A Jeep Liberty "mule" based on a modified Alfa Giulietta is caught during testing.
Chrysler is getting ready to bring out an all-new, radically changed Jeep Liberty that will debut within the next 18 months. Like the Dodge Dart, the new model will be based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, or more precisely on the modified CUSW platform derived from the Fiat subsidiary’s 5-door hatchback.
What we’ve captured here is a mule of the future Liberty prototype show a modified Giulietta hatchback sporting a completely new, covered, front end.
By switching to the CUSW (or Compact U.S. Wide) platform the future Liberty will be inches wider and longer than its Italian progenitor and carry traditional Jeep styling features such as the more box-like body shape and vertical slotted grille design.
Evidence of the enlargement can be seen in the “stretch marks” seen on this view of a prototype (note the alterations in sheet metal at the roof, trunk and rear door).
Stretch marks on the Giulietta-based mule reveal where it has been widened to accomodate the modified platform developed for the US.
Even more important, the next Liberty will be based around a front-wheel drive system, the first time the small Jeep has deviated from the classic Jeep rear-drive chassis layout. In the more distant past Liberty has offered two-wheel drive as standard in the base price model with 4WD as an option, but never a front-drive system. The outgoing Liberty has offered 4WD only, that layout based on the RWD system.
Want speculation? Here’s what to look for. Those wheels on the prototype are not the style you’re likely to see on a Jeep model – too fancy and delicate. If they’re not offered on today’s Giulietta, they surely are slated for a Dodge Dart version of the Liberty, a vehicle to compete in the medium crossover market against the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Equinox, and RAV4.
Photo Credit: Jim Dunne CAR SPY