Throwback Thursday: 1997 Jeep Cherokee (05:09)

With Jeep bringing the Cherokee nameplate back to North America after a 14-year hiatus, it's hard not to try and draw comparisons between old and new.

And while many enthusiasts will tell you the Cherokee name shouldn't live on through an IFS-equipped vehicle—others may even claim the Cherokee has never been a "real" Jeep given its unibody construction—the jury is still out on how capable the new Cherokee is.

So for this week's Throwback Thursday we take a look back at one that was a sure thing: The 1997 Cherokee, a vehicle Graeme Fletcher called "the granddaddy of the sport utility market."

This segment originally appeared on Episode 22 of Motoring 1997.