2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee
by Jim Prueter -06/2010

All-new Grand Cherokee on par with the best luxury SUV brands

A completely new Jeep Grand Cherokee is just now arriving at dealers and is the first all-new vehicle to be born from the new Chrysler Group alliance with Fiat SpA. For Jeep and Chrysler, who are in desperate need of some product hits, it couldn’t come soon enough, especially given their existing lineup of superannuated offerings.

The flagship of the iconic Jeep brand, the Grand Cherokee moniker dates back almost two decades and more than four million units sold. The all-new 2011 Grand Cherokee shares little with its predecessor excluding the name.

I drove the new Grand Cherokee at the media introduction program in the San Francisco Bay area. My route included a lengthy drive from Sausalito through San Francisco’s city streets, twisty two-lane canyon roads, and interstate. We concluded with an afternoon of fairly challenging off-road driving at Hollister Hills Sport Vehicle Recreation Park near Monterey, Calif.

I spent most of my time behind the wheel of the top-of-the-line Grand Cherokee Overland model, with Chrysler chief engineer Phil Jansen (who had complete responsibility for Cherokee’s start-to-finish development) as my passenger.

The newly designed Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 engine, rated at 290 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, powered our preproduction Grand Cherokee. I thought the new V-6 was thoroughly sufficient for the variable driving we did, including the most challenging off-roading at Hollister Hills, especially considering the performance of the 3.7-liter, 210-horsepower V-6 it replaces.

Even with the added horsepower the new V-6 improves fuel economy by 11 percent, delivering up to 23 mpg (500 miles on one tank of gas). Jeep expects more than 70 percent of buyers to opt for the V-6.

For those needing more towing capacity (now 7400 pounds, up from 5000) or simply more power, the Grand Cherokee is also available with the 5.7-liter V-8 360-horsepower HEMI engine. In order to save fuel, half the cylinders in this engine shut down when they’re not needed.

Both engines are mated to five-speed automatic transmissions. The V-6 burns regular unleaded, while mid-grade is recommended for the HEMI, although Jeep says its OK to burn regular unleaded.

Most noticeable among the improvements are the welcome and classy redo of the interior, and the exceptional ride and handling quality thanks to an all-new platform, shared with the upcoming next-generation Mercedes-Benz ML-Class SUV. Prior to the Chrysler/Mercedes-Benz divorce a couple of years back, the two vehicles began development together and both have kept the same platform execution.

Jansen says his goal was to completely mimic the ride and handling characteristics of the ML-Class to the extent that, when blindfolded, it would be impossible to differentiate the vehicles. We deem it mission accomplished.

Another carryover from the Mercedes-Benz relationship was Klaus Busse, head of interior design, who is responsible for the rich execution and the exceptional fit and finish inside. It’s far superior to the hard plastic, poor quality, economy look interior of the previous Grand Cherokee. Touch any part of the interior and you’ll experience softer, premium materials.

Our Overland model featured leather-wrapped door-trim panels and center console and real wood trim on the dash and door panels. There’s hand-stitched leather on the dash, steering wheel and gear shifter. Heated and cooled ventilated leather seats are standard on the Overland, optional on the mid-level Limited, with heated only standard on the base Laredo X. Second-row heated seats are standard on the Limited and Overland models. Even our leather-and- wood steering wheel was heated.

The new interior is every bit as premium as anything offered in the best luxury SUVs from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, Audi and others.

While Chrysler increased the overall size of the Grand Cherokee, it’s still relatively compact and just under two inches longer than the outgoing model. But it gets a much-needed four additional inches of rear legroom and cargo capacity, thanks to a five-inch larger wheelbase. And, Busse had the front seatbacks carved out to create additional rear-seat knee room, and added a reclining feature to the rear seatbacks for additional comfort. Once a horrible place of confinement, the rear seat is now much more spacious, comfortable and relaxing.

The added wheelbase fixed another nagging problem from the previous Grand Cherokee: the feeling that front seat occupants sat too high and you had to duck your head to peer out the windshield. That annoyance has been fixed, thanks to a lower seating position and a larger sloping windshield.

Grand Cherokee continues to feature only two rows of seating, with a third-row unavailable.

Still at the heart of the Grand Cherokee is its off-road capability. To that end, the new Quadra-Lift air suspension system features five height settings for optimum ride performance. Quadra-Lift adds up to 4.1 inches of additional lift span for a maximum of just over 11 total inches in ground clearance.

There’s also a new Selec-Terrain system with a control dial at the back of the center console to allow selection from five driving conditions — sand/mud, snow, rock, sport or auto (which allow the vehicle to choose for you) — to achieve the best experience on all surfaces. Land Rover features a similar system.

We tried all the settings, along with the Hill Descent Control at Hollister Hills. The Grand Cherokee handled the 60-degree hill climb and descent, and rugged trails where at times two wheels were entirely off the ground, effortlessly. Off-road capability is exceptional.

There are also three different 4x4 systems, Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Drive II. Quadra-Trac I delivers full-time four-wheel drive without any switches or levers to pull and works well over a variety of road conditions.

Quadra-Trac II senses where wheel slippage is detected and transfers corrective action at the earliest possible moment.

Quadra-Drive II, with a rear electronic limited-slip differential, operates similarly to the Quadra-Trac II system but adds additional engine torque to tires with traction to proactively limit or eliminate wheel slippage.

On the road, the Grand Cherokee had the feel of driving a luxury SUV: agile, sure-footed, comfortable, with excellent visibility thanks to the newly available blind spot detection system imbedded in the outside rearview mirrors. Overland comes standard with a rearview camera and rear park assist.

Chrysler says there is 146 percent increase in body torsion rigidity over the outgoing model. We noticed the difference driving the canyon roads: no squeaks, rattles, groans, vibrations and minimal wind noise. Chrysler even included double walled inner fenders to eliminate the sound of stones and gravel before it is heard inside the cabin.

Standard safety equipment includes electronic stability control, electronic roll mitigation, hill-start assist, trailer-sway control, full-length side-curtain airbags for front and rear seats, seat-mounted, side pelvic-thorax air bags, and active head restraints. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named the Grand Cherokee a “Top Safety Pick.”

Optional safety systems include adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection, and forward-collision warning system.

One of our major gripes with the new GC was a notably fussy and difficult to use navigation system that repeatedly vocalized erroneous traffic information, instructing us to take alternate routes and immediate u-turns. On several occasions the system-directed route was actually wrong, causing us to backtrack or go through the middle of town rather than taking a more direct and quicker bypass.

The Grand Cherokee is available in three trim levels: Laredo, Limited and Overland. All are four-door, five-passenger available with two-wheel or a choice of three versions of four-wheel drive. Prices have been reduced up to $495 lower than the outgoing model.

There are no hybrid or diesel versions available. While Chrysler is non-committal, we expect to see a high-performance SRT model available in the near future.

The Grand Cherokee is a most impressive new vehicle inside and out, on paved roads or rugged trails. The prices for the various trim levels seem to be absolute bargains and most impressive is that, on this vehicle, Chrysler has both fixed a quality problem and put it on par with the best luxury brands.