Jeep slashes Cherokee pricing

JEEP has quietly slashed pricing on its ageing Cherokee range in Australia by between $4000 and $6000, with the medium SUV line-up now starting from an eye-widening $28,000 plus on-road costs according to industry pricing guide Black Book.

This new entry price – $4000, or 12.5 per cent, lower than before – applies to the base, rear-wheel-drive Sport variant powered exclusively by a 151kW/314Nm 3.7-litre petrol V6 matched to a four-speed automatic transmission.

The new starting price will make the Cherokee cheaper than a host of smaller, front-drive compact SUV models including the Toyota RAV4 (from $28,990), Nissan X-Trail (from $28,490) and Mitsubishi Outlander (from $29,340), all of which also feature manual gearboxes.

The higher-specified Limited rear-drive variant, powered by the same 3.7-litre V6, gets an even larger $5000 price cut, and now kicks off from $31,000, representing a 13.9 per cent reduction.

All-wheel-drive versions of the Cherokee, meanwhile, get price cuts of at least $5000, with the entry-level, petrol-powered Sport variant priced at just $30,000, 14.3 per cent lower than the previous $35,000.

The maximum $6000 price chop applies to both the AWD Limited petrol, scaled back to $33,000, and the sole diesel-powered variant, the 2.8-litre Limited CRD, which now costs $37,000.

The pricing changes come more than a month after Jeep Australia commenced a driveaway campaign on the Cherokee range, with all variants available on the road for an extra $2000 over the new list prices.

This means the entry Sport 4x2 now costs just $30,000 on the road, while the entry 4x2 costs $32,000 driveaway, and so on.

Jeep’s driveaway campaign saw Cherokee sales more than double in July, lifting 113.4 per cent to 175 units.

Despite this, the Cherokee – launched here in February 2008 – remains the worst performer in what has been a bumper year for the Jeep brand in Australia, with sales down 13.2 per cent to the end of July, while the overall Jeep portfolio is up some 127.8 per cent.

The star of the show has been the new Grand Cherokee, sales of which are up an amazing 302.9 per cent year-on-year, with 4255 units sold. This could grow even further with the imminent addition of the flagship SRT8 V8-powered variant, with 250 firm orders already locked away.

Chrysler Group Australia director of corporate affairs Lenore Fletcher – whose brief takes in the Jeep brand – told GoAuto today that the company will also introduce limited-edition ‘Jet’ versions of both the Cherokee and larger Grand Cherokee.

The Jet package will include black headlight surrounds, black alloy wheels and – you guessed it – black cabin detailing. The Cherokee Jet is priced from $34,000, while the Grand Cherokee Jet is listed at $46,500, slotting it between the base Laredo and mid-range Limited.

Ms Fletcher advised GoAuto that the Cherokee range was otherwise unchanged, with specification levels remaining as they were before.

Standard features on all variants include automatic air-conditioning, leather-wrapped steering wheel, keyless entry, one-touch power windows and heated side mirrors, while flagship versions come with sunroof, leather seats and satellite navigation.