Commander is 1st Jeep to seat seven
The 2006 Jeep Commander has an old-style look on the outside. But there’s a trendy surprise inside: Seats for seven people.
Newly introduced, the Commander sport utility vehicle is the first Jeep in history with seven seats. In comparison, today’s midsize Grand Cherokee can carry a maximum of five people.
The additional two seats at the rear of the Commander are standard equipment and designed to attract families that want more seating room, but don’t necessarily want to buy a minivan to get it. They prefer SUV styling. They also like a high ride height and four-wheel drive.
All this, as well as Jeep’s rugged off-road capability and a Hemi V-8, are available in the Commander.
For an SUV with three rows of seats, the Commander isn’t that much bigger than the Grand Cherokee on which it is based. In fact, the Commander is just 2 inches longer, from bumper to bumper, and 1.5 inches wider.
Available in base and Limited trim levels, the Commander won’t be confused with anything other than a Jeep. In fact, its boxy styling, which Jeep says is inspired by the Wagoneer of the 1960s, looks a lot like the old Jeep Cherokee before the Cherokee was dropped from showrooms in 2001.
Maybe this is why the Commander didn’t get a lot of attention from other drivers during my test drive.
Shoppers will notice the Commander’s styling includes exposed bolt heads inside and outside. The bolts attaching the wheel well flares are visible, for example, and there are at least two dozen — some simulated, some real — in the front-seat area.
The two-tone dashboard that sits up rather high took some getting used to, especially for the front passenger whose seat doesn’t include height adjustment.
But the test vehicle’s rich saddle-brown leather seats that were darker than the beige color we’re all accustomed to seeing inside vehicles added a manly, almost rugged Western sense to this SUV. The upgrade price for the optional saddle leather on the already leather-trimmed Commander Limited is $150.
The base Commander power plant is a 210-horsepower 3.7-liter single-overhead-cam V-6 with 235 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 rpm. The midlevel engine is a 235-horsepower, 4.7-liter V-8 with 305 foot-pounds of torque at 4,500 rpm.
But the engine that’s likely to be preferred for moving seven passengers is the 5.7-liter 90-degree Hemi V-8. There’s nearly 100 more horsepower — 330 — from the Hemi than there is from the midline V-8, and torque of 375 foot-pounds at 4,000 rpm means the vehicle won’t feel sluggish, even when the Commander has all seats filled.
This engine in the test vehicle performed admirably, with strong, steady power coming on during passing maneuvers and a satisfying feel of get-up-and-go, even in city traffic.
Maximum towing capacity for the Commander is 7,200 pounds. This compares with 7,300 pounds for the Ford Explorer and 6,000 pounds for the Nissan Pathfinder.
Don’t expect a rough, noisy ride in the Commander. The test SUV was impressively quiet inside and provided a mostly cushioned ride on the pavement, with nary a bump coming through to jar passengers.
Base price: 27,290 for base Commander 4x2; $29,290 for base 4x4; $35,585 for Limited 4x2; $38,205 for Limited 4x4As tested: $41,730Type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive seven-passenger sport utility vehicleEngine: 5.7-liter, multi-displacement 90-degree Hemi V-8Mileage: 15 mpg (city), 19 mpg (highway)Length: 188.5 inchesWheelbase: 109.5 inchesCurb weight: 5,169 poundsBuilt in: DetroitDestination charge: $695