In our 2019 Compact SUV Challenge comparing seven all-wheel-drive utilities, we expected our Jeep Cherokee Limited test SUV to lead the pack in performance. Its 271-horsepower, 3.2-liter V-6 was the most-powerful versus six four-cylinder SUVs. But we also expected it to bring up the rear in real-world fuel economy, in part because it was equipped with a nine-speed conventional automatic transmission, while three in the test had mileage-boosting (though fun-numbing) continuously variable automatics. But the Jeep did not. The Cherokee finished fifth out of seven with an average 26.1 mpg after more than 200 miles of highway and suburban driving on a cold and windy day outside Chicago.
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The Cherokee's fuel economy measured near the top of its 19/27/22 mpg city/highway/combined EPA mileage rating. We scored the category based on an average between trip-computer and pump-calculated data, with closely related results from both data sets. Other scores in the real-world test ranged from the first-place Toyota RAV4 at 29.0 mpg to a last-place tie between the Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Rogue at 25.7 mpg. Other challengers were the Honda CR-V (28.5 mpg in our test), Subaru Forester (27.9) and Volkswagen Tiguan (26.5).
The V-6 Cherokee is available with front-wheel drive for a better EPA combined rating of 23 mpg, as well as with a more off-road-capable four-wheel-drive system that drops combined mileage to 21 mpg. The Cherokee also is available with a 180-hp, 2.4-liter that is 25 combined with front-wheel drive and the mileage leader 270-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter four (26 mpg combined with front-wheel drive). Compare these models here, and visit our How We Found the Best Compact SUV of 2019 article for a summary of our fuel economy testing procedure.
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