Honda Civic vs Jeep Cherokee

The KL-generation Cherokee launched as a 2014 model and almost immediately began swirling in controversy. Jeep hadn’t offered a Cherokee in the United States since the 2001 model year, when the XJ Cherokee disappeared, replaced by two generations of the Jeep Liberty.

There was great excitement for this all-new Jeep. Lots of fans were hoping for a redo of the 1984 to 2001 Jeep Cherokee that really helped to define the midsize SUV class with a unibody and legendary toughness. “The 2014 Cherokee feels planted on the road, more carlike than trucklike…” read an early review in Car and Driver. A separate review from the same publication read: “If you have eyes, you’ve noticed that this Cherokee, code-named KL, makes no design references, other than with the grille, to the iconic, rectilinear XJ Cherokee.”

But the automotive industry isn’t necessarily in the business of fueling nostalgia. It’s interested in what it can sell in great numbers in the future, not what people liked 30 years ago. And what we’ve realized over the years is that the Cherokee is really good at what it does, and it’s capable of doing a lot more than you’d expect.

Jeep sells these at a rate of 240,000 annually, in a good year. The best the Jeep Liberty it replaced ever managed was 166,883 units before dropping off the face of the Earth entirely. Clearly, Jeep knew something we didn’t when it released the Cherokee.

It’s been almost half a decade since Honda introduced this latest Civic. That’s hard to believe, because this car has aged with remarkable grace. After a mild update for the 2025 model year, the 2026 Civic lineup carries over unchanged. It continues to offer sedans and hatchbacks, with or without hybrid power. Sporty Si and performance-tuned Type R variants are also available, but Honda still doesn’t offer the Civic with all-wheel drive. Does that matter? Seemingly not, because the Civic is Honda’s second-best-selling car (behind the CR-V), and one of the top-selling compact cars in America.

Verdict: You’ll pay a premium to buy a Honda Civic. In many ways, it’s worth the extra money. In others, not so much. Still, while there are better deals in the compact car class, few are as satisfying to drive, and that’s true even when the Civic is equipped with its base engine.