We were all thrilled when Jeep brought back the Cherokee name for the vehicle that has replaced the aging Liberty. Then we saw the final production version and were, well, a bit surprised, to say the least. The reason was because of its controversial front-end design. But the more we looked at it, the more we started to like it. Now the 2014 Cherokee's designer is defending his work, stating that such a radical styling job was needed in order to help Jeep deviate away from its more traditional look.

This program had to break tradition. With the aero target we needed to meet, we couldn't do a Liberty again, couldn't have made a Patriot, or a Commander type of design," stated Jeep lead designer Greg Howell. Jeep management knew the design was going to be polarizing at first, but it was fully aware that it couldn't just build a smaller Grand Cherokee and call it a day. "The science and reality of the industry were telling us we couldn't do things the same way," Howell emphasized that the Cherokee was "designed to appeal to a much younger audience." Time will tell if those younger buyers respond in kind.