Jeep Grand Cherokee: The Sketch Monkey imagines a saloon

Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep’s SUV legacy

The Jeep Grand Cherokee has long been an institution among SUVs. And as for Jeep itself? Celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, it remains the ultimate SUV brand. Beyond the iconic Willys/Wrangler, it was Jeep that largely set the template for what we now call an SUV - and what, in many ways, one ought to be.

Years before the Range Rover arrived, Jeep already offered a “luxury” off-roader in the shape of the Grand Wagoneer - a nameplate returning to the brand’s line-up this year as its flagship. The landmark Cherokee (XJ), launched in the 1980s, became the blueprint for the modern SUV by ditching the traditional ladder frame for a monocoque body - without ever abandoning genuine off-road ability.

Other than Jeep, only Land Rover manages such a strong connection between a marque and this type of vehicle. Which is why we would never expect Jeep to branch out into anything that isn’t a 4x4, SUV or pick-up. Well - it may be time to consider exactly that.

The Sketch Monkey imagines a Jeep Grand Cherokee saloon

That is the challenge taken on by the YouTube channel The Sketch Monkey, where designer Marouane Bembli sets out to visualise what a Jeep saloon might look like, starting from the recently unveiled Grand Cherokee L.

Turning the Grand Cherokee into a saloon, as Marouane Bembli explains, was far from straightforward. The biggest struggle centred on getting the proportions of this unprecedented creation to work.

Converting the American SUV’s tall, two-box body into a lower, three-box shape created multiple proportion issues. You can see Marouane’s repeated attempts to solve them: he adjusts the wheelbase several times to better balance the three-box profile, and even stretches the front end further.

The final result (image below), even after softening a few key parts of Jeep’s visual identity - the wheel arches on this Grand Cherokee saloon are round rather than the brand’s typical trapezoidal arches - comes across as a formal-looking saloon with three clearly defined volumes.

Like the SUV it is derived from, this Grand Cherokee saloon is defined more by straight-edged forms, blocky volumes and strong horizontal lines than by flowing shapes and curves. It brings to mind other saloons, such as the “cousin” Chrysler 300 that Marouane mentions repeatedly in the video.

Would a Jeep saloon make sense amid the “SUV invasion”?

Even more traditional saloons are being squeezed by the “SUV invasion” - sales of this body style have fallen steadily in recent years, and a number of brands are already preparing to abandon it in favour of making more… you guessed it… SUVs and crossovers. Still, it is hard not to admit that seeing Jeep launch a saloon would be an intriguing development. Would it make sense?