Jeep Wagoneer family grows with stretched L models

The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs became the biggest models in the Jeep family when they arrived last fall. But that status will be short lived.

Extended versions of the burly utility vehicles, the Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L, debut at the New York auto show Wednesday as the brand looks to contend directly with rivals such as the Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon XL and Lincoln Navigator L.

The large SUVs are among the auto industry's most profitable vehicles, and in the case of the Suburban, have fostered a loyal customer base for decades.

The 2023 Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L, measuring 12 inches longer than the standard-wheelbase models, go on sale in the second half of the year.

All of the technology from the current models is there, but drivers will be able to store even more in the back. The long-wheelbase models offer up to 44.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row, 15.8 cubic feet more than the shorter models.

The L models have a 130-inch wheelbase, a 7-inch bump from the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.

The third row in the L variants feature a pair of third-row storage compartments, each with 1.8 liters of capacity to hold electronic devices and other personal items, that aren't available on the shorter options.

Jeep will unveil a blacked-out Wagoneer L "Carbide" trim in New York as well, a twin of the Obsidian variant of the Grand Wagoneer, said Jim Morrison, Jeep's North America head. The Carbide package will be available on the shorter Wagoneer starting this spring, and on all 2023 Wagoneer and Wagoneer L models in the second half of 2022.

Mark Allen, head of Jeep exterior design, said models this long run the risk of looking like school buses, so getting the proportions right was key.

"The trick when you do these kinds of things, two different wheelbases, is [to] try to get the proportions to work back and forth," Allen said during a media briefing this month. "Seven inches of wheelbase, 12 inches overall length, that's not a small amount to try and manage. ... I think it came out pretty elegant."

The lengthened vehicles will be powered by two versions of Stellantis' new 3.0-liter, twin-turbo inline six-cylinder Hurricane engine.

The Wagoneer L will feature the Hurricane engine that produces 420 hp and 468 pound-feet of torque, while the Grand Wagoneer L is packed with the high-output version with 510 hp and 500 pound-feet of torque.

Those figures top the 5.7-liter and 6.4-liter V-8 engines currently offered in the shorter models. The company said both engines return an estimated 1 to 2 mpg combined-rating improvement compared with the existing V-8 engines.

Consumers can now order the shorter Grand Wagoneer with the 510-hp engine during what the company is calling a "special run."

"To pull off 510 horsepower with this new 3.0-liter twin turbo was incredible," Morrison said. "Driving all the technology into this package in a way that improves power and efficiency is really hard to do."

Dave Kelleher, who owns David Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram in Glen Mills, Pa., predicted this year that the longer models will be priced 10 to 15 percent higher than the standard Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. A fully loaded Grand Wagoneer Series III already tops $112,000.

Randy Dye, chairman of the Stellantis National Dealer Council, sees a market for the longer variants.

"If you look at some of the competitors, they have larger ones," Dye told Automotive News in February. "There will be people who would like a larger, longer vehicle. I think it will be certainly a smaller percentage."