Jeep Grand Cherokee (2005-) Review

On the road

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Jeep reckons that this car is so much better than the last Grand Cherokee that it let us drive the previous version on the latest model's launch, just to prove the point. And, honestly, they're not wrong: European-spec Grand Cherokees get unique suspension settings, while independent front suspension and the adoption of rack-and-pinion steering makes a world of difference. Where the old model wandered and weaved, particularly on motorways, necessitating some second-guessing on the steering, the new version steers accurately and has much improved body control at speed, over bumps, and in corners.

Company execs confirm that it was their intention to make a 'quantum leap' in terms of on-road ability over the old model, and they've achieved it. The steering is the biggest improvement, while the ride is acceptable on most surfaces, with the front feeling better keyed to the road than the rear, perhaps because of the back end's live axle, which takes longer to settle than the front. Refinement levels are high, too, with little wind and road noise, and the engines rarely intrusive.

So, a quantum leap over the previous Grand Cherokee, it is, but where does that leave it against the competition? Well, it's still not as sporting to drive as a BMX X5, not quite as refined as an RX300 and, in truth, the ride is probably not quite as isolated as either. That said, it's still more than competent and can be fairly entertaining on the road, while those two competitors would probably struggle to get near the Jeep's ability off-road, which the company says is best-in-class, although we'd wager that the (admittedly more expensive) Range Rover Sport would have something to say about that.

Nevertheless, the Grand Cherokee is impressive in the rough, and gets the latest version of Jeep's Quadra-Drive II four-wheel-drive system, complete with electronic locking differentials; these quickly allow up to 100 percent of torque to be diverted to any one wheel that has grip, even if the other three do not. Axle articulation appears good and the body is stiff too, with doors and boot opening easily even with two diagonally opposed wheels weightless. The turning circle of 11.2m is usefully tight, too.

Although three engines are available, most of the action in mainland Europe and, indeed, the UK, will be centred around a new, 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel, sourced from Chrysler's partner, Mercedes-Benz, and accounting for at least eighty percent of sales. And very good it is too, quiet at idle, powerfully grumbly when roused, but never overly loud, and always capable of delivering enough grunt, be it for overtaking or off-roading. Its peak power and torque outputs are 215bhp and 376lb ft respectively, with the latter available from between 1,600 and 2,800rpm. That's good enough for 0-62mph in a claimed 9.0secs, which feels believable, and a top speed of 124mph.

Two other engines are also offered, both petrol, and of 4.7-litres and 5.7-litres respectively. We haven't tried the 4.7-litre, 228bhp V8 yet, but it won't sell in huge numbers in the UK, and will be outsold by the top-end 5.7-litre 'Hemi' V8, as seen in the Chrysler 300C. This is a fine engine, with 322bhp at 5,000rpm and 369lb ft of torque at 4,000rpm and a great soundtrack to go with it. It's claimed that the 5.7 Grand Cherokee can reach 62mph in 7.1 seconds and go on to 129mph, while the engine also incorporates MDS, which shuts-down four cylinders on part-throttle, for a claimed 20 percent improvement in economy. That's 18.3mpg on the combined cycle, incidentally, compared to 27.7mpg for the turbodiesel, although you'll need to include a fair bit of motorway driving to match those figures - we returned, according to the trip computer, 13.3mpg and 21.8mpg respectively, albeit in hard driving.

All engines drive through a five-speed automatic gearbox, which has reasonable response, and can be manually overridden if one wants to retain selection of a particular gear. An even more powerful version, the 6.1-litre SRT-8, arrives in the UK in 2006.