2006 Jeep Commander -- 7,000 Miles of Family Fun

Overall Driving Dynamics: I have to give Jeep credit. The Commander weighs A LOT (5,000 lbs), but it never feels slow or cumbersome. The steering is responsive and nicely weighted, the ride quality is plush without letting the 2 and 1/2 ton beast feel wallowy around corners, and the brakes feel progressive and confident. The few times I had to stop the car quickly I always felt like I had plenty more stopping power in reserve -- should I have needed it. Like most Chrysler products at this stage in the game, the Jeep has Germanic undertones in its driving character (that's a very good thing, BTW). I did notice a bit of inconsistency in throttle delivery every once in awhile, and at first I couldn't understand what would cause it. Then I remembered -- the Multi Displacement System (MDS) shuts down half the cylinders to save fuel. Ah-ha! We're talking very subtle effect here, but one I did sense from time to time.

Interior Design/Functionality: Jeep has finally created a seven-passenger vehicle. And if you think you can fit seven adult passengers in this vehicle for an extended period I have some fertile farmland to sell you in west Texas. I was personally disappointed with legroom in both the third- and second-row seats. With my five- and eight year-olds spending the majority of the time in the second row, and the third row folded down to carry travel detritus, it wasn't a big issue in my particular circumstance. But people who buy people movers to actually move people would do better with an Explorer (which is also lighter and gets better fuel mileage). I spent a couple hours in the center of the second row between my kids (watching the DVD Vacation), and everything from legroom to seat padding was sub par. Front seating was fine in terms of roominess, and I liked the convenience of two-position seat memory and easy entry/egress functionality (the seat automatically moves all-the-way back when you pull the key out of the ignition). But the seat cushions weren't firm enough and led to slight aches in my lower back and backside. The wife had the same complaint, but neither of us felt the problem approached critical proportions, just a minor (yet consistant) annoyance.

My dad noted that the steering wheel controls for cruise aren't illuminated and my wife thought the door pockets were almost useless because of their narrow and convoluted shape (the door speakers block a big chunk of the front pockets). The rear entertainment system worked beautifully at keeping the kids anaesthetised during 10-hour driving days, and the location of the DVD player (at the back of the center console), along with the effective remote, made it relatively easy to load discs and control the system from the front seats. Interior material quality was also impressive, with rich dash and door panel textures, along with high-quality wood trim, giving the cabin an upscale look and feel. Audio quality (from both the radio and the DVD system when piped through the speakers) was superb, and having Sirius satellite radio made the cross-country trek easier to take.

Fuel Mileage: Easily the Jeep Commander's largest failing. With the speed limit between 65 and 80 mph across much of the country (yes, you can go 80 in parts of Texas) the 5.7-liter Hemi can cruise at those speeds with aplomb. But drive above 70 mph and fuel mileage drops like my respect for Britney Spears' parenting skills. My theory is that at those speeds the Jeep's brick-like shape takes a lot of energy to push it along -- so much in fact that the MDS system never activates. This means you're running on all eight of the Hemi's cylinders all of the time. Bottom line: Fuel cost for my 7,000-mile adventure came in at $1,425. Ouch!

Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 21,018 miles