Jeep® is introducing the 2019 Jeep Cherokee - the most capable mid-size sport-utility vehicle (SUV) boasts a new, authentic and more premium design, along with even more fuel-efficient powertrain options.

The car will make its debut at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

It's now difficult to find even a 2020 Cherokee Overland.

Jeep is reshuffling the cards for the 2021 model year, which will be the last for the current-generation Grand Cherokee. In addition, the Compass will no longer be available with a manual gearbox and now a new report indicates changes are in the cards for the Cherokee as well.

According to CarsDirect, the range-topping Cherokee Overland will be discontinued for the 2021 model year. The publication allegedly got “a dealer order guide” and confirmation from a Jeep spokesperson,” which seem to confirm no replacement is planned for the flagship model for now.

Prices for the Cherokee Overland currently start at $38,490 for the 4x2 version and $39,990 for the all-wheel-drive variant. If you tick all the boxes, including ventilated seats with Nappa leather upholstery and 19-inch wheels, you could be looking at close to a $43,000 price tag.

The 4x4 Limited trim will effectively replace the Overland as the SUV’s range-topping options. It has a starting price of $37,025 and offers many of the Overland’s features as optional equipment.

CarsDirect also reports there are just 10 examples of the 2020 Cherokee Overland currently available at dealers around the country. Anyway, with a price approaching the $43,000 mark, most customers are probably going to upgrade to the larger and more capable Grand Cherokee.For the 2021 model year, it is still available in the Overland trim. There’s also an 80th Anniversary Edition model, which joins the core trims like the Trailhawk, Overland, and Summit.

Keen readers will know that Jeep has been building vehicles with the Cherokee name for more than 45 years. However, the American automaker has been facing increasing pressure to drop the callsign following its reintroduction to the U.S. market in 2013. As such, Car and Driver talked about the issue at length in a recent article.

“I’m sure this comes from a place that is well-intended, but it does not honor us by having our name plastered on the side of a car,” said Chuck Hoskin Jr., Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, after Car and Driver reached out for comment.

We’d be remiss not to mention that over the past eight years following the reintroduction of the name into Jeep’s lineup, the Cherokee Nation has never explicitly said that Jeep should change the car’s name until recently. Currently, the American automaker is facing increasing pressure to make a change next to the release of the latest Grand Cherokee.

“The best way to honor us is to learn about our sovereign government, our role in this country, our history, culture, and language, and have meaningful dialogue with federally recognized tribes on cultural appropriateness,” said Hoskin.

While the automotive world could be seen as a niche market for such changes, we’ve seen swift action in the world of sports with the MLB and NFL; Cleveland’s pro baseball team swiftly dropped its nickname and mascot. Even before the MLB rebadge, Washington changed its name to the Washington Football Team before the 2020-2021 season had even started.

Regardless, Jeep responded with the claim that the names on its cars were intended to honor and celebrate the Native American tribes, and noted that the brand is committed to a respectful and open dialogue going forwards. It was reported that representatives from the American automaker had reached out to Chief Hoskin via phone, but the nation’s stance remains unchanged.

The dialogue between Jeep and the Cherokee Nation isn’t over yet, it seems. The automaker reportedly contacted the sovereign tribal government in the summer of 2020 for an educational program for the company’s employees. The event didn’t go as planned but the two sides had another conversation a few months later. Jeep, now part of Stellantis, was asked to stop using the Cherokee name on its products.

In February this year, a report from Car and Driver shined more light on the situation. The publication reached out to Cherokee Nation for a statement and this took the dialogue with Jeep to the next level.

"We don't go out across America's cultural landscape [looking] for things that offend us and speak out on it," Chuck Hoskin Jr., Cherokee Nation principal chief, told Automotive News. "What happened in this case is Car and Driver reached out for comment."

Hosking admitted the automaker has engaged proactively on the matter. He told Automotive News he didn’t give Jeep the blessing to keep using the Cherokee name, though it seems this won’t stop the company from doing exactly that.

