I don’t like surfaces that move beneath my car and find that pushing my Boxster around the Dubai Autodrome is a rewarding, challenging, and fun enough experience. Until that is, Jon pushed the keys to a Jeep Cherokee into my face and suggested that I take the car off-road. But why? I prefer to drive on-road, and pretty much all the latest SUVs have been just as good to drive on-road as many sedans are. I am reminded though that Jeep’s pedigree and raison d’etre is off-roading. In fact, many would argue that it is among the few truly capable off-roaders and that few other 4x4s, save the Land Rover Defender, share these cars’ off-roading capabilities. That is what they are designed to do, and that is what they do best. Fine. With this in mind, I started small, doing a little bit of driving on smallish sand dunes, and driving the car up some steep inclines only to find that it didn’t’ really seem all that difficult. Maybe however this was due to the fact that the Cherokee made it seem so easy. Had I been in a smaller SUV or one, which was meant to be used for on-road duty more than off-road duty the task may have seemed far more challenging.

The Cherokee’s confidence inspiring performance proved to be just as good through deeper, larger sand dunes and inspired even more confidence in me, the beginner-level off-roader to go faster, turn harder and tackle trickier slopes only to find that the Cherokee takes it all in its stride comfortably with nary a single mis-step. This is thanks to Jeep’s ‘Selec-Trac II’ four wheel drive system as well as the all new independent front suspension and five-link rear suspension system which significantly improve the car’s off-road performance compared to the previous Cherokee.

Once I’d had my fill of off-roading, Alejandro and I decided to get back onto the road and drive back to Dubai to complete our photoshoot which was when I was reminded again of the Cherokee’s Achille’s heel. While this SUV will certainly entertain you during off-road driving it will not have the same effect on you on the road. The Cherokee’s chassis feels like its suited solely to off-roading and while it was relatively neutral and easy to drive on road, it did not deliver the same confidence inspiring handling that some of its competitors do through corners and sudden lane changes and although the steering gives the driver a good deal of feedback, it felt less precise than I would have liked it to and lacked initial steer-in bite. Another thing I would have preferred to have was a slightly more ergonomic footwell with a proper dead-pedal on which to counter my balance during off-road driving, and more supportive seats with side-bolsters to hold me in place. All in all however, if you are looking for an SUV with superb off-road qualities and which will ferry you around town with sufficient space for 4 passengers and quite a bit of luggage, the Jeep Cherokee could be one of the options that you take a look at, especially with its affordable price tag. If however you are a devoted off-roading fan and can’t wait until the weekend comes around to head off into the desert, then the Cherokee should pretty much be at the top of your list.