The Jeep Cherokee is a 2-door wagon / 4-door wagon Cherokee Chief from Jeep, built from 1974 to 1983, as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry. Under the bonnet: 258 CID AMC AMC Straight-6 engine. Brooks Stevens drew it.
The story
See also Jeep Cherokee for other models using this name.
The SJ series Jeep Cherokee is a full-size SUV that was produced from 1974 through 1983 by Jeep. It was based on the Wagoneer that was originally designed by Brooks Stevens in 1963.
What is underneath
Power comes from 258 CID AMC AMC Straight-6 engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It weighs 4514 lb. It shifts through a 4-speed Manual transmission / manual / 3-speed Automatic transmission / automatic. The wheelbase is 108.7 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Its family tree is legible: its successor was the Jeep Cherokee (XJ) / Jeep Grand Cherokee (ZJ); assembly was at Toledo, Ohio. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Lamborghini Countach, the Volkswagen Golf, the Volkswagen Scirocco — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Jeep catalogue sit the Jeep Wrangler (JK) and the Jeep Wrangler (TJ).
What it costs now
The money question first: $10,200–$32,900 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $3,107–$10,650 a year. Insurance sits around $1,120–$2,140 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.
Jeep1941
Jeep Cherokee (KJ) 
Jeep Cherokee (KL) 
Jeep Cherokee (XJ)