Compare the2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee LVS 2026 Ford Expedition

Safety
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Drivetrain
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Ford Expedition doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Expedition doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Grand Cherokee L has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Expedition doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Cherokee L Limited Reserve/Summit helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Expedition doesn’t offer a night vision system.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Grand Cherokee L uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Expedition uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Grand Cherokee L and the Expedition have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is safer than the Ford Expedition:

	Grand Cherokee L	Expedition
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	129	165
Neck Injury Risk	21%	32%
Neck Stress	152 lbs.	361 lbs.
Neck Compression	84 lbs.	147 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	137	326
Neck Injury Risk	28%	35%
Neck Stress	125 lbs.	155 lbs.
Neck Compression	41 lbs.	74 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is safer than the Expedition:

	Grand Cherokee L	Expedition
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Restraints	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Neck Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Head injury index	87	245
Peak Head Forces	0 G’s	0 G’s
Steering Column Movement Rearward	3 cm	19 cm
Chest Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Max Chest Compression	22 cm	30 cm
Hip & Thigh Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Femur Force R/L	1.3/.1 kN	4.5/4.8 kN
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L	0%/0%	2%/3%
Lower Leg Evaluation	GOOD	POOR
Tibia index R/L	.42/.46	.9/1.33
Tibia forces R/L	2.1/.8 kN	2.8/4.3 kN

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is safer than the Ford Expedition:

	Grand Cherokee L	Expedition
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	375 lbs.	434 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	47 G’s
Hip Force	432 lbs.	569 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Reliability

The battery on the Grand Cherokee L is under the seat, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Grand Cherokee L’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Expedition’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep above average in initial quality. With 7 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is rated below average.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee L gets better mileage than the Expedition:

			MPG
Grand Cherokee L
	RWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/25 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/25 hwy
Expedition
	RWD	3.5 turbo V6	16 city/24 hwy
	AWD	3.5 turbo V6 (400 HP)	15 city/22 hwy
		3.5 turbo V6 (440 HP)	15 city/22 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Expedition requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Jeep Grand Cherokee L higher (6 out of 10) than the Ford Expedition (5). This means the Grand Cherokee L produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Expedition every 15,000 miles.

Drivetrain

The Grand Cherokee L has a true four-wheel drive system, which uses a four wheel traction control system to redirect engine power to the axle and wheel that still has traction to keep the Grand Cherokee L moving if even only one wheel still has traction. The Expedition doesn’t offer a true four-wheel drive system; it could get stuck while one or more wheels still have traction.

Brakes and Stopping

The Grand Cherokee L stops much shorter than the Expedition:

	Grand Cherokee L	Expedition
60 to 0 MPH	123 feet	138 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Grand Cherokee L’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Expedition’s standard 70 series tires.

The Grand Cherokee L has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Expedition doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Grand Cherokee L offers an optional automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Grand Cherokee L’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Expedition doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Grand Cherokee L 4x4 handles at .82 G’s, while the Expedition Tremor 4x4 pulls only .72 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Grand Cherokee L’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the Expedition’s (39.6 feet vs. 41 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Expedition Tremor (10.9 vs. 10.6 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee L to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 600 to 850 pounds less than the Ford Expedition.

The Grand Cherokee L is 5 inches shorter than the Expedition, making the Grand Cherokee L easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction lowers the Grand Cherokee L’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Expedition doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Grand Cherokee L easier. The Grand Cherokee L’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 32.2 inches, while the Expedition’s liftover is 34.7 inches.

The Grand Cherokee L’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Expedition’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Grand Cherokee L Summit’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Expedition doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its tailgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system optional at extra cost in the Expedition, the Grand Cherokee L Summit has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster), outside mirror angle and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Grand Cherokee L’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Expedition does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Grand Cherokee L Limited Reserve/Summit offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, certain gauge and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Expedition doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Expedition’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Grand Cherokee L’s standard Keyless Enter-N-Go allow you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Push Button Start standard on the Expedition only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Grand Cherokee L’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Expedition’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Grand Cherokee L Summit has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Expedition doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Grand Cherokee L to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Expedition doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the Grand Cherokee L Summit is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Expedition’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Grand Cherokee L Limited Reserve/Summit has standard front air conditioned seats and the Grand Cherokee L Summit also has them in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Expedition doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L Laredo X/Altitude/Limited/Summit has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the front center console for two separate devices. The Expedition doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Expedition doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

According to iSeeCars.com the 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee L retains 53.18% of its original value after 5 years, significantly more than the 43.05% resale value of the 2026 Ford Expedition after five years, which can save the Jeep’s owner up to $14380 in depreciation.

Recommendations

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Ford Expedition by over two to one during 2025.

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