New York: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Intrepidation]

Something you have to keep in mind reg is that according to the info given, Chrysler has taken great pains to enhance both its off road performance (to appeal to Jeep faithful and people who actually go off roading in general) while enhancing it's on road performance (to appeal to everyone else).

How successful that effort is we'll have to wait for reviews.

[K.C.]

Hmm....

Nope, I like the new one a lot better. It looks like an evolution of the second gen GC, which was my favorite until now.

+1. I really like this generation of the Grand Cherokee. Much better than the google eyed looks of the current model.

[MyerShift]

yeah and it's also several thousand cheaper. and the fwd based crossovers are much more popular with the market. i don't see the GC getting 30mpg rating on the highway. urban legend about GC's is that they rarely exceed mid teens in fuel economy.

Pfft! My mother has an I-6 Trail Blazer that has an average fuel economy of 11 mpg in town over the course of its life since 2003.

Real SUV's and trucks suck with mileage unless they're a diesel, and even then, these jacked up station wagons still WON'T get 30mpg in real life. Aerodynamics and weight play a big role.

Besides, the Grand Cherokee is a far more attractive and desirable vehicle than the Terrain (at least to me).

[regfootball]

Something you have to keep in mind reg is that according to the info given, Chrysler has taken great pains to enhance both its off road performance (to appeal to Jeep faithful and people who actually go off roading in general) while enhancing it's on road performance (to appeal to everyone else).

How successful that effort is we'll have to wait for reviews.

i've never questioned its off road performance at all. it is a true jeep.

now if the front end of this new one only looked like one......

Edited April 9, 2009 by regfootball

[regfootball]

Pfft! My mother has an I-6 Trail Blazer that has an average fuel economy of 11 mpg in town over the course of its life since 2003.

Real SUV's and trucks suck with mileage unless they're a diesel, and even then, these jacked up station wagons still WON'T get 30mpg in real life. Aerodynamics and weight play a big role.

Besides, the Grand Cherokee is a far more attractive and desirable vehicle than the Terrain (at least to me).

someone can fetch the curb weight of that terrain in fwd garb. but if its about 3800 pounds and has the 4 cyl 6 pot, it will touch 30 on the highway or maybe even exceed it as the ecotec historically can achieve close to 40mpg. i have no reason to not believe that the equinox at 29/30 mpg the terrain will maybe be 1 mpg less hwy with its more upright stance. a lot of times mpg is more a function of curb weight and engine rpm as anything. a GC is going to at least be 500 pounds heavier and has much thirstier mill under the hood. now, with 6 speeds the GC mileage will be vastly improved, but really its not going to come close to touching the car based terrain. the reason the trailblazer got so bad mpg, the I-6 from GM was a fuel sucker, and the trailblazer was heavy. most real world mpg figures i have heard or read on trailblazers were in the 14-18 mpg range. One close friend who had an extended trailblazer said 15 was the norm with 4x4.

my aztek will sometimes see 25 mpg and that is with the lousy 3.4/4 sp. the terrain is not as blocky and has the smaller motor and 6 speeds as i am guessing the weight is similar. again, i see no problem with the terrain coming close to the 30 mpg for a fwd version.

often times too GM products will well exceed their epa numbers. not sure why, but they do. people with v6 malbus pulling 35 mpg highway. or impalas for that matter. i have heard of people pulling over 40 mpg in cobalts.

GM's I-6 was a great idea but for some reason it was a major gas hog. not sure why.

Edited April 9, 2009 by regfootball

[Croc]

I think this is a really nicely done vehicle. Color me impressed.

[ocnblu]

Wow, the Jeep purists were pissed when they went to IFS, now this GC has NO live axles left? Is it really 4-wheel independent? What is this world coming to? True Jeepers only have the Wrangler to choose from. I saw a Compass in a parking lot with an "If You Can Read This, Flip Me Over" sticker on the back window... I got the urge to get a crew together and flip the POS, just for the hell of it, so the text would be right-side up.

Now, honestly, this is a good looking vehicle, the interior is MUCH improved over the chintzy current model.

[Intrepidation]

I don't mind at all that it's IRS since it seems to be more capable offroad than any Grand Cherokee before it.

[2QuickZ's]

I'm glad they finally released some images. Now maybe they can start driving them around without camo. They need all the buzz they can get.

Personally, I like it a lot. I think the interior is quite nice. The fit and finish should be much improved and the materials are vastly improved. Styling is a subjective thing. I like the styling. I do agree the greenhouse is similar to the Journey but big deal. I promise you the vehicle itself is nothing like the Journey. Let's face it, the Big 3 are not going to be able to get by with a fleet of specialty, low volume vehicles. They need additional volume. I think the changes they've made may soften the image a little but should attract more new customers than it alienates existing customers and I'm sure that is the goal.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Looks like they've done a nice job with the interior; it doesn't look the same as something out of a plain jane Avenger, or Charger.

But I actually think the current Grand Cherokee looks better, especially when lowered with nice wheels. I'll bet the SRT guys will prove me wrong when their edition rolls out, though.

+1... I think it's pretty impressive.

But, for my money, it doesn't get any better than the current SRT-8 model. I'm sure the new SRT-8 model will be just as cool

Edited April 11, 2009 by FUTURE_OF_GM