A split hatch is much more functional, allowing you to open the rear window to carry long items and not leaving you with a huge rear door sticking out behind the vehicle. In addition, a hatch keeps rain and snow off you while loading your stuff into the cargo space. Cargo room is decent in Tracker, about 20 cubic feet with the rear seats in place. Plus you can lower those seats, which are split, to boost that to nearly 45 cubic feet. However, the seats in the test truck did not exactly lay flat.
Gas mileage is nothing special either.
The EPA says to expect 18 mpg city and 20 highway. That's reasonable compared to the competition, but most of those other little utes feel more solid, and in Jeep Cherokee's case, it's larger, too. The Tracker is cute for a little ute, but cute isn't always enough when you're spending more than 20 grand. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jan. 24, 2001. Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved.