For most NH Seacoast families the answer is the Upland at $73,060. It is the only configuration whose package is capability rather than appearance, bundling the 3.92 axle, the two-speed transfer case and the air suspension in one box. If the tow rating is all you want, a base 4x4 with the Heavy-duty Trailer Tow package reaches the same 10,000 pounds for $68,990. If the 10,000-pound rating is all you are after, the cheaper route is a base Grand Wagoneer 4x4 at $66,995 plus the $1,995 Heavy-duty Trailer Tow package — $68,990, same rating, without the air suspension or all-terrain tires. If you never tow and want the cabin instead, the Limited Reserve at $79,960 is the better buy. Those two cover the large majority of what people around here actually need.

Here is the reasoning, and the cases where a different configuration wins.

What the Seacoast actually asks of a three-row SUV

The duty cycle here is unusual, and it is what should drive the decision. Salt reaches a vehicle from the road and from shore air from roughly November through March. Side roads go unplowed for hours after a storm. Then in July the same vehicle is towing to a ramp and carrying other people's kids to the beach. A configuration chosen purely on cabin material will do the summer job and struggle with the winter one.

That is why the four-wheel-drive box matters more here than the trim badge does. On the base Grand Wagoneer it is a $3,000 option; on the Limited Altitude and Summit Obsidian it is standard. Whatever else you decide, an NH buyer should be looking at four-wheel drive.

If you tow: two routes to 10,000 pounds, and the cheaper one is not the Upland

The 10,000-pound tow rating everyone quotes belongs to exactly one build: short wheelbase, four-wheel drive, and the 3.92 axle ratio that arrives only with the heavy-duty trailer tow package. The same four-wheel-drive vehicle on the standard 3.55 axle is rated 6,030 pounds. That is not a footnote, it is the difference between towing a mid-size boat and not.

The Upland bundles that hardware as part of its package, along with Quadra-Lift air suspension, skid plates, all-terrain tires and the two-speed transfer case with its 2.64 low range. At $73,060 it sits $1,000 above the Limited Altitude, and that thousand dollars buys capability rather than trim. Pulling a loaded trailer up a wet ramp at Great Bay Marine or Hilton Park is exactly the situation the low range exists for.

Full detail is on the towing capacity page, including the tongue weights and the trailer-brake thresholds.

If you fill every seat: the long-wheelbase L

The Grand Wagoneer L costs a flat $3,000 more and takes cargo behind the third row from 27.9 to 42.6 cubic feet. Here is the part worth understanding before you pay it: the L adds no passenger room at all. Third-row legroom is 36.6 inches in both bodies and second-row legroom is 42.7 in both. Every inch of the longer wheelbase went behind the third row.

So buy the L if your problem is luggage with all three rows occupied, which for a family of six or seven heading north for a week it usually is. Do not buy it hoping the people in back get more space. The cargo and third row page breaks down what fits in each configuration.

If you want the most vehicle for the money: the base car

The base Grand Wagoneer at $63,995 is the configuration most people underestimate. It carries the same 420-horsepower Hurricane twin-turbo six, the same eight-speed automatic, the same seven-seat cabin with second-row captain's chairs, the same 12-inch Uconnect touchscreen and the same standard driver-assistance suite as the $100,310 Summit Reserve. What you give up is cabin material and screens, not capability.

Add four-wheel drive for $3,000 and, if you tow, the heavy-duty tow package. That build does everything a Seacoast family needs and leaves the difference in your pocket. See how the configurations stack up on the trims compared page.

If the cabin is what you are buying: Limited Reserve

The Limited Reserve at $79,960 is where the 19-speaker McIntosh MX950, the tri-pane panoramic sunroof and the head-up display all arrive together on Nappa leather. Stepping up from there to the Summit Obsidian costs another $14,350, the largest single step in the lineup, and much of what it adds is convenience rather than experience.

One caution on the sunroof, since it is the reason many people choose this configuration: the third pane genuinely transforms how open the back of the cabin feels, but it costs headroom at every row, and the front row gives up two full inches. If your tallest passenger sits up front, sit in one before ordering.

The decision, in one table

Your situation	Buy this	Why
Boat, camper or heavy trailer	Upland, $73,060	Reaches 10,000 lb and adds air suspension and all-terrain tires; base 4x4 + tow package hits the same rating for $68,990
Six or seven people plus luggage	Any L body, +$3,000	42.6 cu ft behind row three against 27.9. Adds cargo, not legroom
Value, with real winter capability	Base Grand Wagoneer 4x4, $66,995	Same engine, screen, seats and safety suite as the top of the range
The cabin is the point	Limited Reserve, $79,960	McIntosh audio, tri-pane sunroof and head-up display without Summit money

Prices exclude the $2,795 destination charge, tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment. Cross-shopping outside the brand? We have written honest comparisons against the Ford Expedition, the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban and the Cadillac Escalade, each naming what the rival does better.

Two things to check before you sign

The axle ratio. Nothing on the outside of a Grand Wagoneer tells you whether it tows 6,030 pounds or 10,000. Ask, and have someone confirm it on the specific vehicle.

The winter plan. There is no complimentary maintenance on a 2026 Jeep, so your first service is yours, and on this coast an underbody wash through salt season matters more than the schedule suggests. The maintenance schedule covers intervals and warranty terms; the specs page has the full dimension and weight tables, and the engine page explains the drivetrain choices. Anything else, the FAQs and the technology and safety page cover the rest.

Written by the team at Jeep Portsmouth, a Jeep-only dealership on Lafayette Road in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.