2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee rumored to get 2.0-liter four as base engine

Here’s a report that made us check the calendar to make sure about when in April this is. Mopar Insiders says it heard from one of its sources that Jeep’s making changes to the powertrain lineup for the two-row Grand Cherokee and three-row Grand Cherokee L next year. Currently, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 making 293 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque is the entry-level engine in both models. The only way to upgrade that situation on the Grand Cherokee is to get the plug-in hybrid 4xe model that starts at about $24,000 more. The upgrade for the Grand Cherokee L is the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 making 395 hp and 410 lb-ft, a $3,995 option on the trims that offer it. For next year, Mopar Insiders says Jeep parent company Stellantis will insert a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder as the standard engine on the Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L. The crazy bit is that, according to this rumor, the 2.0-liter will replace the Pentastar and the Hemi, and so be the only engine offered in the Grand Cherokee L. The Grand Cherokee will still be offered as a PHEV.

The V8 going bye-bye and a four-cylinder being swapped for a six-cylinder are nothing new; as Mopar Insiders notes, the Ford Explorer powertrain range starts with a 2.3-liter four-cylinder producing 300 hp and 310 lb-ft, and Jeep isn’t far off that with the turbo 2.0-liter in the Wrangler that makes 270 hp and 295 lb-ft. Offering the smaller mill as the only engine would be the surprise. Plenty of Grand Cherokee owners ready to trade in are waiting for news about the Hurricane inline-six joining the GC lineup. Jeep sold nearly 245,000 GCs in the U.S. last year, the second-best U.S. tally in the last 20 years, we’d say there’s no better model in the entire brand portfolio for the straight-six even if just the standard-output version.

The two- and three-row are supposed to get light updates for next year before a full-on redesign around 2027 that could see the Grand Cherokee move to Stellantis’ STLA Large platform from today’s WL platform. We’ll be looking forward to the official word from Jeep when the 2025 Grand Cherokee launches, and you can consider us surprised if Jeep doesn’t make mention of the Hurricane for that model year. We’ve written to Jeep to ask for comment, we’ll update the post if we get a response.