Question about the Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Intrepidation]

I was just wondering if the Grand Chaerokee interior is as bad as the reviews have said. I mean early reviews said it had soft touch materials, but more recent ones said everything is as hard as a rock. Does anyone own or been inside one that knows? I'm just curious I guess if there's anything besides the seats that are soft.

[sciguy_0504]

I was in one at the car show and it was horrible. You could kill someone by rubbing their body up against the plastics. The only soft touch item is the leather on the steering wheel and seats.

[BrewSwillis]

Don't have any real life experience with one, but here are a couple reviews:

The interior is a far cry from the old. The layout and use of materials is on a par with the most expensive luxury utes, as is the level of fit and finish.

As a sign of how grown up and sophisticated the Grand Cherokee has become, our test vehicle boasted adjustable brake pedals, Boston Acoustic sound system, dual-zone HVAC, leather interior, rain-sensing wipers, a tire pressure-monitoring system that showed the spare needed some air and a neat reversible water-resistant cargo storage area cover. All this in addition to ABS, electronic stability and traction control, power everything, remote keyless entry, cruise, power heated and folding mirrors and a power sunroof. The option list contained a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, trailer-towing and off-road packages, side air bags and the Hemi, which is packaged with Quadra-Drive and the electronic differentials.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/rr/...andcherokee.htm

If the Jeep scores all As and a B+ or two in performance, it finishes a wee bit further down on the curve inside. The all-new interior is remarkably quiet and looks upscale, with handsome dark-over-light color contrast and rich graining and texturing. But much of the plastic is rock hard, and the package is a bit too intimate, especially in the driver's seat. Several testers wish the seat went down farther, largely because a more steeply raked windshield brings the header uncomfortably close to shorter-legged drivers' heads. Others wish the steering wheel could be adjusted farther away. Given that the exterior grew 5.3 inches longer and an inch wider, we're disappointed that the interior dimensions remain virtually unchanged (side- and rear-impact protection drove some of this inflation).

Other niggles include a climate-control system that, when set to recirculate mode on a dusty road, reverts to fresh air after a certain period of time without warning, choking the occupants with Mojave silt. And Jeep's first navigation system is less intuitive to use and program than most.

MotorTrend.com

Fit-and-finish is tight and accurate. Most surfaces convey a durable, yet 

The cabin of the 2005 Grand Cherokee is very hospitable and far more attractive than last year's version. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press)

high-quality feel - although the dash is primarily composed of hard plastic finished with a grainy surface. Despite the plastic, the cabin of the Grand Cherokee is very hospitable and far more attractive than last year's version.

Worthy of note is the non-obscured gauge cluster. It sits directly ahead of the driver and is comprised of a large circular speedometer twinned by a matching tachometer. Flanking the left is a smaller-size circular fuel gauge, and flanking the right is a matching engine temperature gauge. Chrome bezels surrounding each of the gauges add an elegant appearance to the instrument panel.

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/roadte...rtid=35296&pg=2

So, it looks like a good fit and finish, with nice looking hard plastic on the dash. I guess this vehicle got past the new rubberized soft-touch treatment that Chrysler has employed as of late.

[Intrepidation]

That's too bad, it's a pretty nice looking interior. I heard reading a review on auto123.com that the Grand Cherokee was designed before Chrysler Group became profitable like it is now, so they cut costs on the interior, but according to someone at Jeep the reviwer alked to, the GC should get improved interior materials when it's refreshed. Lets hope so, it's a nice `ute aside from teh interior. Thanks for replying!

[torobud]

People have waaaaaay too much free time and the wrong priorities if they do or don't buy a car/truck/can/SUV simply because of the amount of soft touch materials

This is getting out of control but I will myself and leave this at that..

[BrewSwillis]

People have waaaaaay too much free time and the wrong priorities if they do or don't buy a car/truck/can/SUV simply because of the amount of soft touch materials

This is getting out of control but I will  myself and leave this at that..

I know. What do these people do?.......sleep on their dashboards??

I don't understand the obsession either. However, one thing I don't like is extremely grained plastics. We know it's plastic.....it does not have to look like leather.

That's one thing I like about my 300. The dash is lightly grianed (soft touch) plastic, but the palstic covers on the pillars are grained like a woven looking material. I'm glad they didn't try to put fake leather grained plastic everywhere.

[Intrepidation]

People have waaaaaay too much free time and the wrong priorities if they do or don't buy a car/truck/can/SUV simply because of the amount of soft touch materials

This is getting out of control but I will  myself and leave this at that..

