If the Jeep Wagoneer S is too pricey or electric for you, just wait for the Cherokee

On May 30, Jeep showed off the 2024 Wagoneer S for the first time. Its many-options-included Launch Edition starts at just over $70,000, but once production ramps up, base-model prices are expected to be closer to the current new-car average of around $49,000. (Not actually $49,000, we hasten to add, but closer to that number, which is another way of saying “lower than $70,000.”)

The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S uses the highly flexible STLA Large platform, but its body code, KM, is a direct link to the Jeep Cherokee, body code KL. It seems all but assured that a new Jeep Cherokee will arrive on the same body code, albeit wtihout the twin electric drive modules which provide 600 horsepower and 617 lb-ft of torque—good for its 0-60 time of just 3.4 seconds. The Cherokee is almost certain to be a front wheel drive crossover with optional all wheel drive, a gasoline or hybrid-electric engine, and a price tag starting below the current new-car average. Its range will likely beat the 300 miles of the Wagoneer S even though its 0-60 acceleration will probably be more than double that time,

The red interior of the Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition might or might not be used on the Cherokee. In past years Stellantis has gotten somewhat cheap with interior colors, sticking to either black or black with accent colors on some models—even if you can get a $32,000 Mazda with a similar-looking red-and-black interior. On the other hand, it’s impossible to predict the future with new leaders in charge of both Jeep and FCA US (Stellantis’ United States division).

The Wagoneer S probably won’t even have these leather-wrapped heated-and-cooled seats as standard on the entry levels, much less the rear ventilated seats.  But who knows, maybe both will share the adjustable LED interior lighting system with 64 different colors and settings.

The Wagoneer S, as befits the Wagoneer name, is a premium vehicle with all sorts of standard features alongside its extreme acceleration. The next Cherokee will almost certainly be produced with prices paralleling Toyota and Honda midsized crossovers, and possibly, but not definitely, featuring at least one trim level with Jeep levels of off-road ability.

The timing of the “KM” Jeep Cherokee depends partly on the engine options. If they plan to use the 1.6 liter hybrid system based on Peugeot technology, they will have to wait for the Dundee plant to get a good backlog of engines built, and they will need extra time for testing. The same is true if they plan to use an updated 2.0 liter GME engine, as has been hinted. It could come sooner if they simply adapt the 4xe system over, perhaps with an entry-level 292-horsepower Pentastar V6. Only time will tell.

Photos are from the Wagoneer S.