Review: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Busts Down Walls

By Casey Williams - MyCarData

Not two days after Jeep unveiled the next-generation 2011 Grand Cherokee at the New York Auto Show, the autorazzi are jumping all over themselves to criticize Chrysler’s supposed lack of timing given the pressure from Washington to build tiny little greenmobiles. OK, but when you’ve already spent a billion bucks to develop a great SUV that remains popular with Jeep customers, it makes more sense. Not everybody wants to drive a compact hybrid. If you’re going to drive an SUV, choose the original.

Although it pushes through the air with a smoother face and is more fetching with sculpted bodysides, you’ll instantly recognize the Grand Cherokee for what it is – whether it rides on standard 17” wheels or optional 18” and 20” alloys. Lights are flush-swept into the bodysides while chrome detailing around the windows, doorhandles, and mirrors adds class. Interiors were also completely re-designed to provide 4” more rear seat legroom with reclining seatbacks and a much more upscale ambience.
Said Ralph Gilles, V.P. of Design, at the vehicle’s introduction, “Following in the footsteps of our all-new 2009 Dodge Ram, our all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee is another proud graduate of our Advanced Interior Design Studio. We achieved a world-class interior by using fine materials and maintaining a laser-attention to details.”

Engineers paid attention to chassis and powertrain details. Thanks to an all-new “Pentastar” 3.6-litre V6 engine with variable valve timing that delivers 280 HP and 260 lb.-ft. of torque, fuel economy is up 11%. If even more power trips your equation, a 360-HP 5.7-litre HEMI V8 will remain. Properly equipped, the Grand Cherokee will be capable of towing 7,400 lbs.

QuadraLift™ air suspension rises 4.5” from park to maximum clearance for serious off-road adventures while a four-wheel independent suspension system provide the on-highway feel of a sport sedan. Activated by a console switch, the Selec-Terrain™ system pre-chooses five settings (Auto sand/mud, sport, snow, rock) for optimum traction and ground clearance (raises suspension as appropriate). Recent Grand Cherokees have been great all-around performers, but this is an entirely different level.

Eighteen years and over 4 million vehicles have passed since Jeep launched the original Grand Cherokee by busting through the front glass wall of Detroit’s Cobo Hall. Still built in Detroit, the 2011 Grand Cherokee will also bust down the walls between luxury sedan, rock-climbing pro, and those who wish to criticize it.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland

Casey Williams, www.car-data.com

2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Diesel

‘Boys ‘ This Is The Car Your Father Should Have! When he is not using it you can. It is sosimple to drive that you or sister can easily run it. So can mother. On the steering column is acompact set of electric buttons. By merely pressing these buttons you start, stop and light the car. Isn’t that simplicity itself? And that is but one example of the great Overland value. There isan almost endless list of other unusual advantages. Our dealer will explain everything in detail.Have father see him at once ‘ today.’

This is an advertisement for the Overland Model 80 T ($1,075) and 81 T ($850), built by theWillys-Overland Company in Toledo, OH. In the early part of the last century, Willys-Overland wassecond only to the Ford Motor Company in sales by building excellent all-terrain touring cars.During WWII, the company won a contract to build a new lightweight 4×4 that became the Jeep. Thebrand that Willys-Overland begat passed to shipping magnate Henry J. Kaiser, became part ofAmerican Motors, and was acquired by Chrysler in 1987. It is not by coincidence that the mostluxurious version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee is the Overland.

From the exterior, it is hard to notice anything especially different about the GC Overland. Itcontinues an upright design theme that goes back to the first smaller Cherokee in the mid-80s.Jeep’s traditional grater grille is chromed and flanked by four roundish headlamps. Thick bumpersand wheel arches convey a sense of capability while body color door handles and chrome mirrors lookcorrect in upscale driveways. High intensity discharge headlamps with self-leveling,automatically-dimming mirrors, 18′ aluminum chrome wheels with off-road tires, and underbody skidplates are appreciated on- and off-road.

I’ve driven other Grand Cherokees, including the awesomely powerful SRT8, but I like theOverland’s interior the best. Mercedes-style heated leather seats (front and rear) are comfortable,but also feel very rich. Jeep leather seats can sometimes look cheaper, but the buckets andfold-down bench in the Overland are divine. This aura of quality continues to the leather and woodsteering wheel, gated gear selector, woodgrain trim on the console, leather-wrapped armrests,chrome door handles, and white-lit analog gauges. Adjustable pedals and a tilt/telescoping steeringcolumn help any driver get comfortable. Touch screen navigation and audio controls work well; sidecurtain airbags enhance safety. Overland logos stitched into the seatbacks remind you of traditionas they have the same font as classic Overlands.

If the Overland were powered by one of Chrysler’s excellent V6 or V8 engines, it would be great,but our test vehicle came with the Mercedes-built 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6, connected to aMercedes five-speed automatic transmission, that generates 215 horsepower and 376 lb.-ft. of torque. Besides improving fuel economy by 30%, the engine produces the right amount of torque to grindover rocks or jump to attention at any time. It is no HEMI for brute acceleration, but the massivetorque feels great when you step on the throttle at highway speeds where it goes from lounging topounding in a split. It seems to do everything easier than you would expect. Fuel economy is rated17/22-MPG city/hwy.

Although most owners will never venture into more treacherous territory than a snowy road orgravel driveway, the Grand Cherokee is a real Jeep. Ample ground clearance works with theQuadra-Drive II 4WD system that can be left in automatic or locked in to roll over rough trails. Italso stands by to lend a wheel on the occasional patch of icy pavement. Four-wheel anti-lock discbrakes, traction control, electronic stability control, Hill Start Assist, brake assist, andlimited-slip front and rear differentials bring the best technology to bear on challenging roadsand trails. Most impressively, the Overland is the best-handling and smoothest-riding Jeep I’veever experienced.

Besides the Grand Cherokee Overland Diesel being a very nice SUV, I’m impressed that Jeep’smarketing gnomes had the creativity and knowledge to dig into its archives to pull out the Overlandbrand, original logo and all.

Compared to all Jeeps before, the Overland Diesel is an excellent piece of engineering,capability, and luxury all wrapped in a fuel-sipping package. It costs $1,010 to put a Rudolph’sbaby under the hood, and it will cost you more at the pump, but you should net out the differencein fuel savings. You’ll also enjoy driving it. With an as-tested price of $46,560, the Jeep GrandCherokee Overland is monstrously more than the advertised Overlands above, but is competitive withthe Mercedes ML, Ford Explorer, Lexus GX, and Hummer H3.