Jeep Grand Cherokee , So far has been a wonderful car
Yes it has faults , which I will get to
Firstly , we wanted a vehicle to tow a caravan just under 2 ton with a ball weight of about 180kg. without being full on 4wd and needs to drive car like .
that eliminated Rangers , Everest , Landcruisers etc
A few others could handle 2 ton, only just, but struggle with tow ball weight., So the safety margin was too small for my liking
That left Ford Territory pretty much an obsolete car , but fit for purpose and drives well
Got us to the Jeep, But mindful of past history, we took a punt.
It can tow 3.5 ton with a tow ball rating of 350kg, so the safety margin was huge
Pros,
3.0 ltr diesel , what a beast, 570nm of torque, Once moving, has more than enough power to cope with anything. overtaking and hill climbs is a breeze.
Not much else compares with that.
8 speed auto blends perfect with the engine , is never left struggling or hunting for the correct gear.
If required when towing , paddle shifters work well, but more often than not , leave it to look after itself
Economy, around town about 8.5 ltr /100km
Towing 2 ton, on 2 recent trips of of 10,000km and 2500km average fuel 12.9 ltr /100km
And the bonus a 93 ltr fuel tank, which gives us a very useful range of 600km plus when towing with a good bit in reserve , and 900km without Van.
The car is very comfortable, quiet , and very car like to drive.and a surprisingly agile turning circle
Reverse camera works very well , makes hitching the van a one man show
Features , Dual zone air con , Cruise control, Sat nav.
Now its not all plain sailing , It does have a number of negatives.
Such a brilliant engine, but it does have a fair degree of turbo lag, very noticeable when unladen , not so much when towing . My observation is, when moving of with an extra 2 ton , we expect a slight delay ,so it does not become so noticeable . Unladen from standstill we expect instant response, which you don't get with gentle acceleration
The Parking brake , I think the days of foot operation has long gone, time for a change to electric.
I don't mind indicators on the left
But on that one stalk on the left , we have, indicators wipers , front and rear , high beam, you name it , its all on one stick. Give me two stalks , one each side , I don't care which side. Yes it does have auto wipers and high , but sometimes you need to manually operate them and can be a lucky dip to to select the right function.
It does have wonderful multimedia controls on the steering whee,l 3 buttons on the right side and three on the left side, but why are they on the reverse side of the steering wheel facing the dashboard , with no visible icons to show what the functions are. There is real estate space on the front facing the driver for these controls.
Are these negatives a deal breaker , Definitely Not.
Is the vehicle fit for the intended purpose . Most definitely
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