i think jeep is doing great with the commander i just wish they didnt do stadium seating(cut head and leg room

From AUTOWEEK.COM:

Jeep will go ahead with plans to build a production four-wheel-drive Compass crossover based on the 2001 concept vehicle. Positioned below Wrangler, the $20,000 five-seater will compete with Toyota RAV4, Honda
-V and Land Rover Freelander.

When it goes into production in 2007, the crossover will mark a big departure for Jeep by placing its emphasis more on versatility than Rubicon off-road ability. However, traditional design cues such as a vertical seven-slot grille and round headlamps will maintain the family resemblance.

The introduction of the Commander and Compass will boost the number of Jeep model lines to five, while a sixth model based on the Gladiator pickup concept shown at January’s Detroit

auotblog is reporting that the compass will be built for 07...and the gladiator will round out the jeep lineup in a few years...good news!

can you say.....FUGLY!!!!

Jeep’s reasoning is that, in order to maintain “Trail-rated”
abilities, the Commander was engineered to be no larger than
what we see. I forgot to mention the only SUV capable of
comfortably carrying seven-passengers and a lot of gear is the
Chevrolet/GMC/Cadillac Suburban/Yukon XL/Escalade ESV.
These are not particularly off-road capable, but the Jeep is
supposed to be; hence, the smaller, more maneuverable
package. Anyway, I think most seven-passenger SUVs are
useless, inefficient and cramped. I would buy a van (full-size or
mini), instead.

You put it well, Sean. This Jeep is not really intended
to be an off-roader. Not like a Wrangler. Perhaps DC
will add another vehicle later that has out-of-the-box off
road prowess. But it will realy on the sales of this one,
the GC and the Liberty. Though I'm not a fan of their
looks, I'll concede that they sell.

I was looking at photos of the Rescue and it dawned on
me as to why I like it so much and dislike the
Commander. The front end has Wrangler stlye cues,
like the Gladiator concept. I think they could've
incorporated such a design and still had a vehicle that'd
sell over 70k annually. Going with the styling of the XJ
(I still don't see as much of the Wagoneer cues) was a
safer bet but I don't think it'll payoff as well. I noticed
complaints that the Rescue looked too much like a
Hummer. Considering that it's a brand that steals it's
styling from Jeep, the similarities would be inevitable.
Given that the price tag would be (presumably) lower, I
think it could've been a draw. Hopefully, they'll build
the Rescue or something very close in the future.

It's just not big enough to accommodate an usher which the feds are soon going to require for all 3 seat suv's.

There have been plenty of comments and opinions given about the Commander but I guess one more won't hurt. I, unlike many, think the Commander looks great. Let AEV (if you haven't seen there Jeeps go to www.aev-conversions.com)get hold of this thing and I think you will have one awesome Jeep extremely capable off road. We all know, of course, that this thing is already going to be quite capable since it's using all of the GC machinery anyway. Add a few inches of lift and a bigger tire and I think most all Jeepers would love it. Perportions and asthetics would totally change with just those two items. I sort of compare it to the Wrangler Unlimited. Have you see a base model Unlimited? It looks like crap. Add some lift and tires and the appearance totally changes. Anyway, this brings us to the true point. I, of course, want my Jeeps to look good. Anyone does with any vehicle they own. I have always bought Jeeps due to their ability first and their looks second. If you want looks then there are more good looking SUV's on the market than you can count. Question is...can they really handle the offroad stuff? Most...no. I just bought a 2005 Jeep Liberty Limited. No..of course I didn't buy it expecting to take it on the Rubicon Trail or the Moab. The vehicle is, however, very tight and solid with proven Jeep components. What will this vehicle be used for? Well...a daily driver for my wife, snow or mud covered roads, and an occasional offroad adventure. This vehicle handles both of those needs quite well. It has the size we wanted, good looks, and good daily driver, and good offroad to the limites that we will take it. I too am a person tha doesn't like change but we have to remember that change is not always bad. Actually, most of the time it is for good. I think Jeep is doing a great job with the vehicles that they are bringing out. I will admit, with the rumors and stuff floating around about 5 years ago I figured that Jeep was dead. I am very pleased to see that that is not the case. Jeep is doing well.

I'm just trying to pre-empt all of the bashers that are going to post comments just like the article by David Thomas

Personally, I like the styling of the Commander better than the GC. The two are so close in size and hopefully price that it will come down to which one do you like the looks of better. The fact that the Commander is a "seven seater" doesn't really matter to me as I am not in the market and I agree, If you are using the back seats where do you put your stuff?
The great thing is if you are in the market for a bigger Jeep you now have two choices as they are virtually the same vehicle. I didn't get excited about the 2005 GC but I am about the Commander. It looks like my Cherokee grew up and I like that.

Who the heck would buy a vehicle based on taking people on short trips? You can't even take 7 people and presents to grandma's for christmas! I can take 5 and lots of gifts in my Grand Cheroke. Besides, if it IS a Jeep it should be made for more...

I am glad the Commander wasn’t made huge. I think the two
seats in the back are perfectly fine for short trips to, say, a
restaurant. Simply put, this vehicle was not designed to carry
seven-passengers AND gear with room leftover. For people who
need such a vehicle they should really get over any attached
stigma and buy a van; you will be glad you did. Vans carry large
amounts of people and cargo across long distances comfortably,
efficiently and safely—Jeeps don’t!

