2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L vs 2023 Volkswagen ID.4

Jeep is now a luxury brand. That's why the 2022 Grand Cherokee L can ask, with a straight face, that you pay up to $70,000 for the privilege of ownership. But because Jeep is a proudly American brand, a war veteran that helped Allied troops defeat fascism, the company has earned the kind of unvarnished reputation and universal praise given only to a handful of U.S. presidents.

As such, a $60,000 Wrangler or a $100,000 Grand Wagoneer doesn't seem snooty, while a Mercedes-Benz or a Lexus sure does. Jeep's heritage as a hardcore 4x4 brand and its newer image as a bougie city truck maker can coexist. We took a Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve across Tennessee to prove it.

The Volkswagen ID.4 is still relatively new to the marketplace (it debuted for the 2021 model year) but VW is already making some important updates to keep it competitive and fulfill goals set when this compact electric SUV first launched.

The 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 adds a new base model and a smaller 62-kilowatt-hour battery pack alongside the carryover 82-kWh to increase affordability. VW will also begin sourcing cars for its United States dealerships from the same Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory that builds the gasoline-powered Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport. The automaker has been discussing this since the ID.4 was unveiled, but at first cars for the U.S. came from Zwickau, Germany.

The 2023 ID.4 retains single-motor rear-wheel drive (RWD) and dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) powertrain options, but gets revised exterior and interior styling, some software changes, and a few more standard tech features and driver aids.

The new-for-2023 base model is dubbed ID.4 Standard, slotting below the ID.4 S, ID.4 Pro, ID.4 Pro S, and ID.4 Pro S Plus trim levels (the Pro S Plus replaces the Gradient appearance package from previous model years). We recently spent a day driving a Pro S AWD model from Nashville to Chattanooga, along with a shorter drive in an ID.4 Standard model.