Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Vs. Altitude: What's The Difference?

Did you know that there are currently nine different versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee available for purchase? That's not even including the plug-in hybrid 4xe versions of the SUV, nor does it distinguish between models being two or four-wheel drive or having two or three rows of seats. It's an awful lot of packages and trims to choose from if you're looking to get a new 2024 Grand Cherokee. To make things more complicated, all of them are given on-brand but vague names like the Jeep Cherokee Limited or Overland.

Two of the trims that are currently available for the 2024 Grand Cherokee are the Summit and the Altitude (not to be confused with the Summit Reserve or Altitude X). The two vehicles weigh the same, utilize the same engine, and have the exact same fuel economy. However, the 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit has a starting price of $62,250, while the Altitude starts retailing at $42,640. A $20,000 difference between these two models of what's ostensibly the same vehicle may seem perplexing at first glance, but we're going to break down exactly what separates these two Grand Cherokee models so you can pick the best SUV for your needs.

Cars will either be two-wheel operated — usually by the rear wheels these days — or all-wheel drive. Some vehicles have four-wheel drive systems allow you to shift between the two depending on what driving circumstance you're in, but you often have to pick one or the other when you buy a car.

The Grand Cherokee Altitude gives you the option of what kind of drive you want your SUV to have. On the other hand, the Summit only comes in 4x4. This is the first reason as to why the Summit has such a higher price tag, as all-wheel drive vehicles tend to cost more. The prices for the Altitude bear this out as well, as the all-wheel version retails for $2,000 more than the two-wheel drive version.

Beyond this, how the two trims operate are basically identical. They both have the same 3.6L Pentastar V6 engine, the same fuel economy, and the same eight-speed automatic transmission. One just gives you drive type optionality.

Even though the Altitude package of the Grand Cherokee gives you optionality in your vehicle's drive type, the Summit package — as you might expect — gives you more optionality just about everywhere else. For the Altitude, the color choices are fairly basic, giving you a choice between five monotone shades including black, white, and red. In the case of the Summit, Jeep only offers one monotone color scheme, which is black. Beyond that, you're able to choose one of six two-tone color schemes for your Grand Cherokee Summit, letting you have a combination of various shades together. You can't mix and match any colors you want with these two-tone schemes, but the six options give you a good amount of variety.

The color optionality for the Summit doesn't stop on the outside. You're also able to choose between a black interior or a tupelo one. Meanwhile, the Altitude is only available with the standard black. The coloring isn't the only difference between the interiors, either, as the standard black Altitude seats must be made with a combination of leatherette and suede. The more expensive Summit comes standard with real leather seats no matter what color they are, and that leather is also applied to the other interior places like door arm rests.

Just about everything else that separates the Grand Cherokee Altitude and Summit models has to do with upgraded technology. Some of that comes down to things like the Altitude driver seat being able to be power adjusted eight different ways, whereas the Summit has a dozen different ways to find that perfect position. The Summit also offers both driver seat and passenger seat memory. Both have heated front seats, but the Summit also comes standard with heated second-row seats. In terms of the A/C, it's a four-zone system in contrast to a two-zone one.

As so many cars have today, there's a center console touchscreen on the dashboard to access many of the vehicle's features, and the Summit's is slightly larger at 10.1 inches, compared to the Altitude's 8.4-inch display. The Summit also offers an optional interactive display for the front passenger's seat that allows you to do things like watch videos. For audio, the Summit has a nine-speaker system to outdo the Altitude's six, and it gives you the option to increase that to 19 speakers and a 950 W amplifier over the standard 506 W one.

In just about every case, the Summit either has a feature that the Altitude doesn't, or a higher-tech version that provides more optionality.

While some technological features have become distracting to drivers, that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of features a car can include to aid your safety and awareness. In the case of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, you do have to pay extra to benefit from some of these technological advancements. There's a whole host of safety features that come standard in the Summit but just aren't available in the Altitude.

The Summit package is where you'll find features like a surround-view camera system, in order to better gage your surroundings when you're driving and parking. There's also an intersection collision-assist system, which detects potentially harmful and hazardous objects like oncoming cars as you approach an intersection. You can get warnings in your side view mirrors for cars in other lanes and indicators for forthcoming street signs. For those who aren't confident parkers, the Summit also features parking assist for parallel and perpendicular parking, and for those who struggle with nighttime driving, there's an additional option for a night vision system to detect animals and pedestrians on the road that your eyes may not catch.

These options aren't available with the Jeep Cherokee Altitude. You still get things like a rearview camera and blind spot detection, but the safety features are nowhere near as extravagant.