Does the New Jeep Wagoneer Make the Chevy Tahoe Irrelevant? We Look at Specs, Price, Features & More

Hi folks, welcome to the Truck King YouTube channel. When this Wagoneer nameplate returned to Jeep, everyone focused on the ultra-luxurious Grand Wagoneer, but that's not what we're looking at today. This is the 2022 Jeep Wagoneer. This is meant to be the volume model in the lineup, truly the meat and potatoes. So we're going to take a look and see, should Chevy and Ford be worried? Let's do it. There are two different engines available here in the Wagoneer. Now you can get that big 6.4 liter V8. That thing is also standard in the Grand Wagoneer, but the standard V8 here on the regular Wagoneer is just this, the 5.7 liter Hemi V8, mated with that eTorque mild hybrid system. And yes, you have to get eTorque. So this power plant is making 392 horsepower, 404 pound feet of torque, and it is sent through an eight speed automatic. Well folks, it's time for another episode of Does Steve Fit? Let's take a look. And it's especially important in a vehicle like this Wagoneer. This is the eight passenger model. If you're buying this thing, it's because you have a lot of people to bring with you. So let's see how I fit back here. So this second row is 42.7 inches of legroom and I have loads of space. Now we do have the huge panoramic sunroof. I have just enough headroom. I stand at six foot two, so you're going to have to watch that. But even for me, it is enough. And you know what? You also have a lot of amenities back here. I have my HVAC controls, a three prong outlet, four USB ports, 12 volt plug, definitely a nice second row. And then when this seat in the center is not in use, it can fold down and give you a bit of space or you can pull out your little cup holders there, which is nice as well. Now let me show you the third row. So these seats tumble forward and I will fold this again to give you the view of it. So now back here in the third row, this is 36.6 inches of legroom and again, it's actually enough for me. Now this little sunroof back here just kind of eats into my headroom. So again, I have just enough up into the sunroof, but yeah, for a big guy, I could actually sit back here and be legitimately comfortable. My knees are not too tall, they're not up in my chest and that's incredibly important. When Jeep made this Wagoneer, they definitely benchmarked the Tahoe and the Expedition and they made sure that not only the second row, but also the third row would be big enough for a full size adult and getting in and out is also pretty easy as well. The other reason you look at a Wagoneer is to haul a lot of stuff and this thing is massive in the back end, so you absolutely can. So we have everything folded flat right now, including that second row. This is 117 cubic feet of space. Now when it comes to the third row there, this is not a powered third row, it's totally manual. You actually have to reach in there, grab this pull strap and pull that sucker up. Behind just the second row of seats, you're going to get 70 cubic feet and then behind this third row of seats, you're going to get just 27 cubic feet. But honestly, in any configuration, even with the third row up, you're still getting a pretty big storage container back here or storage space. You also get these nice little tie downs down here in the corner, which I appreciate if you're hauling some big stuff. So yeah, you're going to fit a lot of stuff in the back of your Wagoneer. Alrighty folks, so now here we are driving around in this Jeep Wagoneer. Now like I mentioned, Grand Wagoneer is sort of the Wagoneer's more luxurious brother. We've had the Grand Wagoneer already. We did a comparison with the Cadillac Escalade. Make sure you go check out that video, it's here on the channel. Here in the Wagoneer, things are a little bit simpler, not quite as much technology here in the interior, a little bit less chrome on the outside, but yeah, this is the model you buy to haul your family around and you don't need all that crazy luxurious stuff. So I guess, I think to start off dad, we just go with how's it driving, how's the 5.7 feel? We do have the air suspension, that's worth mentioning, but yeah, how does it feel just driving down the road? Well, the 5.7 is more than adequate. This is also the eTorque version and you're talking about a full-framed SUV, the sound deadening in here is decent, so all in all, it's tight, it's a great feeling truck. Yeah, and again, we've had an expedition recently, we've driven a ton of Tahoe's and Yukon's and Escalades and I'd say this is, it's right there, it's doing exactly what you want. I've been driving the Wagoneer all week and as I'm doing that, I'm thinking to myself, so who is the Wagoneer buyer? First and foremost, it's someone who wants to move a lot of people, this should be kind of obvious, secondly, it's someone who maybe also has a boat or an RV that they want to tow because this truck is good for 10,000 pounds and has a proper tow package available. So again, it's lots of people, lots of stuff. Okay, now within that marketplace, we've got Yukon, we've got Tahoe, we've got Expedition, so the major players and then of course, we can get into the imports as well. I'm wondering where Jeep is thinking that this Wagoneer should be competing because we know the Grand Wagoneer with all the bells and whistles, we compared it to the Escalade and it's definitely in that neck of the woods. However, this one, I'm saying Yukon, Tahoe, Expedition, that's where I think it should be competing but that's not what the price point says, Steve. No, yeah and the pricing and exactly