Ouch. If you’re a fan (or an owner) of the new Jeep Cherokee, you might want to sit down before you read the rest of this post. Cars.com bought a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited to review for a year and let’s just say that things didn’t go well.
As I did when I had a 2014 Latitude 4X4 for a week, it experienced problems with the Cherokee’s nine-speed automatic, calling the unit “balky” and its behavior “odd.” I found it nervous and uncooperative.
Oh yeah…and Cars.com had to have its tester’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine replaced after just 13,300 miles because it was bleeding oil into its intake. I definitely didn’t have that kind of trouble with the Cherokee I reviewed. I found its 184 horsepower and 171 lb.-ft. adequate, but the Tigershark was loud and sounded coarse and unrefined.
Cars.com eventually put a total of 18,409 miles on its Cherokee – and its editorial team on the spot. Would any of its members buy another one?
No. Seven times no. Although the site’s editors appreciated some of the SUV’s features and characteristics, such as its comfortable and stylish interior, comfortable ride quality, and easy-to-use Uconnect system, they consistently pointed to the Cherokee’s problematic gearbox and engine.
Something as odd as what happened to Cars.com’s engine is a rare thing, but I can’t necessarily blame its staff for being reluctant to want to purchase another specimen of a vehicle that suffered such a fundamental failure.
What do you all think, though? Is Cars.com being unfair or is its decision justified?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
