I'VE tested a number of 4x4s recently which have had a recurring theme - softer looks and more car-like manners, with off-road capability relegated to a minor issue. With the Commander, Jeep throws all that into reverse.
Here is a vehicle which proudly stands up for the Jeep heritage. It's all right angles and stitched-together cubes and has a design cue outside and in of Allen-head bolts, some of them doing nothing more than look rugged.
And rugged is what the Commander sets out to be, albeit a seven-seater toughie. There's plough-through-anything power from the Mercedes three-litre engine, 215bhp and a massive 376lb/ft of torque, with low-range facility, Jeep's Quadra-Drive II, electronic limited slip differentials, an electronic stability programme and a rollover mitigation system among its armaments.
Ground clearance of 218mm, high angle tolerance and a wading depth of more than 50cms reinforce the Commander's claim to be an off-roader of the highest order. It doesn't look pretty and it isn't meant to - there's Jeep nostalgia at work here with the boxy looks and the near-upright windscreen. Even the dash is an oblong.
Whether there's European demand for this updated bit of American folklore is an obvious question - the Euro version, modified, is built in Austria, by the way.
Jeep already has the Grand Cherokee running successfully in the urban tractor market, a vehicle which supplies the suspension and running gear here. I suppose the most important difference is that the Commander offers those seven seats, a first for Jeep.
They are laid out in three stadium-style rows, with a two-level roof facilitating headroom, and although visibility is great for everyone there is still a somewhat cramped feeling at the back. The rearmost pair of seats are definitely for youngsters only.
On the credit side, full marks for providing a dedicated heating/cooling system for the rear of the vehicle and for a very simple operation for tumbling the seats into the floor. The optional DVD entertainment system in the second row is another proven winner with those who have kids to cart about.
The Commander's manners, on the open road at least, are rather better than you would expect, the engine is a good one - although economy and cleanliness is in line with big off-roaders, the five-speed automatic gearbox, with sequential shift feature is fluent and controls, apart from a far-flung handbrake lever, come readily to hand. In town, though, the car is a bit unwieldy. A general major problem is that with seven seats being used the rear mirror view is truly awful.
The general décor is a mixture of practicality and dressing-up. Thus you have wipe-down leather upholstery and hard-wearing plastics - typical off-road dress - with lashings of chrome - on the outside, too - and, in this Limited trim, wood panels.
Equipment levels are comprehensive, the Limited offering dual-zone climate control, cruise control, electronically-adjusting and heated front seats, with memory on the driver's side, front, side and curtain airbags for all three rows, parking sensors and steering wheel controls for a very good sound system.
A surprise was that the steering wheel doesn't adjust for reach; welcome but a bit expensive was the £3,000 provision from the options list of the Entertainment Pack, which covers the DVD player, satnav, a reversing camera, sunscreen glass and extra sunroofs.
In storage terms, there is an array of small niches but only the armrest container offers any substantial size. More tellingly, boot space is minimal if all seven seats are in use; to be fair, it's considerable if you fold over the back five.
The Commander is clearly a talented vehicle for taking on all conditions and I can imagine it being a wow in, say Arizona; whether there's a desire for a seven-seat dirt-tracker around here seems more doubtful. Its power as a tow car is going to have some appeal and it does, I concede, give off a considerable aura of strength and safety, which is always a big selling point for this kind of vehicle, but its tough-guy image might be too much for some on the school run. We shall have to wait and see.
FAST FACTS
Jeep Commander 3.0 V6 CRD Limited
Price: £31,590
Mechanical: 215bhp, 2,987cc, 6cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 5spd automatic gearbox
Max speed: 118mph
0-62mph: 9 secs
Combined mpg: 26.2
Insurance group: 14
CO2 emissions: 284g/km
BiK rating: 35%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles, 7yrs paint, 6yrs anti-rust.