We just picked up a 2016 Cherokee Trailhawk earlier this week. We are moving to north Idaho next year after I retire, and were looking for a daily driver with a reasonable dose of off-road capability. We get 70" of snow a year up there, and AWD (or full time 4WD) was an important criteria for a snow country vehicle. I think the major limitations of the KL off-road are ground clearance and articulation, but unlike the desert southwest we won't be dealing with lots of rocky ledges and drop offs, so I don't think that will be too much of issue for us. Most of the back-country routes are old logging roads, so the Trailhawk should be perfect to get us to back-country fishing spots or trail heads.
We considered the Outback and the Forester, but I think the Trailhawk is a little more suitable to back-country trails with better approach/departure angles, rear locker and a full size spare. We also thought about a 4 Runner, but would have wanted the Limited with it's full time 4WD. I don't fit comfortably in any Toyota product that has a sunroof though, so that took the 4 Runner off the list. The other positive about the Jeep is that there is a dealer in the town where we live, but the nearest Toyota or Subaru dealers are over an hour away. That said, I hope we don't have too much of a need to visit the dealer. Reliability is my one reservation about buying the Jeep.
Unlike some of the Jeep traditionalists here I actually like the way the Cherokee looks. To me it's got enough of the traditional Jeep styling cues wrapped in a more modern package. In fact, that was a big part of the reason why we chose the Cherokee over the Grand Cherokee. Obviously, everyone is entitled to their own opinion about the styling though. :sombrero:
