Say you’re bored with BMWs and Benzes – and why wouldn’t you be, because everyone seems to have one. You could always cast an eye past Germany and all the way to the States, where the whole idea of luxury wheels for the average Joe first took hold in the first place.

So much the better if you happen to be in the market for a fairly large, fairly plush sport utility vehicle (SUV), because then you have a reason to look at Jeep and its latest model for Singapore, the Grand Cherokee Limited.

Drive a Jeep here and you’re part of a small tribe. There are only 370 or so of the rugged 4x4s on the road, so you’re more than twice as likely to spot a Bentley as one of them. Odds are you’ll see one Jeep for every 200 Mercedes, believe it or not.

Yet, it isn’t rarity that makes the Grand Cherokee interesting. There’s something wonderfully evocative about Jeeps and their ability to conjure up images of Americana. Nothing about driving an Audi or BMW makes you want to have a sausage or stand around saying, “So!”

But something about being behind the wheel of the Grand Cherokee makes you feel ready to conquer vast plains (or perhaps a small oil-producing nation).

At the same time, the car itself seems built for vast behinds. The front seats are wide and lavishly padded, as if made for the girthiest loads, and they’re bolted to a cabin that feels enormous. An expansive glass roof helps with the feeling of open airiness, but at the end of the day, the Grand Cherokee is simply a big car. The back has room for the kids to pull off WWE-style moves on each other.

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As a matter of fact, the Grand Cherokee is as family-friendly as they come. There’s a multitude of USB charging points, and though the boot starts out big it expands to become huge (although on the minus side, you can’t fold the rear seats down from the tailgate area itself).

And since it’s such a large car, you’ll probably appreciate the standard driving aids – such as the blind spot detection system, and the car’s ability to nudge itself into place within its own lane.

The Grand Cherokee is bang up to date in terms of connectivity too, given that the 10.1-inch touchscreen supports Apple CarPlay wirelessly. Meanwhile, the climate system gets top marks from me, not just for being powerful enough to deliver icy relief from the ghastly heat we’ve had lately, but because you can control it with physical switches instead of having to jab at the touchscreen.

While you certainly get plenty of real estate and equipment for the money, the Jeep falls down somewhat in terms of poshness. The digital driver displays are pretty low-resolution and look like they came out of a much cheaper car, while the dashboard’s wood panelling looks, feels and sounds like plastic.

Nevertheless, the Grand Cherokee’s less tangible qualities are worth experiencing. When you’re aboard you sit imperiously high, towering over most traffic as you look down even at other SUVs. The engine isn’t particularly big but it’s surprisingly lusty, with plenty of turbo thrust to propel the hefty Jeep with all the vigour of American foreign policy.

And while I was fooled by the imposing size and boxy shape into thinking that the Grand Cherokee would lumber around like a grizzly bear on moonshine, it actually has reasonably precise steering and is more than ready to shrug off being hurled into a corner.

Mind you, no one buys a Jeep for sporty handling, anyway. Come to think of it, I can’t see anyone wanting a Grand Cherokee to go bashing through jungles in, either, although by all accounts it ought to be pretty capable of not just entering the wild green yonder, but of making it back out.

Why consider a Grand Cherokee, then? It’s a size up from what you can buy for similar money from the German luxury hegemony, so one reason is the sheer amount of car you get for your cash.

Or perhaps you should own a Jeep precisely so you can leave the BMW and Mercedes tribes and drive something you want, instead of pandering to the expectations of others. It’s a free country, after all, and there’s nothing like driving an American car to remind you of that.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited

Engine 1,995 cc, turbocharged in-line 4 Power 268 hp at 5,250 rpm Torque 400 Nm at 3,000 rpm Gearbox 8-speed automatic 0-100 km/h 8.2 seconds Top speed 210 km/h Fuel efficiency 9.7 L/100 km Agent Capella Auto Price S$373,888 with Certificate of Entitlement Available Now