Thinking about getting one.... some questions:

Heyoooo. My old 2008 chevy trailblazer is getting older by the day. It has served me extremely well since I bought it in 2015. But it's days are numbered. And while my trailblazer has a 5.3L V8, the current trailblazers come with a 1.3L engine. I don't know what GM is thinking when it comes to sub-full size SUVs, but answering that question is NOT what this post is about. . . Nothing GM sells (in north america) suits my needs so I've been looking elsewhere.

The cherokee is a little on the small side but I could probably make it work. But after buying my one and only front wheel drive vehicle in 2006 (a manual acura TL), I swore I would NEVER buy another one. All my vehicles before and since have been either rear wheel drive, or rear wheel drive based 4x4.

And now there's the cherokee.....

- My first question is, how does this thing drive on the road. Does it feel like a front wheel drive vehicle that can get an extra boost from the rear in the snow. Or does it feel like a true all wheel drive machine? I would VASTLY prefer it if this thing came with a wrangler/traditional style transfer case, that was RWD normally, and you could shift into 4 hi or 4 lo. 99% of the time, 4 wheel drive is not needed. If you have a locker/lsd in the rear, then 99.6% of the time 4 wheel drive is not needed. Those percentages are fresh, I JUST pulled them out of my ***.
But still, the question remains. When driving a cherokee on the road under normal, boring, every day conditions, how does it feel? Keep in mind If I et one, it will most likely be a trailhawk and I'll most likely upgrade the tires to 265's. My Trailblazer feels great. Rear wheel drive almost all the time, it handles so good.

- I would be looking to get the 2.0T engine. How does this car drive with that engine? Seems like it should be VERY fast. My trailblazer is very fast when you put your foot down. About 300ft-lb of torque, but the truck weighs 4700 lbs. Cherokee is also about 290 ft-lb of torque, but only weighs 4000lbs-ish. So on paper, the thing should haul ***. But does it?

- I was very disappointed to learn that the locking rear diff only works when you're in 4-lo. I've had 6 vehicles in my life that had 4-lo and Ive probably used it less than a dozen times total. Meanwhile, a locking diff would be super useful all the time. I had a few (not at the same time) ZR2 blazers which game with the G80 locking rear diff and it was great. You hardly needed 4 wheel drive in that thing. Now the G80 will unlock right away whereas the push button locker on the cherokee will not, so in some conditions if you don't turn it off, it could actually break traction and cause problems. But if you know what you're doing, the ability to lock the rear in 4-hi would be incredible useful. Is there any way to make that happen?

- Is the trailhawk the only trim that has the rear locker? In the non locker models like the limited, is that rear diff upgradeable? I would probably be just as content with a vehicle that didn't come with the locker, and swapping it out for a torsen or truetrac. Ignoring the cost, is this even possible. Or does the cherokee run weirdo little axle/diffs that can't be upgraded?

- I read that trailhawks can actually fit 265/65R17's. Do those tires fit on all the other trims too or just the trailhawk?

- Why on earth is does otherwise identical 2.0T have a LOWER (4000l bs) towing capacity than the weaker 3.2NA V6 (4500 lbs). It almost seems like a typo, but it's not, it's everywhere. Why would the weaker engine be able to tow more?
But the real question is, how is this vehicle with towing? Realistically I think I've only towed over 4000 lbs on the trailblazer just once. So even though 4000 lbs isn't perfect, I should be able to make it work. But how is this thing as a tow vehicle. Does it feel solid or is it scary?

I'lll have more questions eventually but this is a good start for now.