Sometimes nothing less than seven seats will do the trick. If you've got a big family and need something that can fulfil the odd hauling job, you'll need a car with serious capacity. That usually entails buying some sort of mundane people carrier but there is an alternative. Many families are finding that the best of the bigger 4x4s can seat the sprogs and cut a bit of a dash at the same time. Jeep have recognised that demand exists for a seven seater 4x4 and have unleashed their purposeful looking Commander onto the market.

Unfortunately for Jeep, Land Rover spotted this market first and their Discovery has established a beach head that the Commander must work very hard to dislodge. It certainly has a whole lot of firepower in its arsenal. Only one engine is now offered in the UK specification Commander but it's an absolute stormer. The 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel has seen the light of day in other Jeep, Chrysler and Mercedes products and with 215bhp on tap it doesn't want for power. It's also surprisingly economical (a combined figure of around 25mpg is reckoned) and the 376lb/ft of torque make it a great companion if you do decide to leave the beaten track.

Prices start at £27,490 for the Predator version or £31,490 for the leather-lined Limited model we're looking at here. We'd spend the extra on this top spec version: you're still saving thousands on a comparable Land Rover Discovery after all.

The military surplus styling of the Commander takes a little getting used to. With its tacked on wheelarches and heavy duty scuff plates, it looks like something that should be touring Fallujah looking for insurgents rather than collecting the kids from school. It is, therefore, perfect for the burgeoning quantity of buyers who prefer a little presence to get ahead in the traffic. Jeep don't expect to sell too many, importing just 600 cars to the UK, so there's set to be a measure of exclusivity to boot.

"It looks like something that should be touring Fallujah looking for insurgents rather than collecting the kids from school.."

The seating system is interesting insofar as Jeep have allowed every passenger a decent view out of the car. It's easy to miss the subtle step-up in roof height half way along as the eye is diverted by the roof rails, but this increase in headroom means that each successive row of seats sits higher than the one in front. Five six-footers will fit easily into the first two rows of seats although the back two seats are best left to the kids. Squeeze seven passengers on board and you'd better hope they've packed light because that'll leave a mere 6 cubic feet of luggage space available. Seat five, fold the rearmost pair of seats down and you'll have a more satisfactory 36.3 cubic feet. Drop the middle row as well and you'll have a massive 67.4 cubic feet of available space.

Although the Commander is a mere two inches longer than the Grand Cherokee and shares that model's 109.5 inch wheelbase, the additional 4 inches of headroom make the third row of seats viable and also give a much airier feel than the somewhat sporty Grand. The track is half an inch wider so the Commander is big but not of behemoth proportions. That's important when you're trying to slot it down a city street without depriving every other motorist of their door mirrors.

The Commander's beefy five-link solid rear axle combines with an independent short-and-long-arm front suspension which Jeep have designed to give a better than class average ride and steering feel. The rack and pinion steering system is a revelation if you've only ever driven a previous generation Grand Cherokee model. In short, it turns the car from a bit of a lumberer into something a whole lot sharper and the Commander benefits hugely from its inclusion. Like all Jeep products, this means that there's not a great deal of roll when cornering hard. Get a little too enthusiastic with the cornering and you'll feel grateful for the standard fit electronic stability control, antilock brakes with BrakeAssist, and side curtain airbags that cover all three rows.

Like most Jeeps, the Commander has a relatively high waistline, but you don't get the feeling you're that far off the ground. The front seats are rather flat in the cushion, but otherwise they'll fit most bodies without offering too much in the way of lateral support. The instrument panel will hold no surprises to anybody with a passing familiarity with Jeep products either. The Commander is unlikely to be anyone's first choice to tackle really rough off-road terrain, but Jeep gamely insists that the Commander, appropriately equipped, is "Trail Rated." There are two available 4x4 systems: the diesel model features Quadra-Trac II which features an NV245 two-speed active transfer case, while Quadra-Drive II has front and rear electronic limited-slip differentials and pretty much every trick Jeep has up its 4x4 sleeve. When slippage is detected, 100 percent of the power can be sent to an individual wheel with traction. It'll get you out of some seemingly unsalvageably sticky situations.

Jeep may have modest aspirations for the Commander, knowing that it has a lot of tough opposition to face down, but it'll have its work cut out in dislodging the likes of the Land Rover Discovery and the Toyota Land Cruiser. Some will doubtless be drawn to its quasi military look and its excellent engineering but Jeep are realistic. This is a tiny market niche populated by some big hitters. The Commander may need to pull rank.

TOP 1 COMMANDER DEALS

The results below show the top COMMANDER deals on buyacar

	Jeep Commander 3.0 CRD Limited 5dr Auto SW Off Road
	ETR	Mthly £621	Saving £2,457	Price £29,433

typical 11.33% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000