Well damn, I was just curious. I don't plan to buy one of those anyway. Plus even you must admit putting you arm on something soft is more comfortable than gainy plastic. If i remember right, some of the complaints about the interior was that the plastics also felt hollow and not solidly made. So, yeah.

[Croc]

People have waaaaaay too much free time and the wrong priorities if they do or don't buy a car/truck/can/SUV simply because of the amount of soft touch materials

This is getting out of control but I will  myself and leave this at that..

Some people just like throwing their money away on inferior product. Others like getting thier money's worth. Edited March 8, 2006 by Croc

[sciguy_0504]

Some people just like throwing their money away on inferior product.  Others like getting thier money's worth.

Exactly. If I am buying a $30,000 car, the materials better represent that. No one is saying every surface in the interior of a GM or DCX or Toyota should be covered in leather and suede, save that for high-end Benz and the like. All we want are materials that look and feel like they should be in a car of XX,XXX price range.

[mphmag]

I'm not a fan of any of the American DCX interiors. The Magnum I didn't mind as much because it was a wagon and would probably get messy anyway. same with the GC but we have the last gen GC a 2004, and besides monumental mechanical problems, my wife and I both preferred the old one as far as drive. The interior is ok but chunky, hollow and besides the wheel did nothing for me.

but there really isn't a great interior quality SUV out there anyway. Although I'm psyched to trade in our GC when the Mazda CX-7 finally gets here.

[BrewSwillis]

Some people just like throwing their money away on inferior product.  Others like getting thier money's worth.

A hollow sounding or hard dash does not instantly make something an inferior product. You have to consider the whole package. In the Grand Cherokee's case.....it is the best off road SUV in it's class and price range. Maybe the interior is not as fancy as some Lexus SUV.....but it sure will kick it's ass off-road!

I may have knocked on my dash 1 time in the two years I've had the car.....yeah, it felt solid.....but I haven't had the urge to knock on it again since then.

[Robert Hall]

A hollow sounding or hard dash does not instantly make something an inferior product.  You have to consider the whole package.  In the Grand Cherokee's case.....it is the best off road SUV in it's class and price range.  Maybe the interior is not as fancy as some Lexus SUV.....but it sure will kick it's ass off-road!

I may have knocked on my dash 1 time in the two years I've had the car.....yeah, it felt solid.....but I haven't had the urge to knock on it again since then.

I've been very satisfied with my '00 GC..no problems so far (almost 6 years, 70k miles), and been happy w/ it on road and off road (I've taken mine on quite a few back country trails up in the mountains over the years).

I haven't warmed up to the new style yet... the exterior is more squared off than mine, and the side windows seem smaller. Inside, the dash material is definitely harder (mine has a squishy plastic on the dash upper, but hard plastic on the lower dash, console and door panels... the seats seem improved, though. I would definitely test drive the new GC when I go shopping for my next SUV, though...

[Snate]

People have waaaaaay too much free time and the wrong priorities if they do or don't buy a car/truck/can/SUV simply because of the amount of soft touch materials

This is getting out of control but I will  myself and leave this at that..

Pretty much

[Intrepidation]

You know it's funny, a lot of people who've replied this thread seem to think it's not a big deal about interiors, however when it's Charger SRT-8 VS GTO everyone is all for pointing the tiniest bits of soft touch trim that somehow makes the car a better performance car (in reference to people's opinions about the GTO having more soft materials). Personally, I think all cars should at least have soft armrests and upper dash. If my `89 Shadow can have them, a 30k+ SUV should too.

[sciguy_0504]

Dodgefan, thank you.

[Intrepidation]

Dodgefan, thank you.

you're welcome

[Justin Bimmer]

Exactly.  If I am buying a $30,000 car, the materials better represent that.  No one is saying every surface in the interior of a GM or DCX or Toyota should be covered in leather and suede, save that for high-end Benz and the like.  All we want are materials that look and feel like they should be in a car of XX,XXX price range.

It funny you mention MB about using quality interior materials..... if you look on the sticker it says "leather seating surfaces" That means NOT ALL LEATHER, just parts. They go EL CHEAPO just like cadillac and the rest of the luxo brands do unfortunately.

[BrewSwillis]

Besides, who needs a fancy interior when you can't even get your new LR3 out of the mud??

Story

[regfootball]

GC's interior is pretty bad. The Cobalt's plastic and interior is much nicer.

[Intrepidation]

Besides, who needs a fancy interior when you can't even get your new LR3 out of the mud??

Story

One word for that photo: Priceless

[torobud]

You know it's funny, a lot of people who've replied this thread seem to think it's not a big deal about interiors, however when it's Charger SRT-8 VS GTO everyone is all for pointing the tiniest bits of soft touch trim that somehow makes the car a better performance car (in reference to people's opinions about the GTO having more soft materials). Personally, I think all cars should at least have soft armrests and upper dash. If my `89 Shadow can have them, a 30k+ SUV should too. 

