People just can’t seem to get enough of beefed-up crossovers and SUVs. Sure, all-terrain tires won’t ride as nicely or get the same fuel economy as highway tires, but chunky meats and a little extra clearance look cool. Making a return to this sub-segment, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk is back, and it comes with some interesting trade-offs over the old one.
If you’re thinking, “Hang on, wasn’t there a Grand Cherokee Trailhawk last year?” you’d be right. Immediately distinguishable thanks to its bright blue towing hooks and chunky sidewalls, the plug-in hybrid 4xe Trailhawk held a lot of promise. Off-road capability and 26 miles of range for running errands around town on silent electric power. Early reviews were pretty good, with road testers lauding the ride quality and level of equipment. There was just one problem, though, and it took some time to emerge.
In September 2024, a recall was issued covering plug-in hybrid Grand Cherokees produced through Nov. 16, 2023. The problem? Bad batteries, and not the benign kind either. The separator material that prevents the electrodes from shorting had been reportedly damaged in some cells, resulting in multiple reports of fires. Thermal runaway isn’t fun. Just over 13 months later, another recall landed, this time covering some 36,840 more Grand Cherokee 4xe models built between July 19, 2023 and March 3, 2025 for the exact same problem. If that wasn’t enough, another recall was issued for engine failure on 36,840 Grand Cherokee 4xes built between July 19, 2023 and Aug. 3, 2025. Around the same time, Jeep announced the discontinuation of its 4xe plug-in hybrids, and thus, the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. There’s no proof those events are related, but man, talk about timing.
Photo credit: Jeep
As such, the new Grand Cherokee Trailhawk skips high-voltage electrification and adopts the two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine found in other new Grand Cherokees. Pumping out 324 horsepower and 332 lb.-ft. of torque, it enters the game with a huge output deficit over the old electrified Trailhawk. We’re talking a deficit of 51 horsepower and 138 lb.-ft. of torque. Mind you, it does still have a licence-built eight-speed automatic gearbox, so it should still get out of its own way. The real party piece lies downstream anyway.
Photo credit: Jeep
On the subject of off-road hardware, the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk diverges from most of its two-row unibody SUV competition thanks to the addition of a two-speed transfer case with proper low range. It lets drivers select a much shorter output ratio, multiplying torque substantially across all gears for rock crawling, steep hills, and other tricky scenarios where gearing specified to work nicely on the highway might come up short. Of course, a four-wheel-drive system is usually only as good as its differentials, so the rear axle gets a limited-slip unit. Oh, and since limited-slip differentials only effectively distribute torque if a tire can put it down, a set of 30.5-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory All-Terrains comes standard.
Photo credit: Jeep
So then, what about angles and clearance? The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk does come standard with air suspension that can jack this SUV all the way up to 11.4 inches of ground clearance. In its highest setting, Jeep says that’s good for 36 degrees of approach angle, 24.4 degrees of breakover angle, and 30.3 degrees of departure angle. That’s a step down in capability from the 38, 28, and 40-degree respective figures of a Land Rover Defender 110 with air suspension, but it still blows many SUVs out of the water. A 4Runner simply can’t touch the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk’s approach angle, and falls slightly short in breakover and departure angles. Once you run out of breakover angle, you’ll probably be fairly thankful for the Trailhawk’s skid plate system. Six in total cover the engine, transmission, transfer case, fuel tank, and several suspension components.
Photo credit: Jeep
Beyond the high-clearance front bumper and tow hooks, the only other major functional new toy standard on the new Grand Cherokee Trailhawk is an upgraded camera system. The headline piece here is a forward-facing camera with tire trajectory overlays that can act as a second spotter, but the washer system for the backup camera will probably see more use in the real world.
Photo credit: Jeep
While Jeep hasn’t announced pricing for the new Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, we can take an educated guess based on standard levels of equipment. The presence of Nappa leather upholstery indicates that it’ll likely sit somewhere around the Limited Reserve trim, which retails for $53,910. Could be above, could be below. We’ll know a lot more later this year, when the ruggedized Grand Cherokee goes on sale. Either way, it should be cheaper than the old $67,980 4xe Trailhawk, and that’s a good thing.
Top graphic image: Jeep