where it fits into the marketplace is a big part of this story. Now, let's start by dealing with Canada and then we'll get to the States. So here in Canada, the Jeep Wagoneer starts at $80,000 and one of the big reasons for that is because north of the border here, we only get four-wheel drive, we cannot get a two-wheel drive Wagoneer. We also start with the Wagoneer Series 2. Now in the States, of course, there's the Series 1. So here in Canada, we already start with a whole bunch of standard features, things like lane keep assist and the larger screen. So yeah, north of the border, they've made it a bit of a luxury play. And to put this into context for you, a Chevy Tahoe here in Canada, you can get it with two-wheel drive and it starts at just over $60,000. It's about $62,000. The Expedition is a little more expensive than that but same story. They're in the $60,000 range. So yeah, when you're talking about a quote unquote meat and potatoes kind of family hauling SUV, 60, even 70 grand is expensive, don't get me wrong. But it feels more right than 80 and this thing starts at 80. The one you're looking at in this video is $96,000 and it has two option packages on it. It takes nothing to load it up. So yeah, here in Canada, I like the vehicle but I don't love the pricing strategy. Now I'll get to the States. In the United States, they haven't done this. The Wagoneer, you can get a two-wheel drive version right through the range and it begins pricing at $58,000. Now a Tahoe in the States, that is $52,000 so the Jeep is more expensive regardless of where you go. But again, here in Canada, they've really gone for that luxury play and is it nice? Yes. Is it nicer than the competition? I don't know if it's worth the money for how much nicer it might be. I don't know and honest to goodness, sometimes I'd love to be sitting in these marketing meetings where somebody's actually got the balls to say, well, how much do you think we can charge Canadians and get away with it. Because sometimes that's exactly how I feel. It's not like we earn that much more money than you guys in the States and we get taxed a hell of a lot more. So the reality is that, you know what, I would like to have the full range of vehicle available to us and nobody has ever really come out and said, you know, we can't offer every model in Canada because. They simply always give us the gobbledygook of, well, it's what Canadians prefer. And I really wonder if we only prefer spending a lot of money. Yeah, it seems that way because it's very true that everything here in Canada, regardless of the exchange rate, is basically always more expensive. So yeah, that's how the Wagoneer really plays out. It just, it comes across feeling expensive. At the top of the range, it's fine. Over a hundred grand for the Grand Wagoneer, I mean, I'm getting a screen in front of me, all the stuff that thing has, it's fine. But at this price point, at this level, it feels like too much. And like I said, if you want to dress this one up, that's great. But the fact is, is that I just can't get the plain Jane model. And maybe that's what I want because I want the big SUV, but I can't afford all the bells and whistles. And yet here, don't have a choice. And what would be an interesting thing, and I don't know this off the top of my head, but I can actually throw it up here, Dad, is let's go look at the sales numbers and we'll see how the Jeep is doing in relation to the competition. Indeed. So after all that being said, I do find myself sitting here wondering why would I be drawn to the Wagoneer? And I think obviously one of the things associated with Jeep is four-wheel drive capability. Now like I mentioned, here in Canada, every single Wagoneer will have four-wheel drive, but we do only get the most basic four-wheel drive system here. So we don't have a four low, it's just a single speed transfer case. And there is no controlling it in terms of four high, four low, two-wheel drive. All we have is drive modes. So you have auto, sand and mud, snow and sport mode, and that's it. Now this is also a trend sort of in the industry, right Dad? We see this a lot now where manufacturers take away those sort of old school controls and they just give you modes. So I'm not sure I'm upset about it, but I do think it's worth mentioning because you think you're going for the Jeep for that sort of superior 4x4 capability and yeah, I'm not sure it's actually here outside of those cool drive modes. No, I agree. And you know, one of the things that is cool on this particular truck is the air suspension, which does give you a certain amount of manual control. You've got two off-road settings. Yeah, it really lifts it up. And you've got a, I don't know, we figured two, two and a half inches lift between dumping the bags and going to full height. So you know, that's sort of a helpful thing, particularly for me, I'm thinking snow, snow. If you're into sort of deeper snow, on-road, not off-road, because frankly, you're not taking this behemoth off-road. That's just not a good idea. Well folks, we have come to the end of this video. Now I think Dad and I both agree that the Jeep Wagoneer is a good vehicle and it's hard to argue with that 10,000 pound tow rating. It's just that at the base level, it feels too expensive, especially here in Canada. But of course, now I want to hear from you. So go in the comments below, let us know what you think. As always, don't forget to hit like, hit subscribe, hit join to become a member, and then come right back here to Truck King to see what we're testing next, because you never know what it might be. See ya.