romeo–derived front-drive-based unibody that adheres more with small crossover dogma. (Hence why the myriad spy photos of the next Liberty all show cobbled-together test mules wearing hacked-up Alfa Romeo Giulietta bodywork.) The architecture is the same Compact U.S. Wide fare that underpins the new Dodge Dart, but the Jeep will offer all-wheel drive and even a harder-core Trail Rated version. As depicted by our rendering, the next Liberty is expected to ditch its squared-off styling for a smoother, more aerodynamic body. (So forget a boxy Cherokee redux.) Jeep-specific cues like a seven-slat grille and butch lower-body detailing should help set the new Liberty apart stylistically.
Thanks to: Car and Driver
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