The SUV market is booming, and there are more options on the market than ever for car shoppers to choose from, and this includes some unique and specialized SUVs. The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of those unique SUVs, as it’s in the premium SUV category, and SUVs in this category are more expensive, but they’ll offer more features in return. There are other options in the segment however, so here’s a look at four advantages that the 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee has over the Nissan Murano.

1. Jeep gave the Grand Cherokee much more power and torque

Off the bat, one of the big differences between the two SUVs is their engine options. Jeep gave the Grand Cherokee three options, including a hybrid, while Nissan only has one engine option on the Murano. No matter which option folks pick however, the Grand Cherokee will have more horsepower and torque than the Murano will.

According to Edmunds, the standard engine on the Grand Cherokee is a 3.6-liter V6 that gets 293 hp and 257 lb-ft of torque. The Murano, meanwhile, has a 3.5-liter V6, and it gets 260 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque. That’s a difference of over 30 hp and about 17 lb-ft of torque.

The power difference gets worse with the other engine options. Jeep also offers a 5.7-liter V8, and it gets 357 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque. The hybrid option gets 375 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. This means that the Jeep’s engine options both get about 100 hp more than the Nissan gets, and the hybrid Grand Cherokee almost has double the torque that the Murano has.

2. The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee has a higher payload and towing capacity

Thanks to the power difference on all engine options, the Jeep SUV will also get a higher max payload and towing capacity than the Nissan will. Like Edmunds wrote, the Grand Cherokee has a max towing capacity of 6,200 pounds. In comparison, the Murano has a max towing capacity of just 1,500 pounds. That’s a difference of about 4,700 pounds.

It’s a closer race in terms of payload, but the Jeep still takes it. The Grand Cherokee has a max payload capacity of 1,283 pounds, which is more than the Murano’s 1,245 pounds. 

3. Families will get access to more cargo space in the 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee

In addition to that, the Jeep will have more cargo capacity. Without folding any seats down, the Grand Cherokee has a cargo capacity of 37.7 cu. ft. The Murano, meanwhile, only gets 32.1 cu. ft. of cargo capacity without any seats folded down. That’s a capacity difference of about 5.6 cu. ft.

With the seats folded down, the Grand Cherokee has a max cargo capacity of 70.8 cu. ft. The Murano has a max cargo capacity of 67 cu. ft. with its seats folded down. The capacity difference with their seats folded down drops to 3.8 cu. ft., but it’s still a significant amount of room for families. 

4. The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee has a higher ground clearance too

Jeeps are well-known for off-roading, and while the Grand Cherokee is a spacious and powerful SUV, it can definitely off-road as well. The Jeep’s off-roading capabilities are also much better than the Murano’s, and a big part of this is because the Grand Cherokee has significantly more ground clearance than the Murano does. 

The Nissan SUV only has about 6.9 inches of ground clearance. In comparison, the Jeep SUV gets 8.4 inches of ground clearance. That’s a difference of 1.5 inches, and that can pay dividends when the SUV is off-road.