The Jeep Commander that arrives in UK showrooms later this month is the American marque’s first seven-seater, and the company hopes the bullish looks and retro feel will improve the brand’s image by recalling its more adventurous heyday.

Off-roaders are descended from military and farm vehicles and were once all brute force and no frills. Their owners would have scoffed at namby-pamby refinements such as cupholders and air-conditioning. Certainly the Commander’s boxy profile and flat windscreen and bonnet hark back to the US army Jeeps of the 1940s and 1950s, while Jeep’s advertising slogan — “Take command of the road” — recalls a time well before the school-run mum. Visible nuts and bolts around the headlamps and over the wheelarches are meant to suggest ruggedness.

But underneath, the Commander is the most technically advanced Jeep to date, with an electronic stability program, traction control, electronic roll mitigation and a four-wheel-drive system called Quadra-Drive II.

The Quadra-Drive enables the engine management system to direct torque to any wheel, so even if only one is in contact with the ground the car can still regain grip. It got me out of trouble while trying to scale a boulder in the desert dunes and rocky gullies known as wadis, close to Muscat, capital of Oman, and it worked better than a differential lock.

There is a choice of two engines in the UK, both with automatic transmission: a gas-guzzling 5.7 litre Hemi V8 petrol (although you can turn off four of the cylinders to reduce fuel consumption by about 20%) and a 3 litre V6 Mercedes-built diesel. Most British owners will probably opt for the diesel, which does a relatively respectable 26mpg in the combined cycle.

I drove the Hemi V8 and was assured the wallowy US-style suspension would be stiffened for the European market. On road, the seven-seater felt deceptively small and agile with impressive acceleration, although the cabin isn’t quiet. Gun the engine and it sounds like a Braun FuturPro hair dryer. It’s not exactly macho and nor does it conjure up the image of “mastery, authenticity, freedom and adventure” promised by Jeep’s press pack.

In fact the Commander is anything but authentic. “Wadi bashing”, as the Omanis call it, is unlikely to feature in the daily lives of most Jeep owners. In fact most customers will be lucky to “bash” anything other than the kerb. The truth is that its retro tough guy exterior hides a pampered 21st century metrosexual.

There are separate air-conditioning zones in the front and rear, storage bins, illuminated vanity mirrors and cupholders for each row of seats. The leather driver’s seat has adjustable lumbar support and is so comfortable that even while careering down an 80 degree drop you still feel as if you’re relaxing on the sofa. A step in the roof allows for the seats to be higher at the back — ideal for children prone to travel sickness.

City dwellers will be glad of the front and rear parking sensors and the fact the Commander is similar in size to the Renault Grand Scénic with a turning circle only 30 centimetres more than a Honda Civic’s. With the back two rows of seating folded flat it offers 1,775 litres of luggage space.

What Jeep has here is a midlife-crisis-friendly alternative to an MPV, ideal for mums or dads who want to maintain the sense they can still go off on their adventures even with three or four children in tow. And as all passenger seats have Isofix child-seat fittings, if you do find yourself gunning across a rocky river valley you’ll know the little darlings are safely strapped in behind.

Yet despite all its hankering after a golden age of off-roading, the biggest obstacle facing the Commander is likely to be more modern sensibilities about fuel consumption and the environment.

THE OPPOSITION

Model Land Rover Discovery 3 TdV6 £26,995
For Much praised and unrivalled off road, prestige badge
Against Heavy and slower than the Hemi Commander

Model Volvo XC90 2.5T S £31,635
For Safe and stylish
Against Entry-level version more expensive than rivals