[RavenAvi]

ACI's review of the Jeep Grand Cherokee is out.

Excerpts:

The steering is well weighted and feels connected firmly to the road which only adds to how well this big SUV drives. It gets a punchy 3.0-litre diesel which produces a generous 240hp. This means that when you are cruising at about 50kph and want to overtake, all you need to do is press down on the accelerator; the punch from the petrol's smooth V6 pushes you hard in the back. The car is capable of achieving 100kph from standstill in 9.02 seconds, which is quick for its size, after all, it is a full-size SUV.

To aid driving, a unique feature is that the car has different driving maps and selecting a particular one will alter the way the SUV performs. Its eight-speed gearbox shifts smooth and fast but takes a bit to respond in the regular 'Drive' mode.

Jeep equips the Grand Cherokee with air-suspension, so you can automatically adjust the car's height to suit the kind of road you are driving on. In most cases, 'auto' works just fine, but, you can select from mud or sand if you wish to drive on such surfaces, specifically. The icing on the cake is that Jeep equips the car with a proper ‘4WD low’ setting, which should be used only if you venture off-road. This remains a feature that very few SUVs in this segment have.

The Grand Cherokee's chassis is the same as the one in the 2012 Mercedes M-class and that too, has been tightened to be used in the Jeep. All this adds up to very good ride quality and absorbs bumps and potholes with aplomb. You will not feel smaller ruts on the road at all. The only time it faces a real challenge is when you drive it through really badly broken surfaces. Thankfully, the car dismisses them too, without any stress. Also true to its American roots, the Grand Cherokee is schooled at cruising along unending highways and will do that easily, all day long. These characteristics put together will make for a near-perfect adventure-touring experience. However, if you wish to drive it around in the city, you need get used to its sheer size.

[SuperFlyBoy]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

ACI's review of the Jeep Grand Cherokee is out.

Excerpts:

"The steering is well weighted and feels connected firmly to the road which only adds to how well this big SUV drives. It gets a punchy 3.0-litre diesel which produces a generous 240hp. This means that when you are cruising at about 50kph and want to overtake, all you need to do is press down on the accelerator; the punch from the petrol's smooth V6 pushes you hard in the back. The car is capable of achieving 100kph from standstill in 9.02 seconds, which is quick for its size, after all, it is a full-size SUV."

Hmm, I think they pulled it due to their mentioning the 3.0 diesel and the petrol in the same story, with pix of the diesel.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by SuperFlyBoy

Hmm, I think they pulled it due to their mentioning the 3.0 diesel and the petrol in the same story, with pix of the diesel.

Indeed.

Here's excerpts from the corrected version:

Back in the driver’s seat, you’ll see the dashboard dominated by an 8.9-inch touchscreen and, despite that, a huge array of buttons on the steering wheel and the centre console. All those buttons control the Cherokee’s long list of features – activating the voice control, scanning through the gazillion menus on the instrument cluster screen, controlling the air-suspension and the four-wheel-drive system, and setting the radar-based adaptive cruise control. It takes time to learn what they are – the steering audio controls, for example, are behind the steering wheel where your fingertips normally are. The list of equipment is long on this impressively named Summit variant – panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, SD card, USB and aux-in ports, sat-nav, Bluetooth connectivity, parking sensors, keyless entry and go, reversing camera, an electric tailgate, two USB slots for the rear passengers – it goes on and on.

Driving the Grand Cherokee is a soothing and invigorating experience and its excellent chassis (borrowed and improved from the 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-class) and beautifully smooth drivetrain make it that way. Under the hood is a 3.0-litre V6 diesel that starts with a cultured hum, much like the V6 under the hood of an M-class. It is mated to ZF’s eight-speed automatic transmission that complements this engine’s 240hp and 570Nm excellently. The engine doesn’t rev much – even flat out and in Sports mode, the V6 upshifts at 4,000rpm. But with the linear way this engine makes power, 4,000rpm is all you need. It’s no slouch either – our VBox clocked it at 9.02sec to 100kph, which isn’t as fast as its German rivals, but is still plenty quick.

It’s fantastically stable at speed too, with a flat ride, unshakeable composure and a barely audible engine and this, along with the long legs of the eight-speed gearbox, makes the Grand Cherokee a phenomenal tourer. It’s got tremendous grip, the air suspension ably keeps body movements in check and the reasonably direct steering masks the SUV’s not so inconsiderable 2,406kg.

It is in stop-start traffic that you notice that the Grand Cherokee’s gearbox jerks as it engages first gear, and you have to be extremely gentle with the throttle to get around this. You also notice that visibility is a bit limited by the thick A-pillar (thanks to stringent roll-over regulations in the US). Apart from this, though, it is quite nimble for its size, and the massive screen means you don’t have to squint to see what the rearview camera is showing you.

[SuperFlyBoy]

The red one (the diesel) was parked nearby last night and tonight - not that impressive at all at the moment...

Of course, the quality and (off-road) performance would trounce most any other SUV out here though...

5 seater anyone?

Edited To Add: I guess the tranny has a similar problem as the Endy. (Probably only for first gear though)

[shankar.balan]

So is there any news about jeep launching its Renegade?

I would dearly love to consider that as my next if indeed it is coming in and if indeed it is fairly priced.

Nothing quite like a Jeep...

[SnS_12]

Autocar, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited review, test drive

Fiat-Chrysler is bringing iconic American brand Jeep back to India. The first two models to arrive in our showrooms will be the Grand Cherokee SUV and the Wrangler off-roader.

The Wrangler Unlimited, right from the chassis to the plethora of equipment, is a thoroughbred off-roader. Jeep plans to offer the five-door version of the Wrangler powered by a 2.8-litre diesel motor paired to a five-speed automatic gearbox.

We got our hands on the Wrangler Unlimited Overland Sahara. As its incredibly cool name suggests, it is an unashamedly rugged off-roader that has plenty of character. By that we mean it can be crude but completely lovable, in a Harley Davidson, Zippo lighter kind of way.

Link: http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-rev...ve-361642.aspx

[mac187]

Got his from a friend. I will be surprised if they can move the first batch of Jeeps at this price.

[Jaggu]

Brand is dead before launch! What were they thinking??!

A wrangler is hardly worth 30 Lakhs and it is 71 Wow. Grand Cherokee at 1+ Crore? Wonder what were they smoking and comparing themselves with!

Sad day for the brand fans.

[benbsb29]

Hehe! And people were complaining about the Montero at 69 lakhs!
Refer this thread : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ings-open.html

[kartavya]

They are not going to sell more than 5 pieces total at those prices . There is just no point selling these cars are these prices. There is a thing as brand perception as well and Jeep doesn't hit the mark like a BMW or a Mercedes and if you are going to price that at an extreme premium to even them (when you shouldn't at all, nor is the product that good) than your marketing and research guys really need to look hard at themselves. Was excited for the launch since probably two months and then this.

Every other car in India is VFM is these are Jeeps prices.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by mac187

Got his from a friend. I will be surprised if they can move the first batch of Jeeps at this price.

I missed the western way of putting commas at first, 11 lakhs looked like company transfer pricing. The only way to make sure it doesn't sell would be to put a Fiat badge on it. There could be some initial demand from celebs and the like for the exclusivity, after that what does this brand have going for it?

The models are barely acceptable when compared to the German competition, the ageing models from BMW and Benz trump the Jeep on interior quality, off-roading ability is immaterial as you can buy a Fortuner with the difference and have a spare car when the Germans decide to complain some day.

[an_and]

Jeep unleashed @ Jodhpur

[Aditya]

Team-BHP's Jeep Grand Cherokee review is live. Please continue the discussion in the new thread.