Which 4x4 should you buy? Comparing the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Volvo XC60

Jeep's Grand Cherokee [pictured, above] is a genuine, beefy off-roader, capable of tackling truly tough terrain, while the more luxurious Volvo is a 4WD of the urban-tractor variety: a plush, comfortable way for taking the tots to pre-school. Which is the best buy? It boils down to whether you are looking for Swedish urban sophistication – or American muscle with a tradition of military toughness.

While the very name Jeep is redolent of off-road action, the all-new-for-2011 Grand Cherokee takes huge steps in enhancing the on-road experience – starting with much-improved comfort in the driver’s seat.

On the road, it does 0-62mph in just 8.2 seconds, thanks to a meaty V6 diesel engine. Given that hefty weight, it’s surprising, too, that the latest Grand Cherokee changes direction quite as well as it does, and remains so controlled in corners; it's a huge improvement on the outgoing model.

Not to say that there's any compromise on the roughty-toughty stuff: we drove the  Grand Cherokee on an unusually tough, purpose-built course and were mightily impressed by the way our trusty Jeep took sheer climbs and rutted woodland paths in its stride.

You can also select one of a series of off-road settings – Sand/Mud, Sport, Auto, Snow or Rock – to optimise the powertrain, brakes and suspension for whatever surface you’re steaming across.

If city streets are a regular part of your day, you might be better off with a Volvo XC60. While Jeep proudly quotes breakover angles and maximum wading depths for its big, butch baby (19 degrees and 508mm, fyi), Volvo go for the soft sell. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that Volvo’s stylish soft-roader has more safety kit than a mountain rescue team. That includes 'City Safety' which comes standard on the XC60 – a function where at speeds up to 19mph, the car brakes itself if it thinks it’s about to hit the car in front).

There is, of course, less space than in the Jeep: in fact, for the purposes ofthis review, you might have expected us to be driving the XC90, which is closer in size to the Grand Cherokee. But we wanted to compare two 4WD auto SUVs of a similar price - and the XC60, like the Grand Cherokee, comes in around £37K.

So the XC60 is substantially smaller than the Grand Cherokee, more frugal on fuel and markedly less polluting. It's 0 – 62 figure of 8.8 seconds is fairly lively, but a full half-second slower than the Jeep. The XC60’s biggest strength, however, is that it drives like a car: it's smooth and comfortable and pleasantly taut in the corners. And when you come to sell it on, Volvo’s reputation should mean it retains much of its value, too.