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Jeep was one of the first automakers to see a civilian market for the military-style vehicles post WWII. And as you’d expect, the Commander comes from a long line of Jeeps and is consistent with the Jeep heritage. With design highlights taken from its iconic brother, the Grand Cherokee, and an added 3rd row of seating, the Commander is one of the largest Jeeps in production history. Also grabbing some styling cues from the more classy Hummer and Range Rover lines, the Commander’s exterior style has some added prestige. With its menacing size, it is one of the larger vehicles on the road today.
You can't be everything to everybody. That's the lesson we take away from the 2010 Jeep Commander. Nostalgic styling, off-road prowess, seating for seven and a luxurious interior seem to be too much to all fit into this midsize Jeep. It manages to meet these goals, but just barely and not without some significant drawbacks.
The Commander's exterior styling is an obvious nod to the Cherokee from years past, but that Jeep's boxy look is a bit too fresh in our minds to be considered "retro." Inside, you'll find a third-row seat -- the Commander is the only Jeep product to offer one. However, there's just not much interior room, and consequently, adults will find both the second and third rows rather cramped. To compound the space issues, the Commander holds significantly less cargo than its competitors.
The 2010 Jeep Commander is a seven-passenger midsize SUV that is offered in two trim levels: Sport and Limited. The Sport model's standard features include 17-inch alloy wheels; heated exterior mirrors; foglights; a roof rack; front and rear air-conditioning; full power accessories; an eight-way power driver seat; a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel; a 40/20/40-split second-row bench; a 50/50-split third-row bench; rear parking sensors; and a six-speaker stereo with a CD/MP3 player, an auxiliary audio jack and satellite radio. Adding the optional Sun and Sound Group will provide a touchscreen navigation system with real-time traffic reporting, heated front seats, leather upholstery, a rearview camera, a sunroof, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, Bluetooth and an upgraded audio system with a 30GB music server and iPod integration.
Stepping up to the Commander Limited includes all of the Sport's Sun and Sound Group features plus auto-dimming exterior mirrors, dual-zone climate control, heated second-row seats, power-adjustable pedals, a power liftgate, driver-seat memory and remote engine start. Xenon headlights and a rear-seat entertainment system (with Sirius Backseat TV) are available on the Limited, as are adaptive headlights and various towing packages. A chrome exterior trim package is also available for both Sport and Limited models.
The Commander comes from a long line of Jeep models and was designed to look and act as a utilitarian vehicle. It is instantly recognized as a Jeep with many design cues transcending from its brethren – the grille, the square-ish surfaces, the wheel openings and its headlamp module. For 2010, the Commander build was based on the Grand Cherokee, but is longer and taller offering a 3rd row for additional seating or for cargo space. Both the 2nd and 3rd row seats can be folded into a flat loading floor. It’s very versatile since all the rear seats can be arranged in any way for the most practical way to transport gear and people.
The Commander also comes with Jeep’s 3-year/36,000 basic limited warranty and 5-year/100,000 powertrain warranty attests to the company’s increase in build quality over the years. Also, it is engineered to include some great safety features (including side curtain airbags, electronic stability control, tire pressure monitoring system, and anti-lock brakes). Pair that with good crash ratings (5-star front and 3-star roll over), the Commander will be able to take the routine fender-benders and keep on trucking without a problem.
The exterior is immediately recognizable, it is essentially a larger version of Jeep’s famous Grand Cherokee which hasn’t changed much in almost 20 years. Then there is the Commander’s overall size; it’s absolutely menacing, easily being one of the largest vehicles on the road. Its tall, box-like shape along with the overhead sun roof added a lot of cabin space. For my petite stature, I definitely exuded the small-chick-in-a-big-car syndrome. Though, it had quite a presence as it lumbered down the roads – it was quite fun to see other cars and children flee in terror.
For my personal tastes though, I found the Commander styling a tad too dated and excessive. While getting to know the Commander, I couldn’t overcome the sensation of the cheapness throughout. From the hard plastic surfaces, the incongruent designed interior, to the uninspired exterior, it felt like a car which didn’t have much love put into it. And I wouldn’t expect the Commander to give back much love either. I guess I’m just not military cool.
Performance for the 2010 Jeep Commander is decent, and Jeep brings back last year's newly introduced 5.7-liter HEMI engine making 357 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque. The only other available engine is the base 3.7-liter V-6 (also used in the Liberty) that produces 210 horsepower. However, that's not nearly enough strength for this big Jeep, even with a standard five-speed automatic. The HEMI V-8 features a Multi-Displacement System (MDS), which is supposed to help improve fuel economy. The truth is, the 2010 Jeep Commander still gets lousy mileage regardless of which engine you choose (the 3.7-liter V-6 gets just 15 mpg city). If this alone doesn’t deter you from the Commander, go with the big engine; you won’t get much worse fuel economy but plenty more grunt.
All Commanders come standard with antilock disc brakes, full-length side curtain airbags, traction control and stability control with rollover mitigation.
In government crash tests, the 2010 Jeep Commander was awarded a perfect five out of five stars for frontal collision protection.
Driving Impressions
The 2010 Jeep Commander provides a quiet and comfortable ride while rolling down the highway, but potholes and bumps tend to trigger some excessive body undulations. When straying into the wilderness, though, the Commander comes into its own with its sophisticated 4WD systems, abundance of wheel travel and respectable ground clearance. Rugged terrain is easily tamed, but for those who regularly hit the trails, we would suggest a more compact Jeep, as the Commander's beefy proportions are a bit too much for narrower passages.
reference:reviews.carreview.com,www.edmunds.com,www.thecarconnection.com
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