Compare the2023 Jeep Grand CherokeeVS 2023 Mercedes G-Class

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 Grand Cherokee are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The G-Class doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Grand Cherokee has standard ParkSense Rear Park Assist with Stop that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The G-Class doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk/Overland/Summit helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The G-Class doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Grand Cherokee (except Laredo) offers an optional 360-degree camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The G-Class only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Grand Cherokee uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The G-Class uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Grand Cherokee and the G-Class 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, 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, available all wheel drive and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Grand Cherokee its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 36 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The G-Class has not been tested, yet.

Jeep’s powertrain warranty covers the Grand Cherokee 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the G-Class. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the G-Class ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance on the Grand Cherokee for 3 years and unlimited miles. Jeep will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the G-Class.

There are over 6 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Grand Cherokee’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep above average in initial quality. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee running on electricity gets better mileage than the G-Class:

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the G-Class:

The Grand Cherokee 4xe can travel with zero emissions for 26 miles. The G-Class can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Grand Cherokee 4xe’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The G-Class doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Jeep Grand Cherokee uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended on Grand Cherokee 4xe for maximum performance). The G-Class requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Grand Cherokee has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The G-Class doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Jeep Grand Cherokee higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Mercedes G-Class (3). This means the Grand Cherokee produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the G-Class every 15,000 miles.

The Grand Cherokee has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The G-Class doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For superior ride and handling, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Mercedes G-Class has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The G-Class doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Grand Cherokee offers an optional automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Grand Cherokee’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The G-Class doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Grand Cherokee’s wheelbase is 2.9 inches longer than on the G-Class (116.7 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

The Grand Cherokee 4x4 handles at .79 G’s, while the AMG G 63 pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3 seconds quicker than the G 550 (27.7 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 30.7 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Grand Cherokee’s turning circle is 6.6 feet tighter than the G-Class’ (38 feet vs. 44.6 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Air Suspension has a 1.4 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the G-Class (10.9 vs. 9.5 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 1300 pounds less than the Mercedes G-Class.

Unibody construction lowers the Grand Cherokee’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The G-Class doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The design of the Jeep Grand Cherokee amounts to more than styling. The Grand Cherokee has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .357 Cd. That is significantly lower than the G-Class (.55). A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Grand Cherokee get better fuel mileage.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Grand Cherokee has standard flush composite headlights. The G-Class has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The front grille of the Grand Cherokee uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The G-Class doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Grand Cherokee offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The G-Class doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Grand Cherokee has 2.6 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room and .6 inches more rear shoulder room than the G-Class.

The Grand Cherokee has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the G-Class with its rear seat folded (70.8 vs. 68.6 cubic feet).

The Grand Cherokee’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The G-Class’ swing out door blocks loading from the driver’s side.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Grand Cherokee offers an optional power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or optionally by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The G-Class doesn’t offer a power cargo door.

Maximum trailer towing in the Mercedes G-Class is limited to 7000 pounds. The Grand Cherokee 4x4 offers up to a 7200 lbs. towing capacity.

The Grand Cherokee 4WD with optional equipment can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Grand Cherokee can be unhitched and driven around locally. The G-Class can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Grand Cherokee’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The G-Class does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Grand Cherokee Overland/Summit offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, certain gauge and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The G-Class doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Grand Cherokee has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the G-Class only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Grand Cherokee has standard extendable sun visors. The G-Class doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Grand Cherokee to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The G-Class doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Optional air conditioned front and rear seats keep the Grand Cherokee’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The G-Class doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats in the rear.

The Grand Cherokee is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The G-Class doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Mercedes G-Class by almost 32 to one during 2022.