Comfort and Convenience costs $1,295 and included the tonneau cover, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, remote proximity entry, dual-zone climate control, power liftgate, eight-way power driver’s seat, remote start and universal garage door opener. Furthering the pampering was the $800 leather package, the $795 Ventilated/Memory seats and the $400 nine-speaker audio upgrade.

Outside the cabin the $495 Trailer Tow Group gave us the 3.517 final drive ratio, heavy duty engine cooling, a seven- and four-point wiring harness, class-three tow hitch and the Jeep Off-Road Accessory kit. $150 added the matte black hood decal and $500 the 17-inch black aluminum wheels.

Can you live without those add-ons? Almost definitely, but they do elevate the Cherokee from “nicely configured and extremely capable cute ute” to “Holy Cow what can’t this thing do?!”

It’s a feature list that few can match for less than $45K – though admittedly that’s on the steep end of the CUV pricing matrix. You could build a Ford Escape Titanium up to over $40,000 – but you’d still end up with a turbo-four instead of the V6, less off-road ability and without things like Uconnect, Selec-Terrain and Selec-Speed.

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Ultimately the value of those things will change according to your personal needs, but this writer can’t think of a better-featured, equally capable car for the money. At the base $33,390 mark the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk is a zombie apocalypse-ready off-road brute with surprising on-road manners.

Add driving aids like adaptive cruise with stop-and-go, remote engine start, lane departure assist and blind-spot detection to the mix and the Cherokee becomes the ultimate weapon for an even scarier scenario – peak-hour traffic in Winter.

Warranty:
3 years/60,000 km; 5 years/100,000 km powertrain; 3 years/unlimited distance corrosion perforation; 5 years/100,000 km 24-hour roadside assistance

Competitors:
Chevrolet Equinox
Ford Escape
Honda CR-V
Hyundai Tucson
Kia Sportage
Mazda CX-5
Mitsubishi Outlander
Nissan Rogue
Subaru Forester
Toyota RAV4
Volkswagen Tiguan

And if you like to escape the doldrums of urban traffic on the weekends, the Trailhawk is an enviable trail-toy with genuine go-anywhere credentials.

Pricing: 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
Base Price: $31,595
Options: SafetyTec group – $895, Cold Weather group – $795, Technology group – $900, Comfort/Convenience group – $1,295, Trailer Tow group – $495, Leather Interior group – $800, Ventilated/Memory Seat group – $795, 3.2L V6 engine – $1,595, black hood decal – $150, UConnect 8.4 with GPS – $600, nine-speaker audio – $400,  CD player – $225, 17-inch black aluminum wheels – $500.
A/C Tax: $100
Freight and PDI: $1,695
Price as Tested: $44,430

Crash Test Results:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

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