Jeep’s new full-size SUVs, the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer have only been on sale for a few months, but they are already getting a pair of significant upgrades for their second year. As if they weren’t large enough, the 2023 Wagoneer family will be available as an L version, a full foot longer than the originals. The extended body SUVs will also be the debut products for Stellantis’ recently announced Hurricane twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engines.
At launch, the two original Wagoneer variants were already about four-inches longer than standard sized versions of the big Ford and GM SUVs, not quite splitting the difference between the regular and extended wheelbase versions of the competition but besting the short versions of both in many interior dimensions.
Go Long!
The 2023 Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L add another seven-inches of wheelbase and 12-inches overall to the big Jeeps bring them to 226.7-inches bumper to bumper. Add in the nearly four-inch width advantage that the Jeeps have over the Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator and 2.5-inches compared to the Tahoe/Suburban and it’s clear that the longer Jeeps are the true behemoths in this class. This despite the fact that the Wagoneer’s 130-inch wheelbase is 1.6 to 4.1 inches shorter than its Ford and GM equivalents, respectively.
The extra size adds only about 200 to 300 pounds. That’s not all that much for such a large expansion of metal, but it brings the curb weight to between 6,069 and 6,704 pounds depending on the trim level. Still considerably more than the competition. Since the engineers had extra space to play with, they also expanded the fuel tank in the L by four gallons, providing about 30 to 70 miles more range.
From a design standpoint, the L models don’t look noticeably different from the standard versions. The thick, vertical B, C and D pillars are still there as is the new Jeep face with the short vertical but wide grille. Jeep badges remain noticeably absent unless you look closely in the head and tail lamp clusters.
The rear door opening now goes all the way down to the rocker panel now without cutting into the rear wheel arch, giving a slightly larger opening. That is quite literally the only visual cue unless you notice longer body length in profile. Those that love the new Wagoneer, will just have more of the same. Those that don’t are unlikely to be converted.
Adding Carbide
In metallurgy, adding some carbon to cast iron, makes the resulting metal alloy stronger and tougher and gives it a new name—steel. For 2023, the Wagoneer is available with a new trim level called Carbide that arguably makes it look a bit tougher and meaner, although there aren’t any hardware upgrades to justify that impression.
Riding on 22-inch alloy wheels finished in black with black accents in place of chrome, the Wagoneer Carbide is a more affordable alternative to the Grand Wagoneer Obsidian. Inside the Wagoneer Carbide gets bronze gold accents from the Grand model.
Inside, the longer models retain the same look as before with up to seven displays in the first two rows including 12-inch cluster and upper center screens and 10-inch units in the lower portion of the center stack and in front of the driver. Eleven USB ports are included across the three rows of seats to keep everyone’s devices charged up.
The extra foot of body length is split between the already spacious third row and the cargo area which has increased in volume by 50% to 44.2 cubic feet. The longer cargo area also gets a pair of rails along the sides with clips that can slide to tie down loose objects. While we don’t have full cargo measurements yet, we expect the L will have more cargo space than any other SUV.
Hurricane Makes Landfall
In mid-March, Stellantis announced its all-new Hurricane family, a pair of twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engines without specifying which vehicles would get them. Now we know that the Wagoneer will be their firs tome..
The Grand Wagoneer L will get the high-output Hurricane Twin Turbo 510, so named for its official output in horsepower, while the Wagoneer L gets the standard output, 420-horsepower Hurricane Twin Turbo. The two Hurricane variants produce 500 and 468 pound-feet of torque respectively.
The Hurricane is likely to be the last all-new internal combustion engine developed within Stellantis and is expected to serve well into the 2030s with ongoing upgrades. As Micky Bly, vice president of propulsion systems at Stellantis explained when the Hurricane was first announced, the company is targeting 50% of its sales in North America to be battery powered by 2030, which still leaves half of its sales as internal combustion.
Since that announcement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the updated corporate average fuel economy standards which will require manufacturers to hit an average of 40 mpg for their entire fleet by 2026. In 2020, Stellantis was the lowest among all major automakers in the U.S. with an average of just 21.3 mpg.
The 420-horse Hurricane will provide a 15% fuel efficiency improvement over the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 in the Wagoneer L which should put it around 18 or 19 mpg combined. The Hurricane 510 is projected to provide a 13% improvement over the Grand Wagoneer’s 6.4-liter V8 which should mean about 17 mpg.
That’s not going to get Stellantis to a 40 mpg average, but when battery electric and plug-in hybrid variants of almost all of its models are factored into the math, the automaker seems confident that it will hit the required targets.
Off-Road Hardware, Pricing and Availability
The Hurricane engines continue to be paired with Stellantis’ eight-speed automatic transmission and will be available in rear and four-wheel-drive variants. The 4WD models can be had with full-time Quadra-Trac I with a single speed transfer case or the two-speed Quadra-Trac II or Quadra-Drive II systems. The latter adds an electronic limited slip differential to the rear axle.
As with the standard length versions, either steel springs of the air spring Quadra-Lift with adaptive dampers is available. The air suspension can lift the Wagoneer L up to 10-inches of ground clearance. h
Jeep hasn’t announced any pricing for the lengthened Wagoneers, but they will no doubt carry a premium over the equivalent standard models. With the four wheel drive Wagoneer starting at $64,000, the L will probably start closer to $70,000 and a loaded Grand Wagoneer L might approach $120,000.
The longer Wagoneers should arrive at Jeep dealers later this spring as 2023 models.
