New Jeep Cherokee refreshed for 2008

New Jeep Cherokee 4X4 scrubs up well for 2008 as it flexes its Sky Sliding, leather-seated, perma four wheel drive 2.8-litre muscle this August in the one – Limited – man scent version for £24,595.

One of the quickest ways of getting from A – B must surely be the Bugatti Veyron. One of the safest ways in which to embark on the same journey – albeit arriving 4 months or so later – is in the surrounds of the new Jeep Cherokee. Especially if your travails are intended as the crow flies, which means mountains are likely to stand between you and your destination.

Going back to basics, Jeep has turned a blind eye to contemporary 4X4 styling schools of thought and revisited its square roots once more.

As much a symbol of uncomplicated masculinity as wife-chucking, Bucking Broncos and arm-wrestling, the original Jeep Cherokee was unequivocally the spit ‘n’ sawdust option of the rough and ready off-road world, before the namby-pamby likes of the Kia Sportage, Nissan X-Trail and Honda CR-V were even twinkles in rival manufacturers' eyes.

Whilst the merest mention of the merits of the Suzuki Vitara would be tantamount to ‘exploring the sexually deviant nature expertly brought to celluloid in Brokeback Mountain’. A definite suicide note.

New suspension and steering assemblage and full-time four wheel drive is none negotiable - seeing as its all included in the price - and is all the man-stuff that’s required to do the job on the outside.

Selec-Trac II is a permanent, active on-demand 4WD system that helps anticipate and prevent wheel slip, making it ideal for road driving and towing.

Full animal hide interior - the front of which are heated and can recall exactly the positions you habitually ask of them - climate and cruise are all standard furnishings when you discover on flinging open the doors.

Elsewhere on the interior, driver and passenger alike will observe increased load and storage space, with the aforementioned leather spilling over to handbrake and gear gaiters, door panels, grab handles and the centre console.

A brand new feature – not uncovered any where else in this segment, and therefore Jeep risk setting a trend, God forbid - is the powered Sky Slider. A fully opening canvas roof which – akin to a sunroof – can be operated back and forth whilst driving. Ordinary sunroof  X 2.5 bigger, the Sky Slider is a powered roof that affords all occupants uninterrupted views of, well, the sky mainly.

One engine in the 2008 Jeep Cherokee though, and that’s a 2.8-litre diesel, a concession to all this environmental suffering. Six-speed manual and five-speed auto transmissions present the only deliberation, as one equipment level – Limited – begins and immediately ends all that needless interfering womanly stuff that usually blights interiors by the same token.

Incidentally, New Jeep Cherokee models with an automatic gearbox will also feature the new Hill Descent Control system which offers even more downhill control in low-traction conditions.

Prices kick off from £24,595 in August.