2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneer L First Drive Review: Bigger, stronger, thriftier.
Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer get jumbo long model, new turbo inline-six.
Jeep's venture into full-size SUVs with the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer has gone impressively well. Our time with the big brutes has been mostly excellent, with gorgeous cabins, refined driving characteristics and very usable space. But the main problem with the trucks was their incredibly thirsty V8 engines. Smooth and lovely sounding, but not cheap or environmentally friendly to keep fueled. But Jeep has addressed this and, weirdly, it comes in even bigger versions of the SUV. It's the new Hurricane line of twin-turbo straight-six engines, and until they trickle down into the smaller Wagoneer models, we can't help but overwhelmingly recommend the longer L varieties over their shorter twins. And you may even want to pick them over options from Ford, GM and Toyota.
There are two versions of the Hurricane six-cylinder. They both have 3.0 liters of displacement and a pair of turbochargers. The basic version comes in the regular Wagoneer L and makes 420 horsepower and 468 pound-feet of torque on premium fuel, though it can run on regular. Compared to the 5.7-liter V8 it replaces, the Wagoneer L's straight-six makes 28 more hp and 64 more lb-ft. The Grand Wagoneer L gets the Hurricane 510, which makes 510 hp and 500 lb-ft, and it requires premium fuel. This six makes 39 more ponies and 45 more lb-ft than the 6.4-liter V8 it replaces.
Not only are these six-cylinder engines more potent than their V8 counterparts, they're more efficient, even when they're moving more truck. The V8 Wagoneer with two-wheel drive gets 16 miles per gallon in the city, 22 on the highway and 18 in combined driving. While final EPA numbers haven't been given, Jeep estimates that the I6 Wagoneer L will get 17/24/20 mpg. That's a 2-mpg improvement overall with a bigger vehicle, and although that may not seem like a lot, when you're talking about fuel economy in the teens, it actually represents a huge fuel savings. With four-wheel drive, the gains are similar, with the V8 Wagoneer getting 15/20/17 mpg, while the I6 Wagoneer L gets 16/23/19. These numbers top the Ford Expedition Max and Chevy Suburban with gas engines. The diesel GM trucks do much better, but with substantially less power and with diesel fuel costs.
The improvement from V8 Grand Wagoneer to I6 Grand Wagoneer L is less noticeable, as the short V8 version gets 13 mpg city, 18 highway and 15 combined, while the long six-cylinder one gets 14/19/16. Those are official EPA numbers, by the way. And the EPA revealed something else interesting that Jeep hasn't totally confirmed: a short-wheelbase Grand Wagoneer with the six-cylinder (which leads us to believe the regular, short Wagoneer will get the I6 eventually, too). That configuration brings economy up to 14/20/17. It's not as efficient as the Ford Expedition Max, but it does match the Suburban with the 6.2-liter V8 while
Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer get jumbo long model, new turbo inline-six.
Jeep's venture into full-size SUVs with the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer has gone impressively well. Our time with the big brutes has been mostly excellent, with gorgeous cabins, refined driving characteristics and very usable space. But the main problem with the trucks was their incredibly thirsty V8 engines. Smooth and lovely sounding, but not cheap or environmentally friendly to keep fueled. But Jeep has addressed this and, weirdly, it comes in even bigger versions of the SUV. It's the new Hurricane line of twin-turbo straight-six engines, and until they trickle down into the smaller Wagoneer models, we can't help but overwhelmingly recommend the longer L varieties over their shorter twins. And you may even want to pick them over options from Ford, GM and Toyota.
There are two versions of the Hurricane six-cylinder. They both have 3.0 liters of displacement and a pair of turbochargers. The basic version comes in the regular Wagoneer L and makes 420 horsepower and 468 pound-feet of torque on premium fuel, though it can run on regular. Compared to the 5.7-liter V8 it replaces, the Wagoneer L's straight-six makes 28 more hp and 64 more lb-ft. The Grand Wagoneer L gets the Hurricane 510, which makes 510 hp and 500 lb-ft, and it requires premium fuel. This six makes 39 more ponies and 45 more lb-ft than the 6.4-liter V8 it replaces.
Not only are these six-cylinder engines more potent than their V8 counterparts, they're more efficient, even when they're moving more truck. The V8 Wagoneer with two-wheel drive gets 16 miles per gallon in the city, 22 on the highway and 18 in combined driving. While final EPA numbers haven't been given, Jeep estimates that the I6 Wagoneer L will get 17/24/20 mpg. That's a 2-mpg improvement overall with a bigger vehicle, and although that may not seem like a lot, when you're talking about fuel economy in the teens, it actually represents a huge fuel savings. With four-wheel drive, the gains are similar, with the V8 Wagoneer getting 15/20/17 mpg, while the I6 Wagoneer L gets 16/23/19. These numbers top the Ford Expedition Max and Chevy Suburban with gas engines. The diesel GM trucks do much better, but with substantially less power and with diesel fuel costs.
The improvement from V8 Grand Wagoneer to I6 Grand Wagoneer L is less noticeable, as the short V8 version gets 13 mpg city, 18 highway and 15 combined, while the long six-cylinder one gets 14/19/16. Those are official EPA numbers, by the way. And the EPA revealed something else interesting that Jeep hasn't totally confirmed: a short-wheelbase Grand Wagoneer with the six-cylinder (which leads us to believe the regular, short Wagoneer will get the I6 eventually, too). That configuration brings economy up to 14/20/17. It's not as efficient as the Ford Expedition Max, but it does match the Suburban with the 6.2-liter V8 while
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