- 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Interior / Exterior »
This year’s light retouching doesn’t backtrack at all, but it does water down the Jeep appeal up front. The Grand Cherokee used to wear seven chrome bars on its face like it was passing time in some fabulous supermax facility. For 2014, for reasons we can’t fathom, the grille is smaller, thinner, and those chrome bars are all but gone. The Grand Cherokee has an “innie” now, with body-color bars and wan little chrome lines around them, an anti-Jeep at least from that narrow perspective. A statement this concise needs the perfect punctuation. If Mercedes can flaunt Flavor Flav-sized logos on the M-Class, the Grand Cherokee’s grille bars should be wide enough for Weber.
Otherwise, today’s Grand Cherokee is one pretty, sophisticated piece. The details are fine, if the sideview reminds us some, or a lot, of the BMW X5 or VW Touareg. The LED taillights, at least, have more bite this year, and that addresses the derivative look of the rear end nicely. Rear LED taillights and a spoiler lifted from the SRT edition are standard on all versions now, while from the nose and tail, the lower fascias are different, pierced by dual exhausts on most models and on the SRT.
The Grand Cherokee’s cabin went from deer blind to Sundance studio back in 2011, and the new stitched-leather dash and ambient lighting are perfect touches for a glamping atmosphere on the top trim levels. Even on the basic versions, there’s a chunky three-spoke steering wheel, a usefully arranged center stack of controls capped with inoffensive metallic-plastic trim, and a five-inch LCD touchscreen for audio. On Limiteds, Overlands, and Summits, Jeep applies real wood trim on the dash, doors, and the steering wheel. It begs to be touched, in the same amount the last-generation vehicle wanted to be left alone. It’s in its best light in Summit’s organic coloring, under the natural light of the panoramic roof. This is Chrysler’s best interior, and it’s fairly amazing in how it feels like an M-Class, which is sort of is, or a Cayenne, which it supersedes in many ways.
- Performance »
It’s a case of one body, three very different missions. The Grand Cherokee tackles competitors like the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz M-Class, even the prosaic Subaru Outback, by being many different things at once, whether it’s a frugal diesel cruiser, an inexpensive family SUV, or a high-powered luxury machine.
V-6 or V-6, gas or diesel?
All Grand Cherokees start out with a common base engine and transmission. The 290-horsepower, 3.6-liter V-6 is Chrysler’s bread and butter, found in almost every one of its products. With flex-fuel capability and variable valve timing, but without direct injection, it has good power at the wide middle of its powerband, and in the Grand Cherokee it sounds tamer and more refined than in some of the older Chrysler bodies.
An excellent eight-speed ZF automatic is standard across the lineup now; it’s also paired with paddle shift controls where the paddles aren’t quite long enough to function as perfectly as they could (audio buttons mounted on the back of the steering wheel get in the way). The smoother operation the gearbox offers over the old five- and six-speed units doesn’t just give the Grand Cherokee a more comely attitude–it also comes with a 2-mpg highway mileage improvement, helped along by an Eco transmission mode and the tailgate spoiler now applied to all models. With the new transmission, towing is up from 5,000 to 6,200 pounds, too.
One step up is the most interesting Grand Cherokee powertrain, a 3.0-liter turbodiesel six supplied by VM Motori. With 240 horsepower but 420 pound-feet of torque, it gives a towing option with 30-mpg highway economy versus the HEMI. It has a diesel sewing-machine throb at idle lets you know you’re in one–and it’s fairly loud from 2500 to 4000 rpm. Still, with a 0-60 mph time close to that of the V-6, towing capacity of 7,400 pounds, and unbelievable tractability off-road, the diesel’s a great alternative to either of the gas powertrains, not to mention the substantially more expensive turbodiesels from VW, BMW, Mercedes and even Porsche. It’s a $4,500 option on Limited, Overland, and Summit models.
The other engine option on those versions is Chrysler’s 5.7-liter V-8. Though it doesn’t wear a HEMI badge, it acts just like one, with the grunt and pull of a Charger and the sweet, musical V-8 engine note to go with the tug. It’s aurally superior, but the HEMI’s not such a huge improvement in everyday driving that it’s worth the immense fuel-economy penalty. Towing is up to 7,400 pounds and thanks to the eight-speed automatic, cylinder deactivation, and an “aero” air-suspension mode, gas mileage is up 2 mpg on the highway cycle.
Beyond all comprehension is the Grand Cherokee SRT, an SUV that answers a lot of questions no one has–but does it with such passion and conviction, you’ll listen every time. It easily compares with the likes of the ML63 and Cayenne at a big discount. The 6.4-liter V-8 rips off 470 horsepower, shunting it to all four wheels on a variable basis through an eight-speed paddle-shifted automatic. Chrysler claims a thrilling 0-60 mph time of 4.8 seconds, and adds launch control this year so owners can see those numbers, repeatably, on the SRT’s Performance Pages screen. That isn’t the only impressive number: the quarter-mile’s pegged in the mid-13s, top speed hits 160 mph, and 60-0 mph braking cuts things short in just 116 feet. It’s true performance art, and extravagant in ways you might never associate with the Jeep name.
