Why motoring icon’s big crash is good news
Once one of the country’s best selling cars, this motoring giant’s fortunes have faded massively. But it’s not all bad news, especially for carbuyers.
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A serious price cut boosts the Jeep Grand Cherokee’s appeal, especially the very capable Overland 4x4 all-rounder.
VALUE
The big ‘Kee is better value than it was a couple of months ago. Jeep prices surged during the pandemic – blame increased costs and a strong US dollar – but sales are in the doldrums, so prices were slashed to try reversing the slide.
Cheapest five-seat Grand Cherokee’s a Night Eagle ($74,000 drive-away), followed by a Limited ($79,499 drive-away) and our loaded Overland for about $84,500 drive-away. All have seen healthy price cuts, but our Overland’s the big winner with a $20,500 haircut.
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An extra $4000 buys the same grades in long wheelbase ‘L’ seven-seater guise, including a palatial Summit Reserve for about $99,000 drive-away. Priciest of all is a spec-smothered 4xe plug-in hybrid for (gulp) about $120,000 drive-away. And that’s after its $18,500 discount.
Your dollars buy an imposing, spacious and well-appointed large 4x4, but there’s not the turbo-diesel engine of before. The plug-in aside, all GCs use an old-school American 3.6L petrol V6.
The Overland’s the grade for serious off-roading. Included is Jeep’s Quadra-Trac II 4x4 system with two-speed transfer case and air suspension, allowing mighty 276mm ground clearance.
Included are 20-inch alloys, a hands-free power tailgate, panoramic roof, Nappa leather, ambient lighting, digital driver display, 10-1-inch infotainment, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, Alpine audio and eight USB ports.
Warranty’s below-par at five-years/100,000km, while services are every 12,000km or annually. The first five cost a reasonable $1995.
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COMFORT
Jeep’s gone big on presentation and luxe. It’s a tasty cabin with soft-feel Nappa spread across seats and doors; the steering wheel heats hands while four chairs heat bums. The two power front seats are ventilated, but you need a $4500 Luxury pack for both to be 12-way adjustable, memory and massaging. Weirdly, this pack’s the only way to get a wireless charging pad.
Seats are well-sculpted, cosy and wonderfully lofty, while a soft knee-rest pad’s a neat touch. The dashboard’s wood grain looks lovely, but reveals itself as plastic. The quite basic digital instruments, no head-up display and run-of-the-mill centre console means you won’t confuse this with a BMW X5 or Range Rover’s class-leading cockpits. But this Jeep’s switchgear, rapid touchscreen and surround cameras deserve praise.
Space and storage are standout, with rear seats bringing serious leg- and headroom acreage, plus a relaxing recline. The boot’s massive, with 1067L if measured to the ceiling.
SAFETY
ANCAP awarded the seven-seat Grand Cherokee five stars, but our five-seater just four due to “poor performance for the rear passenger in the full width frontal test”. Other crash scores were more encouraging, and Overlands feature lengthy safety including eight airbags, auto emergency braking front and rear, junction assist, blind-spot monitor, lane keep, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control.
It’s a giant thing to park so the surround-view camera’s a boon, and there’s a handy washer for the rear camera should you muddy it when adventuring.
The driver aids are generally useful, but its lane keep warning and assist gets over-nannying and sometime plain flummoxed, chastising even when you’re between the lines.
DRIVING
It’s a real Stars ‘n Stripes motor. The 210kW/344Nm V6 makes a lovely rumble, then brings muscly grunt and decent pull at higher revs, if not quite the emotion of a Motown V8.
The eight-speed auto offers smooth accompaniment, and in town and on highway there’s a pillowy ride quality. The air suspension lets you toggle through five different heights to pick the plushest for each road surface, and it neatly mops up challenging lumps and bumps.
It’s a back road surprise. Pleasingly weighty steering, solid road holding and neat body control make for a joyous fast-road punt, although this 2167kg American could never be described as nimble.
Our off-road test was a mixed bag. With suspension to maximum stilts there was no danger of bogging in the soft sand, but on harder, rocky trails the ride proved bone-jarring, not least on the more highway-suited tyres.
Dropping pressures improved matters, but regular bush-bashers should pick the $2750 Off-Road pack for smaller 18-inch wheels, all-terrain tyres, bash plates, heavy duty rear axle and electronic LSD. It’d be a formidable adventurer like this.
Fuel use is a problem. Officially it’s 9.9L/100km, but our mixed test saw 11L/100km. Utilise its 2813kg tow capacity and be in no doubt, this thing’s a drinker.
ALTERNATIVES
Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy, about $83,000 drive-away
No off-road chops, but roomier, more luxurious and with choice of petrol V6 or more economical diesel engine.
Land Rover Defender 110 P300 S, about $100,000 drive-away
Stunning inside and out and unstoppable off-road. Pricey to buy and own, but maximum cool factor achieved.
Mazda CX-90 GT, about $92,000 drive-away
Stylish all-new large SUV with gorgeous interior and choice of six-cylinder diesel or petrol. Won’t off-road and driving refinement has hiccups.
Originally published as Why motoring icon’s big crash is good news
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