If you know nothing else about Jeeps, you’re probably aware of the brand’s 4×4 heritage, and perhaps even the fact that the brand has long touted the fact that every model it sells is capable of hitting the trails. And it should stand to reason that if you went shopping for a Jeep—any Jeep—you’d be able to drive straight from the showroom to the inspection queue at a Jeep Jamboree without touching any OEM parts. And normally, you’d be correct in that assumption.
Well, when was the last time anything was “normal”? If you head over to Jeep’s Grand Cherokee configurator, you’ll notice that its staple off-road trim, the Overland, is nowhere to be found. This is problematic on its own, but its absence has been made more glaring by the departure of the 4xe-based Trailhawk, which died with the company’s plug-in hybrid powertrain. A Hemi replacement is rumored to be in the works, but it wasn’t ready in time for the Grand Cherokee’s 2026 update cycle.
Meanwhile, a new trim dubbed “Limited Reserve” has entered the mix, offering most of the interior content of the Overland without the latter’s subtle off-road advantages—a bumper with increased ground clearance and factory tow recovery hooks. That’s about as Jeep-y as a Jeep can get. So, what gives? After all, consumers seem to have a perpetually unquenchable thirst for ruggedized crossovers and SUVs. That’s exactly what we asked Mauricio Lopez, VP of Global Sales for Jeep. His reply? In short, “stay tuned.”
“Yes. So that’s that’s an excellent question, something that we’ve all discussed here too,” Mauricio said. “I mean, of course, we can not announce what we’re gonna do in the future, but it’s something to stay tuned on.”
He agreed with our take on the Limited Reserve—it is effectively an Overland without the fun parts. But it’s not a replacement, per se.
“The vehicle is basically the same, but doesn’t have the Overland look, and that is why we didn’t call an Overland,” Lopez elaborated. “ But that doesn’t mean that Overland is gone. That just means that right now for ’26 model year, there’s no Overland.”
Without the model’s trail-adjacent upgrades, Jeep felt it was inappropriate to recycle the name, which has now adorned Grand Cherokees going back decades.
“We did not want to mess up with the name Overland, because it’s obviously very important to us,” Lopez said.
And what about Trailhawk? Without it, Jeep has no “Trail Rated” Grand Cherokee. Surely the demise of Jeep’s plug-in hybrid powertrain won’t mark the end of its dedicated trail models, right?
“Grand Cherokee is the is the flagship of Jeep, right? So, of course not,” Lopez said emphatically. “I mean, that’s in our DNA; that’s something we will continue to do.”
And even without the Trailhawk model, Lopez argued, Grand Cherokee is still a capable off-roader.
“Quara-drive two, air suspension, eLSD, two-speed transfer case, etc., etc. right? So even in a Summit, it’s super, super capable,” he said.
“But you’re absolutely right,” Lopez added. “You don’t see the name right now. And that doesn’t mean that there’s no Trailhawk in the future.”
To us, it sounds like the only thing standing between Jeep and a new Trailhawk is powertrain purgatory. As soon as a new engine can be lined up, we expect it will return to the stable. As Lopez said, stay tuned!
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