I'm in the midst of cleaning out my apartment, so I loaded up the long-term Commander for a quick trip to the recycling center. I was immediately struck by how high the load floor in this vehicle is. With the second- and third-row seats folded down, your load surface begins 4-5 inches above the top of the rear bumper. As I began loading in my sorted bags and boxes of recyclables, I realized I wasn't fitting much more stuff in the Jeep, which has a max capacity of 69 cubic feet, than I did over the weekend in an Audi A6 sedan, which has a 16-cubic-foot trunk and 60/40 folding rear seats...
So how is it that the Jeep's so big (189 inches long, 75 inches wide, 5,000 lbs) and holds so little? Conflicting priorities, I think. Designers wanted to package in that all-important fold-flat, third-rows seat and still have a capable off-road vehicle with over 8 inches of ground clearance and a tough yet cost-effective solid-axle rear suspension.
And the only way to do that is to raise the cargo floor. As many talents as our Commander has, prospective buyers should get comfortable with the fact that it's not that great for hauling large amounts of stuff.
Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor, 21,517 miles
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