After a comprehensive week-long group test in rural Wales, 4x4 magazine has voted the Jeep Commander the winner of its coveted 4x4 Of The Year Award 2007.

Unique among UK publications, 4x4 magazine is the only one to gather all the award candidates together at one location simultaneously. This year, it divided the 53 contenders into seven categories and in the Family SUV section the Jeep Commander faced competition from eight would-be rivals.
In a series of tests – each designed to put every vehicle through real world off-road situations – the Jeep Commander earned 39 points out of a possible 50 to triumph in the Family SUV category and beat products from other famous 4x4 brands such as Land Rover, Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
“This annual group test isn’t about just driving this massive fleet of vehicles through the muddiest, toughest, most extreme terrain our testers can find,” commented John Carroll, editor of 4x4 magazine. “Our 4x4 Of The Year is also about measuring their competence in a true off-road environment, while assessing their comfort, refinement, style and value.”

Awarding the Jeep Commander the winner’s rosette for the Family SUV category, the magazine stated: “Retro looks hide a modern and comfortable seven-seater interior with… superbly shaped seats… smooth-revving 3.0-litre turbodiesel… more than adequate off-road agility, thanks to Jeep’s clever Quadra-Drive II system… and the V8 Hemi is a glorified – but luxurious – boy racer.”

The seven category winners’ scores ranged from 26 to 36 points, but none could come close to matching the Jeep Commander’s victorious tally of 39 points.

In selecting the Jeep Commander as the magazine’s overall champion and 2006 winner of the 4x4OTY award, editor John Carroll wrote: “The new premium Jeep surprised us. The Commander reverts to the true core off-roader value of functionality over form. Look past the brash grille and see the stepped-up roofline allowing ‘theatre’ seating and the way the roof rails fold over to give a grab-handle effect on either side of the tailgate. The squared-up shape maximises interior space and practicality. Underneath, is the Quadra-Drive II system, so the Jeep has the genuine capability to back up its genuine off-roader looks”.

Peter Lambert, Managing Director of the Chrysler Group in the UK, said: “We are delighted that 4x4 magazine has awarded the Jeep Commander the coveted title of ‘4x4 Of The Year 2007’. Equally at home in the most rugged countryside or the smoothest street, the Commander is an exceptional vehicle in every way.”