Athletic luxury.
One of the most recognized brand names in the world, Jeep comes in three flavors--the
classic Wrangler, the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee, luxury version of
the Jeep brand and the most popular member of its tribe. The Grand Cherokee
outsells all sport-utilities but the Ford Explorer in the U.S. market--about
280,000 sales in 1996, a healthy 12% increase over 1995.
The Grand Cherokee itself comes in several interesting levels--Laredo,
Limited and the Orvis Edition, named for the outdoor gear company and similar
in character to the Explorer Eddie Bauer models. Until last year, when
both the Explorer V8 and Mercury Mountaineer made their debuts, the Grand
Cherokee was the only compact sport-utility to offer a V8 engine option,
but that market exclusive is history now, and the Grand Cherokee will have
to go on its other merits.
One of its best merits, we think, is the sharp-edge body design, a design
scheme that was accepted immediately when this truck showed up four years
ago, and stands out in the crowd now because most of the other sport utes
in this size/price class look like gigantic scoops of melting ice cream,
with compound curves on all the corners.
For 1997, there is a small group of minor improvements to this six-year-old
SUV: the base radio is upgraded, the carpeting is upgraded, the rear seat
heat duct is extended, the tilt steering column is modified for improved
function, the ABS system is improved and all models get a full-body anti-chip
paint treatment. There are also eight new colors to choose from.
Walkaround
The Grand Cherokee starts with a Laredo two-wheel drive four-door with
a 4.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine and four-speed automatic transmission.
It builds from there to the 5.2-liter V8 Limited and Orvis models. Along
the way, the Grand Cherokee offers more drivetrain variations than any
other sport-utility on the market. While no manual transmission is available,
there are two drive systems available for either the six or the V8.
Once you opt for four-wheel drive, you must then choose among the systems.
These include Selec-Trac, with a fixed torque split between front and rear,
and Quadra-Trac, which normally puts all the torque to the rear axle but
can automatically vary torque fore and aft at any proportion between zero
and 100%, assuring that the power always goes to the tires that have the
traction.
And, for those who want the power and the space without the complexity
of a heavy 4WD system, in 1997 the basic 2WD model is available for the
first time with the 5.2-liter V8 engine option.
The Grand Cherokee Limited comes with a large load of standard equipment--as
well it should for a starting price of $31,885--including air conditioning,
power steering, power brakes, power mirrors, power locks, 10-way power
seats with power recline and lumbar systems, tinted glass, a remote locking/security
system, leather trim, tilt steering, cruise control, aluminum wheels, premium
AM/FM/cassette audio, fog lamps, a roof rack, and a pair of consoles, one
overhead, one between the front seats.
The Limited package ($1290) adds heated seats, a power sunroof, and
an upgraded sound system with three-band graphic equalizer. Our tester
also had the trailer towing group ($242), the Up Country suspension ($390)--which
raises the ride one full inch and comes with tow hooks, skid plates, stiffer
springs and shocks, P225/70R-16 tires and a conventional spare. The optional
5.2-liter V8 engine was an additional $877 (though you can get a Limited
with a six-cylinder engine), and the traction-lock rear differential added
$285.
Interior Features
From the left front seat, the Grand Cherokee Limited V8 is easy to figure
out and easy to deal with, though the instrument panel seems to be running
out of space to put the various switches and controls for all the power
options it packs. The typical Jeep white-on-black instruments, with color
accents, are easy to scan and very good at night.
The leather seats are very comfortable for long rides, and have a wide
range of power adjustments, with a two-driver memory feature for the seats,
radio stations and mirrors. The clear instrument covers and some of the
plastic elements used inside are a bit too shiny for our tastes, shiny
equating with, less than grand, appearance in this context.
If the Grand Cherokee has a handicap it is lack of interior space for
people and cargo compared to most of its direct competition. While the
interior is nicely done, the Grand Cherokee is built on a narrow Jeep unitbody
platform and that narrowness dictates and governs how much space there
is for shoulders, hips, heads and legs, and, behind the second seat, how
much cubic capacity awaits the family-size cargo loads.
The other compact sport-utilities that have come into the market after
the Grand Cherokee have pretty much exploited this weakness with larger
interior layouts and more useable cubic capacity in the cargo area.
Having said that, the Grand Cherokee, which is done up in soft cushy
leather and simulated woodgrain, offers quite a pleasant environment for
four people and their collective stuff, or two adults and three kids. We
wouldn't stretch it to five adults, at least not for any long rides. The
interior simply isn't roomy enough for five real people.
But the ride is quiet and comfortable, more comfortable than any other
Jeep, as well as most of its competitors. There's extra sound insulation
built in to keep noise down, and the materials used on the Limited version
are very posh indeed.
Driving Impressions
If you are a high-performance buyer, then the Grand Cherokee must be
at the top of your list, because its optional V8 makes 220 horsepower and
generates 300 pound-feet of torque, both class-leading numbers. The V8
in our test truck was a genuine tiger, ripping across intersections, pulling
snowy grades and performing highway passing maneuvers with ease and quickness
we weren't expecting. It is also rated to pull a 6500-pound trailer.
And if you don't need as much grunt as all that, we can recommend the
4.0-liter inline-six as one of the great SUV engines, with 185 hp and 220
lbs.-ft. of torque for hauling up to 5000 pounds of trailer, with an improvement
in mpg rating from 13/17 city/highway for the V8 to 15/20 for the six,
quite a lot in percentage terms.
We have been off-road many times with the 4.0 in the Grand and other
Jeep models, and it never let us down.
While the shift is on to rack-and-pinion steering in the sport-utility
world, the Grand Cherokee still uses recirculating-ball steering, and it
is a bit mushy and indefinite compared to other systems, though entirely
acceptable. It works with leading-arm coil-spring front suspension and
trailing arm coil-spring rear suspension and gas shocks all around to keep
the Grand Cherokee on the straight and narrow.
Ride quality is very good, all things considered, and ride control is
taut, with not too much body roll in fast corners. When it comes to all-around
handling, the Grand Cherokee is one of the most nimble performers in its
class.
We noticed while underway that the big outside mirrors and windshield
pillars seem to generate quite a bit of wind noise at freeway speeds, which
was doubly intrusive because the powertrain noise and chassis noise were
both so well subdued by tuning and isolation. We thought at first we hadn't
closed the left front door all the way, but the noise persisted at speeds
above 50 mph.
Lineup
Final Word
While the Ford Explorer continues to rule the sport-utility realm, the
Jeep Grand Cherokee is still solidly in second place, in spite of being
one of the oldest entries in its class.
And while the preponderance of Grand Cherokees sold are Laredo and Limited
six-cylinder models, there is still plenty of room in the market for the
ultimate Jeep. At more than $37,000 it's well into the luxury realm, but
it's got style, power, plenty of equipment and very serious off-road capability
for those who shun the beaten track.