Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2023 Jeep Cherokee

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Cherokee doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Jeep Cherokee has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Acadia are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Cherokee doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Acadia SLT/AT4/Denali offers an optional Surround Vision System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cherokee only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the Acadia and the Cherokee have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Jeep Cherokee:

	Acadia	Cherokee
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	38.2%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	408 lbs.
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	41 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	129/383 lbs.	368/516 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Jeep Cherokee:

	Acadia	Cherokee
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	243 lbs.	363 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	51 G’s	53 G’s
Hip Force	799 lbs.	938 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	43 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Acadia the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 233 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cherokee has not been tested, yet.

Warranty

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Cherokee’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 220-amp alternator. The Cherokee’s standard 160-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Acadia third among upper midsize suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Cherokee isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC above average in initial quality. With 37 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Jeep With 9 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks GMC higher than Jeep.

Engine

The Acadia’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 48 more horsepower (228 vs. 180) and 87 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 171) than the Cherokee’s standard 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 40 more horsepower (310 vs. 270) than the Cherokee Trailhawk’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Acadia gets better mileage than the Cherokee:

			MPG
Acadia
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
Cherokee
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/26 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 3.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cherokee (19.4 vs. 15.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 5.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cherokee (21.7 vs. 15.8 gallons).

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the GMC Acadia higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Jeep Cherokee (5 to 6). This means the Acadia produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Cherokee every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Cherokee are solid, not vented.

The Acadia stops shorter than the Cherokee:

	Acadia	Cherokee
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	131 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia has larger standard tires than the Cherokee (235/65R18 vs. 225/60R18). The Acadia AT4’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cherokee (255/65R17 vs. 245/65R17).

The Acadia’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cherokee Altitude LUX’s optional 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Acadia offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Cherokee’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Jeep Cherokee only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Cherokee’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 5.9 inches longer than on the Cherokee (112.5 inches vs. 106.6 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Acadia is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cherokee.

The Acadia SLT AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Cherokee pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the Cherokee (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The Acadia offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the Cherokee can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 40.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cherokee (143.8 vs. 103.5).

The Acadia has .6 inches more front headroom, 1.9 inches more front hip room, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, 3.4 inches more rear hip room and 3.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cherokee.

Cargo Capacity

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the Cherokee.

	Acadia	Cherokee
Third Seat Folded	41.7 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	27.6 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79 cubic feet	54.7 cubic feet

The Acadia’s cargo area is larger than the Cherokee’s in every dimension:

	Acadia	Cherokee
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	18.5”/48”/83”	n.a./33.9”/67.6”
Max Width	50”	49.2”
Min Width	42.5”	39.4”
Height	33”	28.8”

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the Acadia’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Cherokee doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Ergonomics

The Acadia (except SLE) offers an available heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Cherokee doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its SiriusXM Guardian can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Acadia SLT/AT4/Denali’s standard rear view mirror and optional side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Cherokee has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Acadia and the Cherokee offer available heated front seats. The Acadia also offers optional heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Cherokee.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the GMC Acadia offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Cherokee doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Model Availability

The Acadia is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the Cherokee because typical repairs cost much less on the Acadia than the Cherokee, including $293 less for a muffler, $142 less for a starter, $167 less for a fuel pump and $126 less for front struts.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the GMC Acadia, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Jeep Cherokee isn't recommended.

The GMC Acadia outsold the Jeep Cherokee by 31% during 2022.