"I thought it was the right move to drop it," Hoskin added. "And I think they respectfully declined to take that action. But they also left the door open, I think, for further discussions, and so did we. So I think it was a good discussion in that respect."

Hoskin also explained for him and the people he represents the problem goes well beyond just Jeep. His position is that companies from all businesses should stop using Native American names and imagery.

"Beyond just the Jeep issue, to depict our culture in the form of mascots or chants at football stadiums, I think the country's in a better place to have a discussion about those and hopefully move away from those depictions and those name usages."

For the last year or so, attention in the Jeep world focused primarily on the Wagoneer and Grand Cherokee. Both are new, but the non-grand Cherokee still trolls in the background. The midsize SUV is certainly getting along in years – its bones date back to 2014 – but that's not stopping Jeep from shaking up the 2022 Cherokee lineup. That includes a major reshuffle of entry-level pricing, which we'll discuss in a bit.

The big news is the addition of a new trim level called the Cherokee X. Slotting in at the lower end of the spectrum, it adds a bit of Trailhawk flavor in the form of rugged styling cues with exterior graphics, a 1-inch suspension lift, all-terrain tires on black 17-inch wheels, and standard-issue 4WD with V6 power. The interior is a mix of black cloth and vinyl, and while eight exterior colors are offered, the only one that doesn't cost extra is white.

It's the new point of entry in a significantly different Cherokee family. Altitude, Freedom, and 80th Anniversary trims are gone, as is the base Latitude model. The Latitude Lux gets more standard equipment such as dual-zone climate control and a power liftgate, serving as the more luxurious base model to the rugged X. From there, the only other trim levels for 2022 are the Trailhawk and range-topping Limited.

All Cherokee trims get a standard Uconnect 4C 8.4-inch touchscreen with SiriusXM radio. Also, all Cherokee trims now offer standard four-wheel drive, save for the Latitude Lux which offers a choice of turning just the front wheels. Powertrain options are still a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 270 horsepower (201 kilowatts), or a 3.2-liter V6 with one extra hp and a lot less torque – 239 pound-feet (324 Newton-meters) versus 295 lb-ft (342 Nm) – than the four-pot. A nine-speed automatic transmission handles shifting duties.

Jeep says the Cherokee X will be available late in 2022. However, all four 2022 Cherokee trims are listed on Jeep's website with pricing. The Cherokee X and Latitude Lux share entry-level duties with identical $33,995 price tags. That's a full $5,860 more than last year's cheapest Cherokee, but that price also reflects models with added equipment. An apples-to-apples comparison of the 2021 and 2022 Latitude Lux shows a $2,195 increase, which is less but still a noteworthy jump.

The 2022 Cherokee Trailhawk starts at $37,045, with the Cherokee Limited starting at $38,745. Prices do not include a $1,595 destination charge.

After making a name for itself nearly a half-century ago, the Jeep Cherokee, which has endured off and on through a number of iterations, has been dropped from the lineup. But the name will live on. Sort of.

What started life as a body-on-frame SUV in 1974 later morphed into the resilient XJ built from 1984 to 2001, when it was replaced by the Liberty. The Cherokee also lived on through licensed production in China through 2014, when Jeep reintroduced the Cherokee name back into its North American lineup with a midsize crossover. But the Cherokee by then had lost its luster.

On March 1, Stellantis idled the Belvidere Assembly plant in Illinois, where the Cherokee was made. There were suggestions that the plant be shuttered permanently depending on future negotiations with the United Auto Workers.

Cherokee watchers could divine the end coming two months ago, after Jeep product planners radically slimmed down the Cherokee lineup to only two and reduced engine choices to a naturally-aspirated inline-four and a 270 horsepower turbo. If the Cherokee reemerges in some form, it will likely be in zero-emissions form, as Jeep has made it clear that it will build electrified variants of all Jeep brands by 2025.

At any rate, the Cherokee’s legacy (and its name) live on the Grand Cherokee, a large, upscale SUV that was renewed with high-tech touches and a plug-in hybrid offering in 2022.