2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee First Drive Review: The Four-Cylinder Is Punchy But Imperfect

The Jeep Grand Cherokee needs a Hemi… or a Hurricane. For 2026, it gets the latter, but it’s not the 3.0-liter twin-turbo Hurricane inline-six we’ve come to know. Instead, it’s a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 324 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, with 35 pounds of boost. Numbers like that would get anyone excited for a new hot hatch, but this is a big SUV meant to haul families and boats. Before driving it, my question was: Will it work as it should?

Almost everything else about the Grand Cherokee is the same as last year, save for some new color choices. That meant my only job in driving the 2026 model was to evaluate the Hurricane 4 engine. I took it on a short stretch of the rain-soaked Santa Monica Mountains in SoCal to get a feel, and I can report that it’s exactly what I thought it would be: A little odd, exceptionally quick, and kind of laggy.

While the Laredo and Laredo X models still get the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, the turbo 2.0-liter is standard on Laredo Altitude and up. The car I tested was a high-class Summit that cost upwards of $60,000. I have to admit that it feels strange climbing into a premium full-size SUV knowing the four-cylinder is the top-shelf option, even though the power is mighty.

Still, there’s good news if you buy the most expensive model just to keep up with the Joneses: Most people don’t know what’s under the hood of their cars, let alone yours. All the non-Jeep folks at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu just saw a shiny SUV rolling around on 21s. I can practically guarantee they never thought, “Gee, that thing doesn’t even have a V8.”

I pulled away from the swanky soiree with the gas pedal just absolutely buried beneath my right foot. The Grand Cherokee met my request with more speed than a 5.7-liter Hemi could hope to muster, but without the familiar rumble. Rather, this engine emits a more droning zing. It’s no knock against the engineers who worked hard on this power plant; most 2.0-liter engines sound the same, and hardly any of them sound good. Them’s just the facts.

I’ve read the press materials and listened to that morning’s presentation about the Hurricane 4 making 90% of peak torque from 2,600 rpm. Still, I found myself waiting for the boost to kick in before briskly walking away. Some of that lag is hidden by the Grand Cherokee’s roughly 5,000-pound curb weight, but really, it just softened the snap that usually comes with boost hitting super hard at higher revs. It certainly isn’t diesel-like; then again, neither is the six-cylinder it shares a bore and stroke with.

What helped with that was switching the Jeep’s eight-speed transmission to manual mode. A lot of automatics these days will kick you out of manual mode after a certain amount of time without shifting up or down, but this one stays in the gear you tell it to. That’s a plus for towing, and also for a spirited drive. Do Grand Cherokee owners go on spirited drives? I’m not sure, but I definitely did, and I got so carried away while jamming out to the Macintosh sound system that I didn’t notice the engine was revved up to 5,000 rpm. For what it’s worth, it redlines at 6,500 rpm, so I still had some room.

I think anyone who drives this Jeep like a normal person will be more than fine with the Hurricane 4 engine. It’s not like you’ll have trouble keeping up with traffic or even passing them in a pinch. I only wish I could have towed with it, but for that, you’ll have to wait for my coworker Joel’s review.

And if you’re worried about reliability, I understand. Jeep isn’t synonymous with the trait like Toyota is (or, arguably, was). My confidence wasn’t exactly boosted when they boasted about its Turbulent Jet Ignition system being modeled after the Maserati Nettuno V6’s. But the Hurricane 4’s chief engineer, Ashish Dubey, insists they took durability into account, even as they pushed the limits of specific output.

Dubey elaborated, saying they learned from the high-output Hurricane inline-six and applied those learnings to the Hurricane 4, given its monumental power density. “On Hurricane 6 H.O., they have a stiffer crankshaft, larger main bearings, and larger rod bearings. We applied all those learnings on Hurricane 4,” he explained.

In case that doesn’t satisfy your concerns, you can also read our engineering deep-dive on the engine here.

Ultimately, we’ll just have to see how it holds up in the long run. I imagine it’s only a matter of time before this engine goes into other Stellantis products, namely the Jeep Wrangler. (That 4×4 already has a turbo 2.0-liter option, but it’s an altogether different design from the Hurricane 4.) I’d argue it makes even more sense in the new Cherokee, and Mike Cockell, director of small Jeep vehicles at Stellantis, told me the car might not remain hybrid-only forever.

If I were spending my own money, I’d probably skip a Grand Cherokee with the Hurricane 4—not because it’s bad, but because it’s a high-strung lump in a heavy car. Something understressed would be my pick instead. Fortunately for new car shoppers who feel the same way, the Hemi appears to be on its way back to the lineup.

Jeep provided The Drive with travel and accommodations, along with the use of a vehicle for the purpose of writing this review.

Quick Take

It’s a big step up from the V6 in terms of power, and most people won’t care that it’s a four-cylinder, but you might.