Jeep Just Confirmed the Cherokee Trailhawk Is Coming Back

The Trailhawk nameplate is officially coming back. Stellantis confirmed on June 22 that the Trailhawk badge will return in a new version that will be legitimately capable off-road — not just a crossover wearing aggressive graphics and all-terrain tires.

Read Also

42 minute ago

8 Forgotten American V8 Classics Cheaper Than A New Camry

2 autotech

For Jeep loyalists who watched the original Trailhawk disappear and felt the Cherokee drift toward mall-crawler territory, that’s exactly what they wanted to hear. Whether Broderdorf’s promise holds up against real trail scrutiny is a different question — and the Wrangler-or-nothing crowd has been burned by Jeep’s off-road marketing before.

What Broderdorf Actually Said — And Why the Wording Matters

Broderdorf’s confirmation to The Drive was direct: the new Cherokee would still be capable off-road, and Jeep aims to make good on that promise. That phrasing — “make good on that promise” — is pointed. It acknowledges there’s a credibility gap to close, not just a nameplate to revive. The original Cherokee Trailhawk earned its reputation the hard way. It came with a lifted suspension, skid plates, red tow hooks, a locking rear differential, and approach and departure angles that gave it genuine trail credentials for a unibody SUV.

Read Also

1 week ago

Honda Engineers Create New Trail Experience App to Elevate OffRoad Adventures of Honda TrailSport SU

5 autotech

Enthusiasts who owned one knew it could handle more than its crossover platform suggested. When Jeep quietly shelved the Cherokee entirely after the 2023 model year, the Trailhawk went with it — and the off-road community noticed. Broderdorf’s on-record commitment signals Jeep understands what’s at stake. Slapping a Trailhawk badge on a refreshed crossover with a terrain-mode selector and calling it a day won’t fly with this audience.

The Trailhawk’s Legacy Sets a High Bar

Stellantis

The last Cherokee Trailhawk — based on the KL-generation platform — was no Wrangler Rubicon 392, but it was a genuinely honest off-road machine for a two-row family hauler. Ground clearance sat around 8.7 inches, approach angle came in at roughly 29.9 degrees, and the rear departure angle was approximately 32.2 degrees. The Selec-Terrain system offered a dedicated Rock mode, and the locking rear diff gave it traction most competitors in the segment couldn’t match. Compare that to a Wrangler Rubicon — which runs approach angles north of 44 degrees, a front axle disconnect, front and rear locking differentials, and sway-bar disconnect — and the Cherokee was always playing a different game. But that was never the point. The Trailhawk’s pitch was: if you need a real back seat and a real cargo area and you still want to run moderate trails without winching yourself out, this is your truck. It delivered on that promise. The new one needs to do the same, or better.

What the New Trailhawk Needs to Deliver

Amanda Cline / HotCars

Broderdorf hasn’t released a full spec sheet yet, and no firm reveal timeline has been confirmed beyond the June 22 announcement. But the brief is clear from the CEO’s own framing: the new Trailhawk has to be more than a trim package. That means the hardware conversation matters. A proper return needs a lifted ride height, genuine skid plate coverage for the fuel tank and transfer case, and either a locking differential or a torque-vectoring system aggressive enough to substitute for one on loose terrain. Approach and breakover angles need to match or exceed the KL Trailhawk’s numbers. Terrain modes are table stakes at this point — every crossover has them — so the differentiation has to come from actual suspension travel and hardware underneath.

Amanda Cline / HotCars

For context, the 2027 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk just returned to the lineup with best-in-class ground clearance as a headline spec, which signals that Jeep is at least thinking about the right metrics across its Trailhawk family. Whether the Cherokee version gets the same seriousness of purpose, or whether it’s positioned as a softer entry point, will define how the off-road community receives it. The timeline for a full reveal hasn’t been pinned down. Broderdorf’s confirmation is the first public commitment, and the details — powertrain, suspension specs, differential setup — are still outstanding. That’s where the skeptics will be watching. Jeep built the Trailhawk badge into something enthusiasts actually trusted. Broderdorf’s confirmation is the right first step, but trust in a nameplate gets rebuilt on approach angles and locking diffs, not press releases. When the full spec sheet drops, that’s when this conversation gets real.

Source: Stellantis, TheDrive