Press Kit: 2014 Jeep Cherokee

Auburn Hills, Mich. September 8, 2013 - The all-new 2014 Jeep Cherokee can carry customers anywhere they want to go. And wherever that is, they can stay connected and powered up with available, factory-installed wireless smartphone charging.

“Our new wireless charging feature, combined with the 2014 Jeep Cherokee’s formidable capability, could give power-tripping a whole new meaning,” said Marios Zenios, Vice President, Uconnect Systems and Services — Chrysler Group LLC. “Factor in the functionality of Uconnect Via Mobile and Uconnect Access and customers can stay in touch without ever taking their hands off the vehicle’s available heated steering wheel.”

To charge a device customers can simply place it in the Jeep Cherokee’s convenient console where a mechanical docking station affords secure storage.

“That’s just what we want customers to do,” Zenios added. “Put their phones away and forget about them.”

But their functionality remains accessible through Uconnect’s critically acclaimed user interface.

Also for 2014 is Uconnect Via Mobile, which seamlessly brings four popular Internet radio apps into the Jeep Cherokee. They are: Aha by Harman, iHeartRadio, Pandora and Slacker.

Customers use their own smartphone data plans to stream content, avoiding additional charges.

Content personalization is easy. With Pandora, for instance, drivers can register their preferences by hitting the app’s familiar buttons – “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” – which are displayed on the available 8.4-inch touchscreen.

Similarly, with Slacker Radio, favorites can be identified using the “Heart” button. And tunes that try a customer’s patience can be blocked using the “Ban” button.

iHeartRadio users can personalize their listening experience by saving their favorites in “My Stations” and using iHeartRadio's exclusive Discovery Tuner to control variety.

In addition, steering-wheel controls enable song-skipping and rewind. But customers will more likely use the latter, preferring to relive again and again the experience delivered by the available nine-speaker premium audio system with subwoofer.

A six-speaker system comes standard.

New, smart Uconnect system
Building upon base radio capability, two new Uconnect systems are offered to provide Jeep customers with a range of features and connectivity options to best suit their needs, including:

• Uconnect 8.4A — features an available 8.4-inch color touchscreen and offers customers the flexibility to purchase navigation after the vehicle sale. The system also provides customers with multiple ways to connect their Cherokee – SiriusXM Radio; voice recognition technology to provide handsfree operation of mobile phones, music and texting and a variety of ways to access digital music content including USB and 3.5 mm auxiliary input in the media console – all standard
• Uconnect 8.4AN — features an 8.4-inch color touchscreen with standard navigation and provides customers with multiple ways to connect their vehicle; HD Radio, SiriusXM Radio, SiriusXM Travel Link and SiriusXM Traffic; voice recognition technology to provide handsfree operation of mobile phones, music, voice-to-text and navigation; 3.5 mm auxiliary inputs and a variety of ways to access digital music content, including USB ports

Award-winning Uconnect Access
Uconnect Access Via Mobile represents a significant enhancement to Uconnect Access, a system already celebrated by industry watchers as the benchmark for responsible in-vehicle connectivity. AOL Autos named Uconnect Access its Technology of the Year for 2013.

The all-new Jeep Cherokee is equipped with an advanced service-delivery platform that affords the kind of stability that enables direct communication when it’s needed most.

Some competitive systems use built-in cellular capability to connect with concierge call centers. Others alert emergency services personnel directly, but they do so through mobile phones.

Uconnect Access uses embedded cellular technology to connect vehicle occupants directly with local emergency-service dispatchers — all with the push of the 9-1-1 button on the Jeep Cherokee’s rearview mirror.

Uconnect Access applies the same logic to roadside assistance. One push of the “ASSIST” button summons help directly from Chrysler Group’s roadside assistance provider, or the Vehicle Customer Care Center.

The system also can be used to assist someone else in need with a “Good Samaritan” call.

Further peace of mind comes from theft alarm notification, which alerts owners via SMS or e-mail whenever their vehicles’ security alarms are activated. Up to five people can be notified.

Additional Uconnect Access security features include the ability to remotely sound the Jeep Cherokee’s horn and flash its lights – measures enabled by the Uconnect smartphone app that could serve as potential crime deterrents or simply to locate the vehicle in a crowded parking lot.

Once behind the wheel, Jeep Cherokee customers can tap the power of the cloud through Uconnect Access. Paired, Bluetooth-equipped cell phones that use the Message Access Protocol (MAP) can:

• receive text messages
• announce receipt of texts
• identify senders
• and then “read” the messages aloud

To respond, simply dictate. The cloud helps the system’s voice-recognition system assemble the response and “read” it back for accuracy before sending. And it can all be done handsfree.