No attack on you Dodgefan - or atleast I didn't mean it that way...

I agree the people posting in the SRT-8 Vs GTO thread are obsessed - Last time I checked a piece of plastic that feels 'good' over a piece of plastic that feels 'bad' doesn't make the difference over whether or not the car drives good, is reliable, performs well, is safe, etc. etc. - I am worried about what three things 'feel' like in my cars... the steering wheel, the seat and the shifter.. anything more than that is DECORATIVE

I spent a lot of time in an '89 Shadow and all I remember is some vinyl pieces and hard plastic and I LOVED that car

Edited March 9, 2006 by torobud

[regfootball]

i was in my buddy's new pacifica today...now THAT vehicle has good plastics.

[bring_BUICK_back]

i was in my buddy's new pacifica today...now THAT vehicle has good plastics.

I own a 05 Limited w/ hemi and I have to say that this is a very well designed vehicle. The interior is quiet, and well tought out. This is my 4th Jeep and they just keep getting better.

[Intrepidation]

No attack on you Dodgefan - or atleast I didn't mean it that way...

I agree the people posting in the SRT-8 Vs GTO thread are obsessed - Last time I checked a piece of plastic that feels 'good' over a piece of plastic that feels 'bad' doesn't make the difference over whether or not the car drives good, is reliable, performs well, is safe, etc. etc.  - I am worried about what three things 'feel' like in my cars... the steering wheel, the seat and the shifter.. anything more than that is DECORATIVE

I spent a lot of time in an '89 Shadow and all I remember is some vinyl pieces and hard plastic and I LOVED that car

It's alright

You had an 89 Shadow too? Kewl. It's my first car, and I've grown to love it. I dunno if the soft materials on the dash and armrests are vinyl or not, but they are soft and feel nice to rest my arm on. It's just not comfortable to rest your arm on hard plastic. The hard plastic in the car feels nice to me, it's not overly grained. Anyway I think it proves my point that if a subcompact from the 80's can have soft stuyff any car (especially a 30k+ SUV or car should). Heck even the doors were covered in frabric. It's a comfy car, way better than my friend's 92 Corolla or my other friend's 94 Cavalier (omg that thing has a hidious looking interior)

Edited March 10, 2006 by Dodgefan

[torobud]

You had an 89 Shadow too?

'89 Shadow ES 2.5L Turbo AT - White with the gray lower, red cloth interior - My dad bought it new

It had just over 100K when we sold it in '98-'99 somewhere... I missed that car dearly until I bought my '98 R/T Neon

[sciguy_0504]

It funny you mention MB about using quality interior materials..... if you look on the sticker it says "leather seating surfaces" That means NOT ALL LEATHER, just parts. They go EL CHEAPO just like cadillac and the rest of the luxo brands do unfortunately.

In high-end Benz cars, not your normal C or E Class. I am talking about the top-of-the-line S Class and the like, with leather everywhere.

[Intrepidation]

'89 Shadow ES 2.5L Turbo AT - White with the gray lower, red cloth interior - My dad bought it new

It had just over 100K when we sold it in '98-'99 somewhere... I missed that car dearly until I bought my '98 R/T Neon 

Mine's a`89 Shadow 2.5L - Black with gray interior. It's got 204k miles on it lol. It needs work, but it still goes, and as long as it doesn't get totaled or anything I plan to hang onto it even after I eventually get a new car. Wouldn't get much money off of it anyway

I see a lot of Shadows around still, but mine is the only one I've seen in person that is black, and I think that's the best color for it (plus the spoiler, Shadows doesn't look right without them).

Edited March 10, 2006 by Dodgefan

[BrewSwillis]

Mine's a`89 Shadow 2.5L - Black with gray interior. It's got 204k miles on it lol. It needs work, but it still goes, and as long as it doesn't get totaled or anything I plan to hang onto it even after I eventually get a new car. Wouldn't get much money off of it anyway

I see a lot of Shadows around still, but mine is the only one I've seen in person  that is black, and I think that's the best color for it (plus the spoiler, Shadows doesn't look right without them).

I had a black 88 Shadow ES Turbo 4-door for a while. It was my sister's, and I drove it after my 87 Daytona Turbo got rear ended. It was pretty cool, but my Daytona was better......it had a Mopar Performance computer in it that upped the boost on the turbo!

[The O.C.]

Some people just like throwing their money away on inferior product.  Others like getting thier money's worth.

My 2-cents-worth......

