Throwback Thursday: The 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Combined All the Luxury and Capability Jeep Had to Offer
Acres of leather, a V8 engine, and plenty of imitation wood trim. The 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer had it all.
It was 1993. Eric Clapton cleaned up at the Grammy Awards. Michael Jordan won his second NBA Championship with the Bulls. And legendary motoring show MotorWeek reviewed the brand new 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. As much as we love music and basketball, we are here to focus on this iconic and rare Jeep.
Which happened to be reviewed by an equally iconic motoring show. The ZJ generation Grand Wagoneer was built only in 1993 and less than 6,400 were ever produced. Far fewer than that remain on the road today. So, it is rare and has fake wood trim. What’s not to love?
This week’s “Throwback Thursday” is all about this 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The legendary John Davis reviewed this Jeep way back in the day. And the video was posted on the MotorWeek YouTube channel as part of their Retro Review series. It is fun to look back at what was being said about this Jeep nearly 30 years ago when it was first released. Such as what a great bargain the optional CD player was at only $146. So, grab your oversized flannel shirt, put on your Doc Martens, and take a trip back to 1993.
Grand Wagoneer Returns
The old SJ Grand Wagoneer exited the market after 1991 so the 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer was a welcomed return for Jeep fans of luxury. The ZJ Grand Wagoneer marked the first time in history that the Grand Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer shared a platform. This meant that the interior and exterior dimensions were identical. In fact, to the untrained eye, they could be mistaken for the same model. But the Grand Wagoneer stood out with a couple special features. The most obvious is that imitation wood trim along the sides. The aluminum wheels were also different and the 5.2L V8 engine was standard under the hood of the Grand Wagoneer, but optional in the Grand Cherokee.
Performance
Remember this was 1993 and a standard Corvette only made 300 horsepower and took about 5.5 seconds to hit 60 mph. So, the fact that MotorWeek got the Jeep Grand Wagoneer to 60 mph in 8.9 seconds is respectable. Especially considering the Jeep weighs about 3,900 pounds and the engine was mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission. Of course, no one was buying these to win drag races. It was off the road where these excelled with their Quadra-Trac four-wheel drive system.
Inside
This might be the most entertaining portion of the video. Partly because of the oh so 90’s outfit the tester is wearing. But also because of the features that were called out as a big deal. At one point Davis says: “There’s also the most comprehensive set of analog gauges in Jeep history.” There are a whopping six gauges. Automatic climate control was standard, and of course so were the puffy leather seats to keep you comfy.
Wagoneer or Cherokee?
The Grand Wagoneer price started at $29,341 dollars. The Cherokee was massively less expensive and under cut the Wagoneer by about $8,000. Even with the optional V8 the GC would be a lot less expensive. So, is the leather, wood trim, and fancy wheels enough to pry the money from your 1993 wallet? Well, it was enough for MotorWeek to add one to their long-term test fleet. Checkout the video below as a reminder of this rare old Jeep and what car reviews looked like before YouTube.