2009 Jeep Commander Limited - Short Take Road Test - Car and Driver
The Jeep Commander commands its brand only in name. It is among the youngest nameplates in the Jeep lineup, and its sales figures command little more than an exasperated groan. From a 2006 high of over 88,000, yearly sales fell to 28,000 in 2008. Like the disaster that beset another beleaguered commander, General George Custer, at Little Big Horn, what happened to the Jeep’s sales is well chronicled: The price of gas... You can still get a Jeep Commander with the Hemi V-8, but the responsible choice—as far as seven-passenger, V-8–powered SUVs are concerned in a gasping economy—is the smaller, 4. 7-liter V-8. Oh, wait. (There is a V-6, but just because you have a rope and are near train tracks doesn’t mean you have to tie yourself to them and wait for the 10:15. ). Getting By with Less, but Not Getting By Very Quickly. Zero to 60 mph took 8. 0 seconds, with the quarter-mile passing in 16. 2 at 85 mph. Passing power in this Jeep is the stuff of dreams, as in, “keep dreaming. ” With all the aerodynamic grace of a billboard in a tornado, the Commander needs the driver to leg in for a transmission kickdown just to overcome the drag of its upright windshield and grille at highway speeds. Top speed is limited to 111 mph, plenty fast for something so tall and boxy, although high speeds are not as frightening as its proportions would suggest. Source: www.caranddriver.com
