Team-BHP - Driven: Jeep Grand Cherokee

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akshay1234 (Post 4045569)

The gear shift action doesn't give good feedback, and is very confusing. It's more than likely you will leave it in a position which is not intended. In fact, Jeep has issued a recall for the same

Given Anton Yelchin's death, I am a little concerned looking at the lever pics. Do I see a faint blue glow indicating the position of the lever? Is that the only indication?

Also, given that Grand Cherokees were recalled "to update the transmission software and include more visual warnings and chimes that the vehicles are not in park", in your test drive, could you easily tell which position the lever was in ?

Anyway, given the epic pricing, this is bound to go only one way. And this is what I can say to Jeep's management -

AFAIK VW Tourege was priced at around 60L, still VW had to discontinue it in India. I am not sure if that was CBU or CKD, but that SUV was superior in every aspect over Cherokee which is priced more than twice or Tourege.

And what an awkward position for that lever in the footwell, is that for parking brake release? Isn't that a flaw from safety point of view?

After thinking for one more time, I feel thats a serious flaw. Suppose the vehicle is parked at a hill descend and driver is waiting for someone while talking to rear seat occupant. Suddenly foot touches the release lever, car starts rolling down and bangs onto the car parked next, or maybe more serious than that.

So much mess-ups for this wannabe Maybach of SUVs! lol:

I guess Jeep isn't going to win any wars here huh?
The Jeep brand wouldn't have been a sales chart burner even if the pricing was a lot more reasonable. The Cherokee is now quite dated, has questionable reliability, and doesn't have anything going for it except off road ability, which is useless in India.
The jeep brand is also a problem, although it is without a doubt very cool but it's far from premium and often brings a utilitarian image in our minds. Blame the Classic, Thar, CJ or the thar, Jeep isn't as aspirational as a three pointer. These were my thoughts when I checked it out at the expo and the pricing in my mind was 45lacs or so.
Now though, I find it funny that FCA priced it so high. RIP.

Jeep India has imported petrol versions of the Wrangler Unlimited and the Grand Cherokee for homologation, indicating a possible launch in the near future.

Both cars are equipped with 3.6L, 3600cc, V6 petrol units.

Zauba

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepaktpatil (Post 4045972)

Wonder how Grand Cherokee performs in ride and handling area.

2014 year model of Grand Cherokee has failed the Moose Test (A practical test to test the evasive maneuvering capability of a vehicle when a obstacle appears suddenly in front of vehicle -

That video was shot in 2012. The last moose test done in 2014, at a little higher speed does not have this issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fs5M8GuvcU

Awesome review and all as always, but really:
THAT PRICING!!! :Shockked:
A Grand Cherokee for 1.4 Crore! And as if that wasn't enough, the bigger act, a barebones Wrangler for almost a Crore!!! I don't even know what to say.
If I were to have that kind of money right now, and that much of a pinch to off-road in my ride, I'd choose to wait it out for a while, and then after a while just buy out Mitsubishi in that money! :uncontrol At least after sales wouldn't be a worry that way!

First they make you wait for atleast 3 years to bring these beasts to the indian market. And then they play funny by pricing them so stupidly.

Extremely disappointed with the wrangler's pricing. Had been planning for months to buy it with an expected pricetag of 40 Lakh.
Onroad 80+ is just ridiculous

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavenAvi (Post 4046078)

The launch webcast mentioned a few things:
1. Petrols are coming in Nov'2016
2. Just one outlet in Ahmedabad today. But Delhi and Chennai are next. 10 outlets by end of 2016 (so in next 4 months).
3. Ranjangaon facility to start from 2017 (but no specifics on Cherokee/Wrangler becoming CKD from 2017)

I understand the premium 'shock and awe' tactic, and the Indian 'humari gaadi aapse mehengi' thinking among buyers who have binary number plates and white colours in this segment. But this pricing strategy is clearly an all or nothing, gun-ho approach. If it works great; if not (most likely), bye bye FIAT. Goodbye Abarth.

I'm just glad that I got an Abarth product at the start of this year. When they'll announce bankruptcy in a few years, I will be sad, but by that time I will have had spent at least a few years behind the wheel of my beautiful Abbie.

Then another thread will emerge, one pointing to FIAT's inane, delayed decisions, and eventual withdrawal. Case studies will be conducted. Motorist culture will long be forgotten; muddled somewhere between a handful of mass-manufactured, devil-may-care infestations. The remaining, helpless owners (us) will have support groups where we will be left to discuss alternate history scenarios and what could have been.

It sure looks like we're headed that way. It's been a pleasure knowing you, FIAT.

Excellent report!

A lot has been said about the ridiculous pricing. I dont think there can be one car like the Grand Cherokee that has been slammed by almost all auto journals for it's pricing.

But the SUV looks beautiful, specially from the side.

Slightly :OT

As the infamous moose test video has already been posted, I would like to post another video about the car, that went viral:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5sVmoOZRypk

Let's analyze this car :

1. Brand
- People will confuse it with Mahindra's jeep brand. Major insult to a 1 crore SUV.
+ Understatement, thus lesser attraction in public.

2. Power
- 240 bhp only. Just 40 bhp more than the Ford Endeavor which costs MUCH lesser.

3. Features
- Do we really need ventilated seats in India?

4. Service
- With Fiat? Which is already infamous for sub par servicing? And a car which costs 1cr will share space with a 6 lac punto?!! What pride will the customer get?

5. Cost
- 1 cr? Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke? :Frustrati

All in all, like GTO said, it's dead on arrival.

Gene Wilder and JeepIndia meet at the Pearly Gates while waiting for St.Peter.

Gene: Hey JeepIndia, I thought you just entered India.
JeepIndia: Yes, but I died at the very moment price was announced.
Gene: Why?
JeepIndia: For the Grand Cherokee, we are charging 4 times the price of Endeavour while providing same features.
Gene: Take a bow, I thought I was the comedian.

[Was inspired to write this joke when I heard Gene Wilder passed away yesterday]

wonderful review, as always.
this is so absurd from Jeep honestly, I just cannot think of a single thing to say in their favour after looking at the price. What do they think of Indian community? Are you serious with this kind of highly over the top optimistic pricing?
May be they dont really want to sell Jeep in India? May be it's just that their top management just does not want Jeep being driven on Indian roads by Indian people so they have priced it absurdly high. With this they have registered a new footprint on the global map and still don't have to serve Indians. I just can not think of any other reason why they would make such a blunder with their pricing strategy.
This has to be named the Jeep Grand Joke-er-okee

As usual a great review, but the brand is dead on arrival. In that kind of cost we can buy a flat in Mumbai Suburbs. Second is the brand recall, people will link to the Mahindra, I was recently talking to a couple of business men friends of mine who were looking for a change in vehicle and they do not even know what this brand is. For them a Fortuner is a brand with instant recall and on the road visibility.

So owning a Jeep brand in India is as good as dead for me personally :deadhorse. The solace is my shift of base to the Americas, which may still let me realize this dream.

I always wonder who develops these "strategies" and I presume FCA India has a board of directors who ratify "strategy". Gosh ! I wonder who these worthies are. Interestingly the Jeep India website does not have an "About Us" or similar section. Wonder why?