Like it or not, Jeep is going upscale. Just like Land Rover before it, Jeep is cashing in on its off-road cred and is offering full-luxe rides that promise world of capability and adventure—even if the most adventurous thing you’ll ever do is drive to the outlet mall in the desert. Those with dirt permanently stuck in their teeth will always have access to the mighty Wrangler, but for the rest of us, there’s the Jeep Grand Cherokee L.

Introduced as an all-new model last year, this fifth-gen Cherokee SUV slots right below the Jeep’s luxury flagship, the Wagoneer, but still packs an impressive features list. Spec’ed in the top-of-the-line Summit Reserve trim, the Grand Cherokee offers a host of premium features like a McIntosh audio system; quilted-leather front seats that heat, cool, and massage you; four-zone automatic climate control; and open-pore Waxed Walnut wood trim. That “L” on the badge, we suspect, stands for “long wheelbase” as this is also the first-ever three-row SUV to wear the Grand Cherokee name.

It's a striking machine, this Jeep. Its simple two-box shape is free of fuss, and the consideration and detail put into the lighting elements and front grille help elevate it from Jeeps of yore. It feels distinct, like a refined elder statesman. And in a world where other trucks use over-the-top visual cues to shout about shout how tough they are, we admire the Jeep’s quiet confidence.

As is the case with most “SUVs” these days, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L utilizes a unibody architecture. Those looking for absolute toughness will likely cringe at that thought, but if a unibody is good enough for Land Rover, it’s more than good enough for Jeep. And similar to the Landy, in Summit trim the Grand Cherokee gets a Quadra-Lift air suspension that automatically lowers for easier ingress and egress, and for added stability at higher speeds. While we can’t say for certain how this system reacts to off-road situations (though we do know it can also add ride height), we can say it makes for a smooth ride on paved roads. Not as refined as the British SUV, but close enough.

Power comes from a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, rated here at 290 horsepower and 257 lb-ft of torque. An 8-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission comes standard. It’s not fast, nor will it ever feel so, but all-in-all, things feel adequate. Power is decent off the line, and there’s still plenty of shove on tap when needing to pass slower traffic on the freeway.

But this Jeep Grand Cherokee L does not feel nimble. At all. It’s comfortable, but it doesn’t even try to hide it’s 6,000-pound curb weight. Steering inputs are accurate, if a bit slow. And we often found ourselves wishing for more brakes every time we come to a stop. Granted, we typically drive things that are light and fast, and no one is buying this Jeep to be either of those things. It should also be said that our light and fast rides also don’t possess the Jeep’s 10.9-inches of ground clearance, 24-inch wading depth, or an electronically controlled off-road system.

As far as SUVs go, though, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve is still pretty damn nice. It’s an off-road luxury barge that desperately wants to be America’s answer to the Range Rover. It may lack the ultimate refinement of the storied British mark, but it also lacks the, uh, lack of reliability, and it doesn’t carry an obscene price tag. MSRP for our Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve tester rings in at $66,435. And in this space, you’re getting a whole lotta car for that cash.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee wants to be your American Land Rover