Safe and stylish as it is, the biggest ace up the Commander’s sleeve is its refined drivetrain.  Shared with the Dodge Durango, the Commander is pushed by a 230 horsepower 4.7-liter V8 engine.  Mated to a five-speed automatic, the Jeep makes shortlist of both stoplight duels and highway mergers.  The more spirited will enjoy the “AutoStick” function that allows the driver to shift up and down manually by just toggling the shifter left or right.  Overall, the engine is muted and refined, but when pushed the V8 lets out a nice, muscle car like gurgle.  The engine’s atypical of an American SUV too as it’s FlexFuel capable.  This means that it can run up to 85 percent ethanol right off the bat.  During the test, the Commander did a similar mileage on both unleaded and E10: roughly 5.0 km/L—a very commendable figure considering that the drive was done mostly in traffic.

For those who “rough it”, the Commander is a trail rated SUV which means it can go through the treacherous Rubicon trail without any sort of modifications.  The boxy profile aside, this ability is thanks to the advanced all-wheel drive system dubbed Quadra-Drive II which integrates low-range, towing and locking differential functions.

Although the Jeep is best enjoyed from the driver’s seat, the other passengers will still revel in the Commander’s generous equipment.  Everything expected as standard is, and running down the list: powered leather seats and pedals, dual climate control, a 6-disc in-dash changer with MP3 function with a Boston Acoustic speaker system and dual sunroofs.  Much more important though is that the Commander manages to be much more than just the sum of its interior parts.  For starters, the Commander’s seats are covered in sumptuous baseball glove leather and surrounding it is a well-executed matte wood trim.  There’s a spattering of chrome here and there, which liven the cabin without making it look cheesy.  It’s a nice place to be, and surprisingly, the interior’s not out of place in cars twice its price.

And in the end, it’s the value for money equation that makes the Jeep Commander a standout.  This is one car that manages to include all the essentials plus all the right extras into a solid, stylish and more or less a functional package.  As long as you’re not looking for a 7-seater SUV, the Commander should be the first choice thanks to its excellent performance, surprising road manners, off-road capability—and in all, it’s a flawless execution.  Like the Chrysler 300C, it makes one hell of a statement—and that’s something that can’t be said with its competition.

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