By Jeff Gilbert, WWJ AutoBeat Reporter
Let's make our own "Vacation" movie. Pack up a bunch of kids, all their stuff, tow a 10,000 pound boat and head for the Crazy Mountain Ranch in Montana.
Actually, Jeep wants to show that it has a vehicle for the person who has everything, and wants to take most of it with them.
The largest vehicle that Jeep has ever made just isn't big enough for some people.
"We took a very big vehicle and stretched it," said Tayvon Brooks, Jeep's Vice President of Product Management.
The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer L have 44 cubic feet of space behind the third row. There are people who need to fill up all three rows, with room left over for their stuff.
"Thirty percent of the large vehicle segment has a very unique set of customers that the third row is used more than anybody else in the segment."
The Ls are definitely big, a foot longer than the current Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. Jeep bringing us to Bozeman, Montana to try out these vehicles on some windy country roads.
Our drive beginning at a hanger in the Bozeman airport, and ending up at the Crazy Horse Ranch, a working ranch, complete with a small western town where some TV series have been filmed.
The idea was to check out these giant vehicles on roads more accommodating to something smaller, as well as hills that challenge the engine. At the ranch, you could tow and do a little off-roading.
They sure don't "drive big." In the past, if you drove a big SUV, you kind of felt like you were driving a bus or an 18 wheeler. I got so captivated by the scenery that I forgot that I was behind the wheel of something this large.
You don't forget the power — up to 510 horsepower in the Grand Wagoneer. That's the kind of power you used to need a big V-8 to provide. In this case, it comes from a 3-liter six cylinder engine.
It's Stellantis new Hurricane engine.
"This engine not only provides improvement in efficiency, lower emissions, it also is uncompromising in its power and torque as well," said Brian Hallgren, head of propulsion systems for Stellantis North America Technical Center.
The package is also more fuel efficient.
"Up to 24 miles per gallon on the highway, representing a 15 percent reduction in CO2 emissions."
On top of that, you can tow 10,000 pounds.
This is Stellantis first use of a Hurricane engine, but they plan a wide deployment, which could even include hybridized versions, which would add an electric motor to give a vehicle additional power.
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The more efficient engine, coupled with the larger size, giving you room for a larger fuel tank, meaning that the some trims can go up to 700 miles between fillups.
The "L" versions are actually a foot longer than the regular Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. The only real changes are behind the third row seat.
The Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer interior is first class, with a high end McIntosh sound system and screens galore, including one on the dashboard accessible to the front seat passenger.
And if you are going to take a lot of people on the ultimate road trip, you have a ton of technology to make everybody's life easier, with 4G connectivity and the ability to handle separate streams of entertainment for passengers who may have different tastes.
Total screen space: 75 inches.
These are not inexpensive vehicles. The entry level Wagoneer L starts at around $74,000. Load up a Grand Wagoneer L with everything and you're looking at $111,000.
The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer given Jeep a presence in an area where it hasn't played before. These larger "L" models will expand that presence any more.
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