The Winnipeg Free Press
April 2011
By: Paul Williamson
When I first heard that we?d be testing the freshly redesigned 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, I joked that my editor would likely have to pry the steering wheel from my cold dead hands when my turn was up.
As it turns out, my hands were actually quite warm!
The new Grand Cherokee?s advertising campaign suggests that Jeep engineers started out with a hand-stitched, heated, wood- and leather-wrapped steering wheel and designed an SUV around it.
Wow, I thought, that must be some steering wheel.
Following a day of snowmobiling, I climbed into the Grand Cherokee and wrapped my weary hands around that very steering wheel for the first time. In mere moments the wheel had heated up to roughly the same temperature as a cup of hot coffee, and stayed there.
First impressions are everlasting and this was a good one. The interior fit and finish is also excellent and our loaded Limited model included luxury features like keyless entry, push-button start, GPS navigation with voice command and a superb-sounding stereo. In addition to the steering wheel, the leather seats are also heated (both front and back), and are more comfortable than any Jeep I?ve ever planted my butt in.
The combination of that hot wheel, those toasty seats and the blaring heater actually made me forget it was minus-87 outside. If you think of Jeeps as utilitarian machines with canvas doors you owe it to yourself to try out the Grand Cherokee. It rivals many luxury cars for comfort and convenience.
This new model is also two inches longer and four inches wider than the outgoing version. This may not sound like much, but in the width department it is especially noticeable. Picture yourself trying to squeeze into a pair of jeans that are a couple of sizes too small and you get the idea of just how much extra breathing room those four inches of width offer to both front and rear passengers.
Things aren?t just improved inside: In fact, from every angle this new
version is such a vast improvement over the old model that they could have
changed its name to Grandest Cherokee and I wouldn?t have balked.
Exterior changes initially seem quite subtle, but, when you pull up beside the previous model, you see just how much the look has morphed. In addition to looking even bigger than the modest dimension increases suggest, the Cherokee has a more muscular feel, its and wheel arches flattened out across the top to create a distinctive look. Those round headlights are also gone, replaced by more modern-looking angular lights.
Since our tester was a Limited model I wrongly assumed that it would be equipped with the Hemi V8 engine. I figured out pretty quickly that ours had a six-cylinder under the hood. That?s not a bad thing, though. Jeep?s new 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine with variable valve timing provides more than enough grunt and produces a respectable 290 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. (this is "best in class" horsepower and tourque). The five-speed automatic transmission also performed flawlessly and feels like a good fit with the V6 engine.
I was also impressed at the pumps, averaging 10.7 litres per 100 kilometres
in combined highway/city driving during the cold snap in late January. (This is best in class fuel economy!)
Jeep wrote the book on four-wheel-drive and the Quadra-Trac II system features a two-speed transfer case complete with a 4wd low range for extreme off-road or low-traction situations. The system also includes Selec-Terrain so you can adjust traction to suit the terrain. In normal driving conditions the Auto setting works perfectly, but you can select Snow, Sport, Sand/Mud or Rock by simply twisting a dial on the console.
There?s also a hill-descent setting that keeps things moving slow and steady on a steep decline. Many owners will likely never require the available level of off-road technology, but it?s nice to see Jeep living up its Trail Rated mantra.
Perhaps the biggest advance with this new model is that Jeep has mothballed the previous live rear axle and gone with a multi-link rear suspension. This results in a more comfortable ride and improves handling ? specifically, that lean in hard cornering that was the Achilles heel of the previous Grand Cherokee. It now feels considerably more planted on the road.
My initial thought was that this change in rear suspension would improve the ride on the road and diminish it off-road, but Jeep engineers have incorporated a nice blend of both worlds. I purposely travelled down a few pothole-laden city streets and was impressed with how well this new suspension soaked up the bumps. As an added bonus, towing capability has also increased from 3,500 to 5,000 lb.
The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is without question the most luxurious and refined Jeep I?ve ever driven. The closest competitors are the GMC Acadia, the Toyota 4Runner and the Ford Explorer. As much as one may prefer the truck-like feel of the body-on-frame 4Runner, I know that my wife prefers the smoother car-like ride found in the Explorer and Acadia.
The Jeep fits right in the middle of this pack with civilized highway manners and a spirited dose of off-road capability. All of the mid-sized SUV s on the market impress me for various reasons, but, if you?re looking for the best of all worlds, the Jeep may just be the one for you.
THE SPECS
Type of vehicle: All-wheel-drive mid-sized SUV
Engine: Pentastar 3.6L DOHC
V6 / 5.7L OHV V8
Power: 290 hp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque (V6); 360 hp @ 5,150
rpm; 390 lb-ft of torque @ 4,250 rpm (V8)
Transmission Five-speed
manumatic
Brakes: Four-wheel disc with ABS
Base price: $37,995 (Limited);
$48,795 (Overland)
Transport Canada fuel economy L/100 km: 13.0 city, 8.9 hwy
(V6); 15.7 city, 10.6 hwy (V8)
Warranty (basic) 3 years/ 60,000
km / 0 Deductible
Warranty (powertrain) 5 years/ 100,000 km/ 0 Deductible
