Orlando Sentinel's view

With the market now flooded with sport-utility vehicles – and more on the way – it wouldn’t be surprising if there is a big shakeout. And if there is one, it also wouldn’t be surprising if one of the big losers is the Jeep Cherokee, the one sport-utility vehicle that started it all.

In 1984, the Cherokee was the first four-door compact sport-utility vehicle on the market. It helped trigger a massive sales boom and swing away from cars to rugged off-road vehicles.

Sales of these machines began heating up in the early ’90s. And now they are so red hot that nearly every automaker offers some kind of off-road vehicle, and those that don’t are rushing them into production.

With so many sport-utilities from which to choose, buyers no longer have to settle for one that lacks refinement, offers marginal comfort and questionable value, gets poor fuel mileage or has quality problems.

Those traits were present in our dark green test vehicle, a four-wheel-drive version of Jeep’s long-running sport-utility.

PERFORMANCE, HANDLING

The base model Cherokee comes with a 2.5-liter, 125-horsepower, in-line four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission. Our Sport model was outfitted with Chrysler’s 4.0-liter, 190-horsepower ”Powertech” in-line six-cylinder motor, a four-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive.

The engine ran fairly quietly and smoothly while delivering ample performance. I’ve always liked the feel of in-line six-cylinder engines. They have a tough, rugged demeanor. But because V-6 engines are more compact, the inline six is quickly becoming antiquated.

Our test vehicle accelerated quickly at all speeds, and like many other all-wheel-drive vehicles in its class, guzzled gas at a hefty rate. With the air conditioner on and the Cherokee in two-wheel-drive mode most of the time, fuel mileage averaged about 14 mpg in combined city/highway driving.

Although our dark green Cherokee had fewer than 3,000 miles, the front suspension system made some kind of groaning noise when I drove it over rough terrain.

I found this very disheartening, especially in light of the Cherokee’s rather steep price. I find that the more expensive the vehicle I test drive, the less forgiving I am of mechanical faults.

Also, the Cherokee’s road manners lack refinement compared with similarly priced competitive vehicles.

Hot-selling sport-utilities such as the Nissan Pathfinder, Oldsmobile Bravada and others offer a comfortable carlike ride. The Cherokee feels more utilitarian; it doesn’t have as solid or well-made a feel as its competitors.

I judge a vehicle in part by the way the steering system works. The steering in the Cherokee made a kind of hissing noise when the wheel was turned to the extreme left or right. It felt unrefined.

The suspension system does a good job of handling the rough stuff. The vehicle remains easy to control over big bumps. The front di sc, rear drum anti-lock brakes stop the Cherokee quickly.

FIT AND FINISH

Chrysler spent more than $200 million designing a new interior and updating the Cherokee’s styling. But though the 1997 model is cosmetically much improved over previous Cherokees, the vehicle still feels old and unrefined.

The 1997 model features a restyled, more user-friendly dash; a new air-conditioning system; two air bags; new wheels; grille; taillights, and door panels.

What the Cherokee really needs is a stiff, new chassis, one that will allow engineers to fine-tune the suspension system and also is strong enough to help eliminate squeaks and rattles.

The Cherokee falls short of the high quality feel of a Ford Explorer or even Jeep’s own Grand Cherokee. Although it is hard to quantify, the Cherokee just feels like an old vehicle – one that hasn’t received the benefits of the latest in chassis technology.

The new dash is easy enough to use; all the switches for th air conditioning and radio are placed in the attractively styled center stack in the dash. The analog instruments, with the bright red needles, are cleanly designed and easy to read.

Part of the new interior included a redesign of the door panels. The switches for the windows and mirrors now are lighted. But the panels themselves have too much hard plastic, especially in the upper portion where your arm might rest. It’s not so much a comfort problem as one of appearance. The panels are dull-looking.

The rear seats can be bothersome to fold down. First you must flip the bottom cushion forward, then fold the seat back down. Depending on how far back the front buckets seats are, you might not be able to get the rear seats to fold flat.

Also, the spare tire still is in the rear cargo area, robbing the vehicle of carrying room. It should be mounted underneath the vehicle where God intended it.

Our test vehicle came loaded with nearly everything Chrysler offers, including roof rack, tilt steering wheel, rear wiper, trailing towing package, a full array of power accessories and a CD player. But the $27,000 price was ridiculous, especially when you could get a nicely equipped Grand Cherokee for about the same money – and that vehicle has all the toughness Jeeps are renowned for, plus the refinement the Cherokee lacks. The base model Cherokee, for about $17,000, makes far better sense than a fully loaded model.

Still, with all the new sport-utilities on the market and more coming – including another one from Chrysler, the all-new Dodge Durango compact sport-utility due this fall – it’s hard to see how the Cherokee could have much life left in it.

Specifications:

1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport

LENGTH Overall 167.5

FRONT COMPARTMENT Head room 37.8 Leg room 41.4

REAR COMPARTMENT Head room 38.5 Leg room 35.0

WARRANTY Three-year, 36,000-mile powertrain; three-year, 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper; and seven-year, 100,000-mile rust protection.

MECHANICAL Drivetrain layout: Front mounted engine, transmission and transaxle, four-wheel drive. Brakes: Power-assisted front disc rear drum with ABS. Engine: 190-horsepower, 4.0-liter inline six-cylinder. Transmission: Four-speed automatic.

OTHER MODELS 12 models ranging from $15,745 to $20,974

Truett’s tip: It may be time for Chrysler to retire the original Cherokee. This fuel-thirsty off-road vehicle doesn’t offer the refinement or the quality of the imports.