The Jeep Wagoneer Is a 3-Row Family Savior

To the surprise of no one, our Jeep Wagoneer Series II yearlong test vehicle has been in incredibly high demand from editors seeking a comfortable and spacious ride to haul oversized gear long distances or just shuttle family and friends around Los Angeles. Director of editorial operations Mike Floyd was in the latter camp when a small army arrived for a recent visit.—Ed.

When you have a pile of relatives coming into town, you need something big, something roomy, and something that no one will complain about. Thankfully we have a Jeep Wagoneer in long-term fleet. It turned out to be my three-row savior.

There was a fair amount of carting of human cargo in store for me, with the primary destination being Universal Studios, where I took three excited kids (including one five-year-old who needed a booster seat), three adults, and myself—one shy of fully loaded for our eight-passenger Jeep. Though some others on staff have complained, I found one of the best things about the Wagoneer to be its easy to flip up second row to allow third row ingress/egress. I’m happy to report no complaints about getting in and out from my family—this is a group that has no problems complaining, so I’m sure it worked well.

There was no whining either about the Wagoneer’s ride, either, with all reporting that the seats were comfortable, and that the Wagoneer’s optional air suspension handled L.A.’s mixed-quality roadways well. I was a bit surprised no one really cared about the $2,595 entertainment screens in the second row, or the $1,695 passenger screen. The littlest one had his iPad and that’s all he focused on. Up front, I loved the plush driver’s seat, while my wife, who is a phone power user, easily got plugged in.

The kids accumulated all manner of souvenirs, plush toys, and the like during our day at Universal, and we had a stroller, backpacks, and other gear. The space behind the third row shrugged and swallowed it all up with room to spare. There were a few positive comments about the Wagoneer’s huge glass roof, which of course opened the cabin to let the SoCal sunshine in without scorching anyone.

Even with the full complement of family in tow, the Wagoneer’s 420-hp 3.0-liter twin-turbo “Hurricane” I-6 generated more than enough force to move the Jeep. It’s maybe not a Category 5 storm, but calling it Category 3 would be fair. Not that you’re going to go super-fast in L.A. traffic, but when I needed to put my foot in it, plentiful acceleration was on tap, and the 8-speed transmission wasn’t jerky in any way. For such a big vehicle, the Wagoneer is also decently maneuverable with no real issues getting into and out of small parking lots, although a forward-facing camera would have helped immensely in tight spaces.

The highlight of my week was taking them to LAX (kidding! It sucked). We couldn’t fit the entire crew of seven into the Wagoneer with all their luggage, so we had to put two of them in an Uber. But we had a full six pack in the Jeep, with 40 percent of the third row folded to accommodate baggage. Folding the third and second rows is super easy. The seats utilize manual pulls rather than the slow and annoying electric fold switches of some higher-spec SUVs, helping create a flat load space. I lowered the air suspension more to make it even easier to load up their gear, too. Stuffed to the gills, the Wagoneer had no problem and was perfectly at home battling for a sliver of space at the airport with the Tahoe and Escalade livery machines.

All in all, the Wagoneer performed its family carting duties with composure, which kept me from losing mine. What more could you ask for from a big family hauler?