out and easy to deal with, though the instrument panel seems to be running

out of space to put the various switches and controls for all the power

options it packs. The typical Jeep white-on-black instruments, with color

accents, are easy to scan and very good at night.

The leather seats are very comfortable for long rides, and have a wide

range of power adjustments, with a two-driver memory feature for the seats,

radio stations and mirrors. The clear instrument covers and some of the

plastic elements used inside are a bit too shiny for our tastes, shiny

equating with, less than grand, appearance in this context.

If the Grand Cherokee has a handicap it is lack of interior space for

people and cargo compared to most of its direct competition. While the

interior is nicely done, the Grand Cherokee is built on a narrow Jeep unitbody

platform and that narrowness dictates and governs how much space there

is for shoulders, hips, heads and legs, and, behind the second seat, how

much cubic capacity awaits the family-size cargo loads.

The other compact sport-utilities that have come into the market after

the Grand Cherokee have pretty much exploited this weakness with larger

interior layouts and more useable cubic capacity in the cargo area.

Having said that, the Grand Cherokee, which is done up in soft cushy

leather and simulated woodgrain, offers quite a pleasant environment for

four people and their collective stuff, or two adults and three kids. We

wouldn't stretch it to five adults, at least not for any long rides. The

interior simply isn't roomy enough for five real people.

But the ride is quiet and comfortable, more comfortable than any other

Jeep, as well as most of its competitors. There's extra sound insulation

built in to keep noise down, and the materials used on the Limited version

are very posh indeed.