JEEP’S BIGGEST SUV IS ABOUT TO GET EVEN BIGGER

Imagine owning a Jeep featuring a total body length longer than a full-size pick-up truck. That’s what is coming down the pipeline from Jeep with their long wheelbase Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer luxury utility vehicles, which are expected to debut later this year.

Per an Automotive News article, Jeep is getting ready to unleash longer variants of their top-tier Jeep SUVs that should grant them some considerable fight in the premium SUV category. The new Jeep Wagoneer L will be positioned against the likes of the GMC Yukon XL and Ford Expedition Max, while the Grand Wagoneer targets the GMC Yukon XL Denali, Cadillac Escalade ESV and the Lincoln Navigator L. A camouflage prototype of the Wagoneer or Grand Wagoneer was spotted cruising around downtown Detroit earlier this month. The prototype seems significantly longer than the current models which sit at just under 18-feet in total length. To put that in perspective, a Ford F-150, with a 6.5-foot bed, sits at 17.5 feet in total vehicle length. The F-150 with a regular cab and an 8-foot bed makes the truck 19-feet.

Since the debut of the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer family, a long wheelbase version was expected. A Hellcat version has even been speculated.

Per the report, Chairman of the Stellantis National Dealer Council, Dave Kelleher, believes the price point for the new variation of Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will be somewhere between 10-15 percent higher than that of the current standard body model which currently runs $112,000 fully loaded for the Grand Wagoneer Series III Obsidian. A 15-percent increase would push the selling price of the long wheelbase iterations up by $16,800 making an estimated selling price set at $128,800. It doesn’t take an accountant to realize that these vehicles are not going to be cheap.

One might ask if the company is able to sell their SUVs with such high price points, the answer is yes. Last year the company sold 5,307 Wagoneers and 2,585 Grand Wagoneers. Khelleher told Automotive News that he was optimistic that the long wheelbase Jeeps would arrive later this year.