Free Printable Jeep Grand Cherokee Coloring Page PDF

Jeep Grand Cherokee: History & Fun Facts

The Grand Cherokee reads as a smooth, rounded SUV rather than a boxy off-roader: curved fenders, a sloped hood, flush door handles, and a liftgate glass that tapers instead of standing straight up. Those softer lines separate it at a glance from the flat-paneled, removable-door Wrangler built at the same company. Even the roof rails curve gently to match the rest of the greenhouse instead of running as a flat straight bar.

The 1993 Detroit Debut

The Grand Cherokee launched at the 1992 Detroit auto show as a 1993 model, stepping in above the smaller Cherokee to give Jeep a more comfortable, more powerful flagship SUV. It replaced the aging Grand Wagoneer, which had used a body design largely unchanged since the 1960s.

A Unibody SUV Before That Was Common

Unlike most SUVs of the early 1990s, which bolted a body onto a separate truck frame, the original Grand Cherokee used unibody construction, where the body and frame form one welded structure. That choice made the vehicle lighter and quieter on pavement while Jeep still engineered in real four-wheel-drive hardware for trail use.

Five Generations: ZJ Through WL

Grand Cherokee generations run ZJ (1993-1998), WJ (1999-2004), WK (2005-2010), WK2 (2011-2021), and WL (2022-present). Each generation kept the rounded proportions and two-bar grille while adding independent front suspension, V8 power options, and eventually a plug-in hybrid 4xe variant.

Quadra-Trac and the Trailhawk Trim

Jeep's Quadra-Trac four-wheel-drive system automatically shifts power between axles without driver input, and the Trailhawk trim adds skid plates, a locking rear differential, and an off-road suspension lift on top of that base hardware. Even with those upgrades, the Grand Cherokee keeps independent suspension on all four corners for a smoother highway ride than the solid-axle Wrangler.

A HEMI V8 in a Family SUV

Higher trims of the Grand Cherokee have offered a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 since the WK generation, giving a mainstream family SUV genuine towing muscle rated well above 6,000 pounds on some configurations. That combination of daily comfort and serious towing capacity is a big reason the Grand Cherokee outsells the more specialized Wrangler in most years.

Air Suspension for Trail and Highway

Upper trims of the WK2 and WL generations added Quadra-Lift air suspension, which raises the body nearly four inches for rock crawling or drops it half an inch at highway speed to cut wind drag. That adjustable ride height is part of why the roofline in this outline curves smoothly instead of sitting perfectly level like a body-on-frame truck.

A Plug-In Hybrid Joins the Lineup

The WL generation introduced a 4xe plug-in hybrid Grand Cherokee, pairing a turbocharged four-cylinder with an electric motor for roughly 25 miles of gasoline-free driving on a full charge. It marked the first time an electrified powertrain sat under the same rounded hood shape that has defined every Grand Cherokee generation since 1993. The 4xe badge sits low on the front fender, one of the only visible clues separating it from a gas-only model at a glance.