Advanced on-board voice-recognition simplifies the often-problematic process of entering navigation-system destinations with both hands on the wheel. In the all-new Jeep Cherokee, the system will accept continuous, single-sentence instructions.

On-road travel is made easier by new 3-D maps with graphic representations of well-known landmarks and terrain features.

Unsure of a destination? Drivers can pull over and use the Jeep Cherokee as a Wi-Fi hot-spot. Or keep driving and access the powerful Yelp search engine via voice command.

The Uconnect Access navigation system can not only calculate a route, but store the destination’s telephone number for handsfree calling.

SiriusXM Radio
All-new 2014 Jeep Cherokee offers its customers an expanded channel lineup from SiriusXM Radio with new exclusive programming.

The new programming offers commercial-free music, plus sports and comedy, including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Radio, ESPN’s SportsCenter, UCB Radio featuring underground sketch and stand-up, improv comedy from Upright Citizens Brigade, and Carlin’s Corner, featuring albums, concerts and comedy from the archives of the legendary George Carlin, as well as SiriusXM Latino, which delivers the most comprehensive Latin programming available in radio today — including 19 channels of the most comprehensive Latin programming lineup available to radio listeners.

Ten exclusive commercial-free music channels covering a deep selection of music genres, plus content from leading providers of Spanish-language sports, news, talk and entertainment — including ESPN Deportes Radio, MLB en Español, and multiple Deportes En Vivo channels which will carry Spanish-language play-by-play of NFL games, an expanded lineup of MLB games, professional sports as well as major college programs; RadioFormula México, CNN en Español, and Cristina Radio, featuring iconic talk show host Cristina Saralegui. Jeep Cherokee customers receive a 12-month SiriusXM Premier subscription, included when purchasing a satellite-radio-equipped 2014 Jeep Cherokee.

Sophisticated navigation system
The Uconnect 8.4A offers customers the flexibility to purchase navigation either at or after the vehicle sale. The Uconnect 8.4AN offers navigation standard, including 3D imagery of landmarks, city models and digital terrain. Both Uconnect systems utilize the large, 8.4-inch touchscreen to deliver directions, lane guidance and points of interest. Directions are given audibly and also appear in the TFT instrument cluster display, so information is available when the driver needs it. The updated system features enhanced graphics and a one-step voice entry system so Jeep customers can easily say the address and navigate on the go.

SiriusXM Travel Link
SiriusXM provides information and entertainment. SiriusXM Travel Link can be operated via voice and is available on vehicles with the Uconnect 8.4AN. To make every trip more efficient, SiriusXM Travel Link provides premium data services and information, and includes:

Weather: shows coast-to-coast weather data, current conditions and five-day forecasts, detailed storm cell information, hurricane and tropical storm tracking, local wind speeds and even ski resort conditions

Fuel Prices: lists prices, locations and distance to more than 120,000 fuel stations across the United States, and can have the navigation system route to a selected fuel station location. The feature also can search for fuel grade pricing for gasoline or diesel

Sports: in-game and final scores and weekly schedules from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, golf, college football and basketball

Movies: uses listings from more than 4,500 movie theaters across the United States to help consumers plan movie times, theater addresses, ratings, and run lengths ahead of time. Passengers also may have the navigation system set a route to a selected theater location

SiriusXM Traffic
SiriusXM Traffic works with the vehicle’s navigation system to display traffic speed and flow information, along with accident information to assist drivers in routing around congested areas.

New 7-inch full-color reconfigurable instrument cluster display
Filling the gauge cluster in front of the driver is an available 7-inch, color, premium multiview display, featuring a reconfigurable function that enables drivers to personalize information inside the instrument cluster. Information display is designed to visually communicate information, using graphics and text, quickly and easily.

The display offers drivers a wide range of customization options, from a basic speed readout to specific vehicle status information. Operation of the display is clearly communicated to users with easy-to-understand icons and instructions. Using buttons on the steering wheel, drivers can customize the screen with as much or as little information as they desire. The system is intuitive and can be arranged for a variety of views. Additionally, the four corners of the display can be customized to show information at a glance, including current fuel economy, outside temperature, time and compass direction.

Once a main screen is chosen, it becomes the default setting, remembering the user’s selection upon restarting the Cherokee. Vehicle concerns are instantly reported to the driver via pop-up warning messages on the display. Text warning messages are automatically stored so a driver can review the message at their convenience.