The Grand Cherokee (and Commander) interior plastics are garbage. They are really bad. Shiny, bittle, and hollow.

That being the case, the switchgear, HVAC, and radio controls are VERY nice and the seats seem to be comfortable.

It's the really terrible plastic they use on the dash and door panels.

DCX seems to be using many different suppliers/designers/whatever when it comes to their interior plastics. If you go to a Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep store, compare models....and see if you agree with me below:

*Grand Cherokee, Commander, (new) Ram, and Dakota all have that really bad hard plastic that I mentioned above. (Unfortunately, Caliber seems to have dipped into THIS supplier's inventory for it's hard plastics.)

*The LX cars are totally different, and MUCH better....even their hard plastic on the lower dash is far superior to those trucks.

*Jeep Liberty, Wrangler, and PT Cruiser have an abundance of hard plastic, but it's VERY nicely-grained, matte-finished, and much nicer to look at and touch (compared to GC/Cmdr/Ram/Dkta.)

I'm sure it's a cost issue......but why can my Liberty have far superior materials inside of it (IMHO) than the much-more-expensive Grand Cherokee?

[The O.C.]

A hollow sounding or hard dash does not instantly make something an inferior product.  You have to consider the whole package.  In the Grand Cherokee's case.....it is the best off road SUV in it's class and price range.  Maybe the interior is not as fancy as some Lexus SUV.....but it sure will kick it's ass off-road!

I may have knocked on my dash 1 time in the two years I've had the car.....yeah, it felt solid.....but I haven't had the urge to knock on it again since then.

I understand your point, BrewSwillis......

But if you compare them closely, the previous-generation Grand Cherokee had MUCH nicer plastics inside.....and many of them (not all) were soft-touch to boot.....

The new Grand Cherokee took a huge step backwards in this regard. Yes, the switchgear and center stack controls are much better than before, but that's almost negated by the much-lower-cost-looking materials.

[The O.C.]

Besides, who needs a fancy interior when you can't even get your new LR3 out of the mud??

Story

I LOVE that!

I've ALWAYS felt the new LR3 was WAY over-rated....

[The O.C.]

GC's interior is pretty bad.  The Cobalt's plastic and interior is much nicer.

I'll give you that one......

(and I've been extremely critical of the Cobalt's interior materials in the past....)

[The O.C.]

I own a 05 Limited w/ hemi and I have to say that this is a very well designed vehicle.  The interior is quiet, and well tought out.  This is my 4th Jeep and they just keep getting better.

It IS a great overall vehicle.....an excellent Jeep.

It's just that DCX put crappy plastics inside of it.

But from a ride-and-drive standpoint and an overall comfort standpoint, I love the new GC.

[Intrepidation]

See now that's totally wrong if the Cobalt's plastic, an economy car, is better than a 30k+ SUV...and it's even worse when the cheaper Liberty has nicer plastics...and then it's just kicking the dead horse when the previous gen GC had nicer overall materials. I like the looks of the new GC a lot, but someone needs to fix that interior...there's no excuse for it.

Edited March 13, 2006 by Dodgefan

[Intrepidation]

My 2-cents-worth......

The Grand Cherokee (and Commander) interior plastics are garbage.  They are really bad.  Shiny, bittle, and hollow.

That being the case, the switchgear, HVAC, and radio controls are VERY nice and the seats seem to be comfortable.

It's the really terrible plastic they use on the dash and door panels.

DCX seems to be using many different suppliers/designers/whatever when it comes to their interior plastics.  If you go to a Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep store, compare models....and see if you agree with me below:

*Grand Cherokee, Commander, (new) Ram, and Dakota all have that really bad hard plastic that I mentioned above.  (Unfortunately, Caliber seems to have dipped into THIS supplier's inventory for it's hard plastics.)

*The LX cars are totally different, and MUCH better....even their hard plastic on the lower dash is far superior to those trucks.

*Jeep Liberty, Wrangler, and PT Cruiser have an abundance of hard plastic, but it's VERY nicely-grained, matte-finished, and much nicer to look at and touch (compared to GC/Cmdr/Ram/Dkta.)

I'm sure it's a cost issue......but why can my Liberty have far superior materials inside of it (IMHO) than the much-more-expensive Grand Cherokee?

I've sat in a Dakota once, the gauges are nice, the switchgear is well made and the seats are comfy...but the interior plastics sucked: rock hard, and badly textured, and the grab handles on the A-pillar flexed when i pulled on them..not a good sign for any vehicle, let alone a truck. I asked the dealer why they were so cheap feeling, and he couldn't come up with a response for it

Edited March 13, 2006 by Dodgefan