For many owners, part of the charm of the old Jeep Cherokee which negotiated mud, rivers and rocks for 18 years was its distinctive ‘American West’ look, both outside and in. Having this made up in some part for archaic and hard suspension, indifferent comfort, an engine that fired its first spark in the early 60s, and a view of driving ergonomics that was left in the wilderness by the civilised world around 20 years ago.

But all that ‘charm’ has disappeared with the final, belated, arrival to Ireland of the new Cherokee, which brings the nameplate into the 21st century and drags all the underpinnings along with it.

It comes in a brand new body, stylish and almost svelte, and the running gear includes a thoroughly modern 3.7-litre V6 petrol engine, perhaps a little academic in Ireland, and a 2.5-litre CRD turbodiesel from VM in Italy which has been completely revised by the maker.

And from the distributors’ point of view here, there’s a commercial version which they expect to account for most of their profit from the latest version of the 61-year-old brand.

At the time of writing, I’ve only driven the diesel vehicle briefly, and have had a little more experience with the V6. The immediate impression is that the 21st century comfort is certainly here, and a trip around a seriously challenging offroad course indicates that, at the very least, nothing has been lost in the ability of the Cherokee to go right out to ‘the final frontier’.

First, though, the looks. Chunky and rounded, with the trademark grille which has been updated to the point where it is more like that on the original ‘General Purpose’ WW2 US Army vehicle whose GP acronym gave the brand its name.

(And perhaps this is a good time to point out that the Willys Jeep came before the other brand leader Land Rover, which was only invented to replace the founding farmer’s Jeep when it finally gave up the ghost.)

The new Cherokee is a lot of bonnet, and wheelarch protection that reminds one of waders. The clean and mild-styled side view shows a vehicle for which practicality was to be paramount, but which would charm more than the woodsmen, contractors and weekend cowboys.

So there’s a bit of nice style about it, with decent detailing in the small places, like the rear lights treatment, the side protection mouldings, the doorhandles. The vehicle is taller too, and has a longer wheelbase than its predecessor. The commercial is a very practical-looking machine, but with enough style that you wouldn’t be ashamed to drive to a formal dinner at the manor in it (or even to South Fork). The spare wheel is located on the back door, and nicely down so it doesn’t interfere with rearward vision.

Inside, there’s a dashboard that is a model of clean ergonomics, switches easily seen, well placed and comfortable to use. Very European looking, in fact. The very white dials set into the cowl in front of the 4-spoke steering wheel are sparking in their clarity, and all the controls - gearshifter, clutch, brake and accelerator - are completely without idiosyncrasy.

(OK, I KNOW they should be, but that has not always been the case with even modern American vehicles.)

All versions of the latest Jeep have air-conditioning, ABS, electric windows and a CD player. As it should have, because it is not exactly a cheap car: the commercial is more than 34,000 euros, while the ‘basic’ diesel passenger version will strip 44,855 euros out of your billfold. For the top-range V6, set aside 53,220 euros.

There are two specification levels - Sport and Limited - the latter with all the mod cons.

On the road (or in the rough), the new Jeep has a nice high driving position, that extra height over the predecessor car making a good difference. There’s a real good view of where the front end is from the driver’s seat, which is an essential if you’re thinking of taking this one to the places it will well be able to go.

But before going there, you’ll likely have to travel on some tarmac, and with a completely new suspension this is no longer the teeth-rattler the old Cherokee could be on less-than-perfect Irish roads. In my brief run in the diesel, the manual gearshift proved to be precise and comfortable to use. There’s a 4-speed autobox with the V6, well-proven and trusty, and I didn’t have any problem driving with it under some extremely severe offroad conditions.

We’ll have a full review of the new Cherokee in Irish conditions soon, but in the meantime we’re pretty impressed at a major leap forward for the latest ‘General Purpose’ vehicle.