Jeep has revived its lauded Cherokee nameplate after more than a decade, with the new generation of the popular mid-size SUV set to be launched on the market in the third quarter of the year following a debut in New York late next month.

In line with the times, the new Jeep Cherokee adopts the Compact U.S. Wide (CUSW) platform already used in a number of Fiat and Chrysler vehicles including the Dodge Dart and Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback sold overseas.

Despite this switch to a car-based platform, Jeep promises its latest Cherokee, which arrives as a 2014 model, will offer best-in-class capability (expect it to be Trail-Rated) along with many other improvements inherent to riding on such a platform.

For starters, the new Cherokee is said to deliver fuel economy improvements of more than 45 percent versus the model it replaces, the Liberty, which in its final model year returned 16/22 mpg city/highway and 18 mpg combined.

In addition to improved economy, the new Cherokee should also offer improved road dynamics.

Power is expected to come from a V-6 engine, which could be mated to a nine-speed (yes, nine-speed) automatic transmission and send drive to either the front or all four wheels.

Jeep plans to release more information closer to the vehicle’s debut at the 2013 New York Auto Show at the end of next month, so stay tuned for an update.

______________________________

This article originally appeared at The Car Connection.