2006 4x4 of the Year

Jeep Commander Limited
As judges we're suckers for a great power-to-weight ratio, especially when it's coupled with the traction of four-wheel drive. So it was only natural for us to love the Jeep Commander's 5.7L Hemi engine and rave about Jeep's Quadra Drive II traction system. It's just that even when paired together in the new Commander the two weren't enough to overcome the new body style's shortcomings.

Though it's hard to see the engine under the plastic covers, all of our judges raved about the Hemi's power. About the only way you could make it feel stronger would be with 3.92 axle gears.

With the best steering in the test, the Commander scored major points in around-town driving, even though it is a tad big. From the cockpit the ride is ultra plush. A few judges thought it might be too cushy. To a certain extent the Commander does wallow on the interstate, but we still awarded it top honors for its smooth, fast, and quiet ability to eat up asphalt.

In the dirt our judges quickly found out the Commander design leaves off-road domination to the Grand Cherokee that's built on the same platform. During sand and high-speed dirt-road maneuvers the engine promptly overwhelmed the suspension till it was difficult to keep the Jeep pointed where we wanted it to go. The rear suspension does not have enough shock damping so the Commander tends to kick over the rough sand ruts until the rear suspension bottoms out. And for the first time this year all of our judges noticed the vehicle stability programming. Comments ranged from "delete that crap!" to "it saved me more than I'd care to admit."

When it comes to crawling, the Commander still proves its Jeep roots run deep. It clearly had the best traction control of the group, but the system had to make do with the second worst ground clearance in the test. To keep the Jeep alive, we crept over some obstacles that everything else (except the Grand Vitara) just mauled over. As careful as we were, we still banged up the aluminum rear driveshaft to the point we had to replace it ($425) and we killed both passenger-side tires in the first two days of testing.

We'll leave the final judging of the Commander's exterior styling to you, but it left our judges cold. We think we know where the design studio was going - but it didn't get there! To us it just doesn't look upscale. We certainly don't see it becoming the classic the old Grand Wagoneer developed into. And just for the record, those aren't round headlights!

Likes
-Best interior to get stuck in
-Incredible traction control system
-Amazing hillclimber

Dislikes
-Vehicle feels fragile; each bump hurts the wallet
-Second worst ground clearance of test
-Lousy shocks

Verdict
Only kids who don't know any better will ride in the third-row seat

Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Quad Cab
Hummer H3 SUV
Jeep Commander Limited
Nissan Xterra Off-Road V-6
Suzuki Grand Vitara
The Scores and Previous Winners
The 2006 4x4 of the Year is ...