Wagoneer sport-ute is grand, but don't call it a Jeep

This review first appeared in the September 2022 edition of the Cruisin' News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

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Sacramento, California -- I never dreamed that I would be driving a Jeep motor vehicle priced at $109,025.

But then again, it's not quite a Jeep.  Well, actually, it is. Well, actually, it's complicated.

The Wagoneer is essentially its own SUV nameplate under the Jeep ownership umbrella.  And yes, the old Wagoneer name -- a Jeep creation all the way -- has been resurrected for these new vehicles. Got that?

And while a Wagoneer is a full-size sport-utility vehicle, a Grand Wagoneer is a full-size luxury SUV.  And in the case of the tested 2022 Grand Wagoneer Obsidian 4X4, I received the mega version of the Grand Wagoneer line.  For the record, you won't find the Jeep name on the vehicle.

Brain-sapping explanations aside, the tested Obsidian was a mind-blowing marvel, every inch a stand-up competitor against the Cadillac Escalades and Lincoln Navigators of this world.  If Jeep's goal was to showcase its ability to produce a modern, luxury-laden, technologically-advanced, premium upscale vehicle with the best of them, mission accomplished.

I was floored by the blizzard of standard features and state-of-the-art safety/driving-enhancement features stuffed into the tester.  And it's not just the head-up display and surround-view camera and a zillion others.  It's beyond-the-norm perks like drowsy driver detection, the digital rearview mirror, a primo air suspension, the auto-park system, pedestrian emergency braking and dark walnut wood interior accents.

And on and on.  I didn't come close to making it through the "War and Peace"-thickness owner's manual.  For all I know, I missed the part where the Grand Wagoneer Obsidian prepares my breakfast.

And yet, for all that, my fondest memory will be the vehicle's velvet-smooth ride on the freeway.  Volunteer passengers were likewise mesmerized.

"How can this big SUV be so smooth.  What magic do they have?" asked one.  I didn't have an answer.  I was busy being transfixed.

But wait, there's more. When you nail the accelerator, the soft pillow turns into a tiger.  The 6.4-liter V-8 engine rated at 471 horsepower moved the big SUV like a tornado-driven prairie fire. I was actually forcing myself to hold it back. Remarkable!

What about the Obsidian part, you ask?  Yeah, that's a special package of expertly placed black paint and parts, making the already sharp-looking Grand Wagoneer look like a sedan-crushing cousin of the Batmobile.

Drawbacks?  Well, the fuel ratings are 13 miles per gallon in the city and 18 mpg on the highway.

I'm guessing that folks who can drop more than a hundred-grand on this vehicle aren't worried about the price of their next gas stop.  They're likely soothed to know that for their financial success, they've purchased a gem.