Top new features in Jeep’s biggest, most expensive SUV, the 2023 Grand Wagoneer L
BOZEMAN, Montana — The biggest and most expensive vehicles in Jeep’s history, the 2023 Grand Wagoneer L and Wagoneer L SUVs, are quiet and powerful while retaining the brand’s signature ultra-capable four-wheel drive systems.
A foot longer than the Grand Wagoneer/Wagoneer pair that debuted last year, the L's also introduce a smooth and quiet twin-turbo inline-six engine that produces more power than Stellantis’ legendary — not to mention bigger and thirstier — Hemi V8s.
Built in Warren, Michigan, the 2023 Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L should go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The SUVs are new from the B-pillar back and under the hood. Like the regular-wheelbase models, they seat seven or eight passengers.
The new SUVs’ outstanding characteristics include:
Cargo room
Quiet interiors
"Hurricane" 3.0L straight-six engines
10,000-pound towing capacity
Cargo space
The Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L’s wheelbase — the distance between the hubs of the front and rear wheels — grew seven inches to 130. Overall length increases 12 inches to 226.7 — 0.2 inch shorter than a Cadillac Escalade ESV, 4.8 longer than a Lincoln Navigator L.
Jeep says about a third of owners of the biggest SUVs want XL cargo compartments behind three rows of adult-sized seats. The L's are for them.
Cargo space behind the third row is 44.2 cubic feet in the Grand Wagoneer L, 42.1 in the Wagoneer L, more than the long-wheelbase Lincoln or Caddy offer. Passenger space for the two L's also tops the competing three-row luxe SUVs.
The longer wheelbase also allows the rear doors to grow slightly larger, creating a wider opening for passengers stepping into the third row. Moving the rear wheels back 7 inches also creates space for drink and map pockets in the rear seat walls.
Jeep Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L models and prices:
Wagoneer L: $65,495
Wagoneer L Series II: $71,080
Wagoneer L Carbide: $74,775
Wagoneer L Series III: $77,200
Grand Wagoneer L: $91,495
Grand Wagoneer L Series II: $98,090
Grand Wagoneer L Obsidian: $103,585
Grand Wagoneer L Series III: $110,995
Grand Wagoneer L Series III Obsidian: $111,990
Rear-drive models of Wagoneer $3,000 less.
Prices exclude $2,000 destination charge
Source: Jeep
More powerful and efficient engines, ready for hybridization
The Hurricane 3.0L straight-six engine was developed to eventually replace Chrysler Group’s, or more properly Stellantis' — the company formed when Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot Citroen merged in 2021 — legendary V8.
Engineered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, the birthplace of the Hemi and Stellantis’ turbocharged global 2.0L four-cylinder engine, the Hurricane takes its name from a family of rugged engines Willys developed in the 1950s to power the Jeep CJ-3, 5 and 6 — ancestors of today’s Wrangler.
Also called a straight-six, the engine design has all six cylinders in a line, unlike the V6’s two banks of three cylinders at an angle to each other. Straight-sixes predated the V6. They were largely replaced because the more V-shaped engines could share parts with hot-selling V8s and fit better in small engine compartments than the longer I-engines.
However, inline engines remained popular with luxury brands including BMW and Mercedes because their design eliminates vibrations drivers may notice and find unpleasant.
Stellantis predicts the twin-turbo Hurricane engines will use 15% less fuel than a comparably powerful Hemi V8, a big deal as emissions and fuel economy standards become more demanding.
The engines were designed to accommodate hybridization. Expect to see them in much more efficient Jeeps, possibly including the upcoming Grand Wagoneer plug-in hybrid. Ram pickups are also likely to get Hurricane power, and possibly some future Dodge vehicles.
Behind the wheel
The Wagoneer’s Hurricane produces 420 hp and 468 pound-feet of torque. The Grand Wagoneer’s engine is the same size — 3.0L — but develops a whopping 510 hp and 500 pound-feet thanks to higher boost pressure.
Compare those figures to Hemi V8s: The 5.7L produces 392 hp and 404 pound-feet in a 2023 Grand Wagoneer; a 6.4L Hemi generates 471 hp and 455 pound-feet.
In addition, the Hurricane-powered Grand Wagoneer L’s EPA highway fuel economy rating is 1 mpg higher than a smaller, 6.4L Hemi-powered Grand Wagoneer.
What’s that mean? Annual fuel savings of $300 driving the bigger, more powerful vehicle, according to EPA estimates.
The Hurricane engines delivered power quickly and smoothly as I drove from the neighborhoods of Bozeman over interstate highway, rolling countryside and winding ranch roads into the surrounding mountains. Quick maneuvers, highway passes and high-speed runs all inspired confidence.
Towing capacity ranges from 10,000 pounds for the lightest vehicle, a rear-drive Wagoneer L, to 9,450 pounds on a top-of-the-line Grand Wagoneer L.
More: Did Stellantis just reveal the Hemi’s replacement?
Hushed interior, good ride and handling
The SUVs also are amazingly quiet.
There’s more acoustic insulation on the engine itself, the high-pressure fuel system, the dash pad behind the engine and passenger compartment.
The net result is a five decibel reduction in interior noise at highway. That’s a lot. Decibels are a logarithmic scale, which means the increase in volume from 1 to 2 (the dBs, if you’re a fan on ‘90s indie rock) is more than 1+1=2. It’s hard to explain verbally, but the difference becomes remarkably clear in a vehicle doing 60 mph over an uneven country road: Conversations are effortless, music is clear and enjoyable.
The components of the optional air suspension and McIntosh audio systems are unchanged from the regular wheelbase models, but they, steering and other key systems were retuned for the bigger, heavier L's. Engineers credit good up-front development for creating basic setups easily adaptable to the larger vehicles.
2023 Jeep Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L at a glance
Base price: $65,495 (all prices exclude $2,000 destination charge)
Rear- or four-wheel drive luxury 7- or 8-passenger SUVs
On sale fourth quarter 2022
Specifications as tested:
Model tested: Grand Wagoneer L Series III 4x4
Price as tested: $115,930
Engine: 3.0L bi-turbo I-6 gasoline engine
Output: 510 hp @ 5,700 rpm; 500 pound-feet of torque @ 3,500 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
EPA fuel economy estimate: 14 mpg city/19 highway/16 combined. Premium gasoline.
EPA estimated annual fuel cost: $4,300
Wheelbase: 130 inches
Length: 226.7 inches
Width: 83.6 inches (94 including mirrors)
Height: 79.6 inches
Passenger volume: 172.8 cubic feet
Cargo volume: 44.2 cubic feet behind rear seat; 88.8 behind second row
Ground clearance: 8.3 inches; 10 with air suspension at maximum height
Curb weight: 6,704 pounds
Payload: 1,330 pounds
Towing capacity: 9,450 pounds
Assembled in Warren, Michigan
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Owners will love these new features on Jeep’s biggest SUV
