Despite the Jeep badge on the front, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer isn’t something you would think of as an off-roader. With three rows, a very premium interior, and more cargo space than most people will know what to do with, it comes across as more of a “high-end family SUV” than anything else.
But Jeep’s classier option can actually handle itself quite well when you’re off the beaten track. Okay, it’s not taking on Moab or Red Rock like a Wrangler Rubicon, bit it should do pretty well on a ranch or a trail. I recently went to a ranch near Austin, and got to try out the “Upland” trim off the beaten track. Here’s what I found.
What off-roading features does the 2026 Grand Wagoneer have?
As with most luxury SUVs, the Grand Wagoneer has a number of trims you can choose from. While all trims have 4×4 capability as standard, quadra-lift air suspension, and the same 3.0L Hurricane Twin-Turbo inline-six engine powering it all, the “Upland” trim has a few extra features that tend to make life off-road easier.
This includes steel skid plates, to help protect that oil pan from any rocks or roots you may be unfortunate enough to hit and a few tow hooks to help you out if it does go wrong. You’ll also get a set of BSW all-terrain tires on the vehicle’s 20-inch rims. There are no locking differentials, though you do have an electronic limited-slip diff in the rear.
When you put the vehicle into “Off-road 2,” the air suspension lifts the vehicle to its full 10-inches of ground clearance. As for the drive mode, the vehicle was set in to snow/mud. This mostly regulates how power is sent to the wheels, in an attempt to find and maintain traction on soft or loose surfaces.
Here’s what the 2026 Grand Wagoneer is like on the trail
Usually, on a press trip, the off-roading is pretty mild. Often to the point of companies going, “Yes, this is an all-terrain vehicle, so enjoy this strip of gravel track and a six inch deep hole we’ve dug for you. That should provide a few photo ops!”
So it was a bit of a surprise when Jeep actually had a half-decent off-roading route prepared. Again, we weren’t rock crawling or going up muddy 30 degree slopes, but there were a few things that would’ve caused a lesser vehicle to struggle.
The off-road course was in a lead-follow format, and the lead car took off at a surprising amount of speed. On somewhat dry grass or a dirt trail, you can quite easily do over 30 miles per hour without the Wagoneer finding itself in trouble.
Things soon got a little trickier when we went through one or two gates and into some woodland. The Jeep does come with surround cameras, which are handy when you’re trying to work your way through a tight space or over an obstacle. This includes a front-facing camera that you can use to place your wheels exactly where you need them. My camera did keep turning itself off after a few minutes, though this could also be a case of the camera de-activating above a certain speed. It also comes on automatically when a potential hazard is close, though this tended to happen when I was already most of the way through or past said obstacle.
Two notable moments from the off-road loop included the words “that rut is pretty deep and flooded, you want to try to go around it the way we did” coming over the radio as I was deep in said rut and feeling the wheels spin a little.
To be fair to the Jeep it continued to find traction and got me through pretty quickly with some minimal feathering of the throttle on my end. That rut was indeed deep and water-filled, so I wouldn’t have been shocked if the SUV did get stuck. I was shocked with how well it handled the situation.
Then there was a pretty challenging bump to navigate. Again it’s not a rock crawl but there was a significant drop off on one side, and I was looking at the sky at one point. A spotter was used, just in-case the vehicle went down said drop off or overshot and tagged a tree. The obstacle was navigated with a surprising amount of ease, the Jeep handled the uphill part well and didn’t slip in the slightest going downhill.
The Grand Wagoneer has a good amount of capability for a luxury SUV
As for overall performance, despite its immense size the Grand Wagoneer can navigate through some surprisingly tight spaces. Beyond that, the suspension was excellent, with minimal body roll even when the terrain was pretty uneven. I’ve driven things that essentially act like sea boat simulators when you hit a pothole, so seeing something stay relatively steady off the beaten trail is a relief.
If you’re into extreme off-roading, you’re probably not going to be happy with anything stock. Let alone a practical family SUV. But if you own a bit of land, inhabit an area with adverse weather conditions, or reside down a difficult dirt road then the Grand Wagoneer is a solid choice that shouldn’t let you down. It also seems pretty ideal for an overlanding trip.
