The new Grand Cherokee Overland is about to debut in Ireland, and the people at Jeep have made it their mission to make it their most luxurious and capable Cherokee yet.
Almost two decades ago, the team at Jeep came up with a new sector. They called it the premium SUV (sport-utility vehicle) segment and the vehicle they started it with was the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
They wanted a big, muscular 4×4, but they also wanted a car that would look classy when used every day, squeezing its way down city streets, pouring out the kids of Yummy Mummies on the school run.
These cars needed to have the capability to cross rivers and the roughest of roads. Jeep, after all, had a history of building rough and ready machines that were the vehicles of choice for many of the world’s military, but Jeep knew that their premium SUVs would spend most of their time (if not all of it) making conventional journeys on conventional roads, meaning that they needed to be well upholstered and kitted out with stuff like a decent sound system and a top-notch air conditioning system.
More than 4 million worldwide sales later, Jeep has honed this winning formula and with the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee they feel that they’ve come up with the ultimate combination of Jeep 4×4 off-road capability and on-road refinement.
This newest version of the Grand Cherokee is longer, wider and more squat than its predecessor, making it appear more powerful and menacing and lowering the cars centre of gravity. The alterations to the dimensions mean that in the cabin there’s that bit more legroom. Overall there’s an extra 11 per cent of space.
There’s a higher waistline and a steeply-raked windscreen that will help with the drag, the aerodynamics and the fuel efficiency.
The new platform upon which the car is built has been co-designed with the folks at Mercedes Benz and as well as appearing on the Grand Cherokee this new platform will be rolled out beneath the shells of next-generation Mercs too.
Muscular
It’s meatier, more muscular and more angular. Jeep are aware, however, that we live in different times to when the first Grand Cherokee was launched and so the new vehicle offers significantly lowered emissions and improved fuel economy (up to 39 mpg) with its new turbocharged 3-litre V6 CRD engine.
Despite its rugged, trail-tested off-road capabilities that give torque-on-demand if you happen to get caught in a nasty ditch, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee is a sophisticated, luxury SUV that can easily be driven on an everyday basis. (Although this being Ireland, our pothole-laden on-road driving experience can feel like an off-road experience once you leave the main highways).
New smart suspension and traction control technologies have been developed to make the ride smoother yet at the same time more responsive.
Things have been done to the vehicle that you’ll never have to even think about in a month of Sundays (a month of Sunday’s spent parking up at some out-of-town outlet shopping centre, the local cinema or a branch of Woodies, most likely). There are shorter front and rear overhangs for much improved approach, departure and breakover angles and consequent superior off-road capability. The front spoiler is removable for when the terrain gets really tough, giving an extra four degrees of approach angle.
In the cabin there’s been an emphasis on using premium materials such as real wood and leather. The multimedia console connects to your MP3 player, can play CDs and, if you’re static, can play and show DVDs. The Alpine sound system pumps out more than 500 watts and is pretty impressive too.
In Ireland, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee is available in two versions, Limited and Overland, both of which are powered by an all-new 237bhp 3-litre V6 turbodiesel.
As standard on the Overland edition you get adaptive cruise control, blind spot and rear cross-path detection, forward collision warning and a touch-screen navigation system.
And even if you don’t plan to go off-road, one of the five 4×4 settings on the car optimises the drive experience for when driving on snow and ice – something that the last couple of years have taught us can be invaluable in the depths of winter.
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