YOU might expect me to object to the 2 1/2 -ton Jeep Commander Limited 4x4 on the grounds of its in-the-teens fuel economy. You would be wrong. I wouldn't drive this thing if gas were free and I got 72 virgins with every fill-up.
As we say in the South: Dang, she's ugly.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday November 15, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 56 words Type of Material: Correction
Jeep review -- A review of the Jeep Commander in the Nov. 9 Highway 1 section incorrectly stated that a 1999 Jeep Cherokee has a V6 engine. In fact, it has an inline 6-cylinder engine. A box accompanying the review listed an incorrect figure for the Commander's engine torque. It is 375 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday November 16, 2005 Home Edition Highway 1 Part G Page 2 Features Desk 1 inches; 56 words Type of Material: Correction
Jeep review -- A review of the Jeep Commander in the Nov. 9 Highway 1 section incorrectly stated that a 1999 Jeep Cherokee has a V-6 engine. In fact, it has an inline 6-cylinder engine. A box accompanying the review listed an incorrect figure for the Commander's engine torque. It is 375 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm.
Let us grant for the purposes of amusing argument that Jeep's traditional styling -- the classic rectilinear shapes and volumes, the utilitarianism of the old Jeep Cherokee un-neutered by aerodynamic design -- is worth preserving. I'm sympathetic, since a 1999 Jeep Cherokee V6 was part of my wife's dowry and we've had nothing but good luck with it. But the Commander makes such a hash of those design cues, I wonder if it isn't the result of industrial sabotage.
Let's start at the front. You have the traditional Jeep seven-port vertical grille flanked with headlight assemblies, fine. Then you have this enormous plastic-covered bumper jutting out like a lower lip, making the vehicle resemble the Churchillian malocclusional bulldog. Grrr. And, as much as I appreciate the steep upward rake of the bumper -- that gives the Commander a respectable 34-degree approach angle for off-roading -- the tow hooks sticking through the lower bumper seem like something Jeep designers forgot until the last minute.
The Commander -- hate the name, by the way, but then I've always had authority issues -- is full of weird proportions and curious details. See how snouty it looks? That's because of the relationship between the upright windshield angle and the front wheel center; typically, in an SUV, you want the line of the windshield, if continued, to intersect at or in front of the wheel center, as it does in the Ford Explorer or Land Rover LR3 or even Jeep's own Grand Cherokee, which is as handsome as the Commander is homely. The low, flat hood looks like something fell on it.
Note that the front doors are very long, while the rear doors are short, almost vestigial (with a predictable impact on ease of entry). The other strange dimension is the cabin greenhouse, which is squeezed between the relatively low roof and high door line. At first glance, you might think the windows are large enough -- they certainly are square enough -- but once you get into the vehicle, you realize that outward visibility is just awful. When both second- and third-row seats have their headrests in place, you simply can't see out the back or rear quarters. In this respect, the Commander isn't much different than the Hummer H3 in that both trade degrees of outward visibility for expressive styling. (Don't get me wrong: I'm all for expressive styling, but manufacturers have to make ultrasonic parking assist and/or reverse-angle video cameras standard equipment on such boats lest they court the granddaddy of all product-liability lawsuits.)
