Jeep hopes a strong diesel engine will stop its first seven-seater getting bogged by high fuel prices, writes Terry Martin

Perhaps it was sensitive to how much the cost of fuel is influencing new car buyers, but Jeep did not want us to test its new Commander 4WD fitted with a 5.7-litre Hemi V8. Instead, management insisted we assess the diesel version of this brutish, brick-like seven-seater - the biggest wagon the American 4WD brand has ever built. It thinks the diesel will be the one that 80 per cent of customers - and 100 per cent of motoring writers - will like best.