Jeep Grand Cherokee Review
Published: 12th January 2007
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The previous Grand Cherokee model was fitted with a five cylinder 2.7 CRD engine and the new Grand is fitted with a six cylinder, 3.0 CRD which offers a 33 percent increase in power (215 hp @ 4000 rpm) and a 28 percent increase in torque (376 lb/ft @ 1600 rpm). The new engine is a great improvement, which we found to be fairly refined. Of course you know it is a diesel but the sound proofing is very good and audibly it is not particularly intrusive.
Performance wise the Grand Cherokee is quite quick both on paper and in practice, Jeep quote a 0-62 mph time of 9.0 seconds and a top speed of 124 mph. There a little lag from the engine but overtaking and pulling off can be quite brisk.
There isn’t a manual option and all Cherokee's are equipped with 5-speed automatic gearbox. The gearbox is well matched to the 3.0 CRD engine, offering pretty much seamless changes. Should you wish you can manually change gear sequentially by knocking the lever to the left or right of the ‘Drive’ position.
Whilst touring we achieved circa 24 mpg which improved to 32 mpg on the motorway, whilst cruising.
Overall the Grand Cherokee is a vast improvement over the outgoing model, with its refined engine and smooth transmission.
How It Drove - Ride/Handling
Around town we found the Jeep to be a bit too cumbersome to nip through the urban landscape. We found that we had to prepare in advance to tackle the numerous roundabouts, that have sprung up around most of the South East’s towns and this became challenging after awhile as we drove from Chelmsford to Canterbury on one trip.
Once out of town, on the open road the Grand Cherokee copes well and has enough grunt to overtake comfortably. Your enthusiasm can be dampened by the body roll when cornering and we felt that the suspension is a little soft. Of course the Grand Cherokee isn’t designed to be a hot hatch and off road its suspension set up pays great dividends, soaking up rough terrain.
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