So I went and I saw the new Commander. I like the outside, I like the throw-back look, but overall, its small. Standing next to it you think you're standing next to a tall cherokee or a grand cherokee, its more of a GC EXT than a "full-sized jeep" It's smaller that the "full sized" Durango and tiny next to a Tahoe, Expedition, et al. If you take a look, you'll notice that rear seat, which is perfect for midgets, but not anyone else, leaves NO storage space behind it. You couldn't even put a six pack back there (no exageration) In addition, the headrests totally block the view out of the rear window. I wanted to Love this thing, I was ready to go out and buy one, not gonna happen, it is a huge disappointment. I really wanted something closer in size to the Tahoe, but at least the new Durango. I'll end up with the GC Overland or SRT-8 instead.

Who gave a Pro-Daimler-Jeep pill to O.O.J.?

If you liked the rescue.....You will love the 2007 4 door wrangler in which will be heavly styled after with a gladiator front end.

I know the Rescue had unrealistic concepts in it, but man the
styling in that was MUCH cooler than this thing. I wish they
would have built something that looked alot like the rescue
instead of this. I think it's going backwards in styling and
doesn't relate to the current lineup at all.

AEV said that the wk/xk 4.5 lift will be out by the end of this summer, Iam guessing that they are exactly the same underneath!!! The commander will make a great offroad vehicle!!!!! Rock crawler????? It depends on what you think rock crawling is....Huge boulders 5.0 and up...thats rock crawling and I would not take my wrangler on those kind of trails!!!

I think exterior style is lousy box on wheels. I agree that Wrangler style would have been better, as Wrangler is the best looking vehicle on the road.

I like the Commander a lot. I am waiting to see if what the 2006 Grand Cherokee Overland looks like though. Then I will be faced with the decision between the two.

I think given time Jeep will refine the looks out of nescessity, as they have started doing to the 'gurly' Liberty. After some reflection, I think the failed attempt at a retro 80's look is spurned by that backlash against the Liberty and a "let's go back to what worked before" mentality and exploit Jeeps glory days through nostalgia. (The XJ's were great because of what they were not because what they looked like. As an owner of two XJ's I remeber thinking that they succeded inspite of their looks).

The whole verve of this Jeep just seems cobbled together and like a half-hearted effort at making a Jeep to fit a hole in the market, not a Jeep to fit a Jeep-buyers needs.

I readily admit I was ready to plunk down $40K for a loaded 4x4 model before I even saw it (Hell, I was ready two years ago even), but those who know me are aware that I am totally turned off by the looks. So I will hold off buying one until a 're-skin' happens, I guess I have waited this long why not wait until they get it right.

I just really don't want the 5+ seater platform to fail over this vehicles attrocious aesthetics, because as my family grows so does my need for a roomier and capable vehicle with more seating.

I would seriously continue to bash this Jeep but the above reasons prevent me from doing so any more.

I haved for that reason moved evaluation up from a solid "F--" to a you-made-an-effort "D."
As a loyal Jeep buyer, I can't deny that I feel betrayed.

To blogger David Thomas:

It's A Jeep Thing, YOU Woouldn't (and don't) Understand.......

I think overall they did a pretty good job with the styling, at least it doesn't look like everything other SUV on the flooded market. It will certainly stand out from the crowd. As far as the autoblog review goes, well, opinions are like @$$ holes, everyone has one! and the majority of them stink!

Is anyone surprised that a 7 SUV has a large rear overhang? Unless the 6th. and 7th. passengers are sitting on the roof they have to go somewhere, usually the rear of the vehicle is good place and if you want more room you need more length... this equals a longer overhang.

Besides, this thing is not designed for and will never be a hardcore off roader, neither will the Liberty or Grand Cherokee without MAJOR modifications. You have to realize that these cash cows make it possible for a company to continue to roll out production specialty models like the Rubicon and Unlimited. Without money no company will survive much less make specialty vehicles targeted to a small percentage of their buyer base. I would rather have one good model in the line-up than no line-up at all.

Anyway, you don't have to like these models, much less buy them. And for pete's sake you can buy all the parts (used or brand new in steel, aluminum, or fiber glass) to make practically ANY year MB, CJ, YJ, or TJ Jeep ever produced on your own if you like. There are few other vehicles that you can say this aobut. The original Jeep will always be around whether or not you can buy a new one or not, keep that in mind. Like the "hardcore" Jeepers love to say, "Jeeps are built, not bought".

The comments on the Thomas blog are rather amazing, about 10 negative to 1 positive. I, too, don't like the rear overhang--the departure angle must be worse than that of the JGC. In terms of style, I prefer the style of the Land Rover Range Rover and Range Rover Sport--but they're way beyond my means. Besides--they don't have Quadra-Drive II. So, where's the Overland and DHS?

I agree with the previous post. The people who will
complain about the looks didn't like the looks of the
original XJ. 2.6 million people liked the looks enough
to purchase them new from 1984 to 2001. Someone
who posted to this site may have already said it best
(stealing a make believe slogan from volvo): Jeep,
we're boxy, but good!

Now, I guess because of the size of the Commander,
no one expects it to be a rock crawler. Or have we all
just gotten tired of complaining about IFS?

I too like the commander and would buy one if i wan't in college and not short on cash.
but for all those who think this thing is ugly think of this. how would you resct if the wrangler was released now instead of 60 years ago. you would probably say that the Aztec was good looking and mondern compared to the wrangler. However, Jeep is successful when it uses the dated look. I don't think any other brand could do the same and pull it off. also if the Cherokee was not discontinued in 2005 and not 2001 everyone would say that the Commander was a natural progression of the cherokee design.

can you say.....FUGLY!!!!