If you’re unaware, today’s Grand Cherokee is related to the Mercedes M-Class, back from the days of DaimlerChrysler. The relationship shows up in many ways, all of which make this the best-performing Grand Cherokee ever. The body is stiffer and sounder than ever before, and that enables the steering and the independent steel or electronic air suspensions to do their jobs more precisely than ever. The Grand Cherokee’s suspension just gels with the steering to create crossover-like road manners, without the boundy ride and the slow steering responses of the past. With the Limited, Overland, and Summit editions, there’s an improved Quadra-Lift air suspension that can raise the Grand Cherokee from 6.4 inches to 11.3 inches off the ground through five modes—great for off-roading, and even more settled on-road.
For the times you want to explore new territory, the Grand Cherokee can be ordered with one of three all- or four-wheel-drive systems. The basic Quadra-Trac I has a standard locking differential in the middle, with power split 50:50 front to rear, but no low range. Quadra-Trac II can split torque variably from front to rear, as traction disappears at either end, up to 100 percent in theory; a lower crawl ratio makes it even more terrific off-road this year. Quadra-Drive II adds on an electronic limited slip differential across the rear axle so that the Grand Cherokee can respond even more intelligently to slipping and sliding. You’d want the most extreme choice for the most extreme duties, but the base setup is lightweight, simple, and more than enough traction control for crossover-SUV drivers.
Beyond that, the Grand Cherokee is one of the few vehicles that can be fitted with hardcore off-road talent. Jeep grafts a Selec-Terrain system to the “II” systems. Selec-Terrain lets you choose one of five traction-control modes according to driving conditions: Auto, Sand, Mud, Snow, and Rock. (The former Sport mode is selected on the shift lever.) It’s useful stuff—if you don’t already know to take it slow and steady when conditions aren’t perfect. Some versions earn the Trail Rated designation–those with Selec-Terrain and an off-road package–and we’ve seen how they earn it, scrambling up 200-foot, 55-degree inclines with a new Selec-Speed system that puts a steady amount of force into the drivetrain, and controls it in 1-kilometer-per-hour increments. It’s brainless off-roading, all granted by electronics and anti-lock brakes.
The Grand Cherokee SRT is the other zenith. With its own tuning, adaptive air suspension and a “Selec-Track” governing body, it welds all that capability into a performance package that rivals the best Euro-utes. It can read its own stability control, transmission shift programming, transfer-case torque management, electronic limited-slip management, throttle and cylinder-deactivation controls, and tailor each into five distinct modes: automatic, Sport, Tow, Track and Snow. All the while, the SRT is also working in concert with Quadra-Trac to ship torque around–all to one rear wheel if need be–to balance out traction on the SRT’s 20-inch, 45-series Pirelli all-season run-flats or optional P Zero summer tires. The sacrifice is almost nothing, except cost and some ground clearance. The SRT can tow 7,200 pounds now, thanks to changes in the limited-slip system, and it can still turn in about 0.90g of grip, thanks to programming that sets a 70-percent rear torque bias. You’ll never be able to compare an SUV driving experience to this one again unless you sample a Cayenne Turbo or an ML63 or an X5 M–it’s flat, sharp, full of raucous engine noises, maybe a little agitated in its Track ride motions, fully tweaked for a great time.
With an SUV’s off-road capability but a crossover’s car-like ride, and its own take on rugged style, the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee is a study in contradictions—but they resolve into one impressive, capable, attractive vehicle. The result is an appealing alternative to even more expensive vehicles from BMW, Porsche, Land Rover, and Mercedes-Benz.
The Grand Cherokee, along with the Ford Explorer, is one of the “original” SUVs that kicked off the suburban utility craze in the 1990s. It’s come so, so far–not the least in fuel economy. For 2014, it gains a new turbodiesel engine option, which gives it better highway fuel economy than some luxury sedans we can name.
Without the chopped, blocky look of the last-generation ute, today’s Jeep Grand Cherokee is quite a handsome ute. We’re at a loss as to what Jeep was thinking with the new grille: it’s an inverse of the usual seven bars of chrome, underplayed to a fault, a discreet piece in a niche that doesn’t put too high a value on discretion. The regularity of its SUV shape has been de-blanded in back with new LED taillamps, so there’s less in common with the X5 and Touareg, and more with the 1992 original. The cabin? It’s as rich as the ones at Sundance, with marvelous textures and materials on the pricey models, and great layout and design even on the basic Laredo. It underscores one of the real strengths of Chrysler since time immemorial–the way it can finish a cockpit, given the right budget and time constraints.
Interior space is still quite good, and if anything, fit and finish has gotten better. New color schemes and new trim options, like open-pore wood, push the Grand Cherokee ever higher into luxury-vehicle terrain, though it doesn’t have the third-row seating or funky-flexible interior of some bigger crossovers. It also lacks features like GM’s center-front airbag or Ford’s rear-seat belt airbags, but it does have hill ascent control, which maintains steady throttle while the Grand Cherokee scrabbles up surfaces a Flex or Enclave can only dream about.
The visible changes are few compared to the updates in running gear. For starters, a new eight-speed automatic boosts mileage in all powertrains. The base 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 carries over, making 290 hp and 260 pound-feet of torque but now rated up to 25 mpg on the highway—for more than a 600-mile range. The HEMI V-8 still makes 360 hp, but now gets 21 mpg on the highway. Towing is up to 6,200 pounds or 7,400 pounds, respectively. The optional air suspension has a new Eco mode for reduced ride height at speed, and steering gets electrohydraulic actuation on all versions except the V-8s.
The truly important news under the hood is the Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel. The 3.0-liter V-6 earns an estimated 30 mpg on the highway, and has a stated range of about 730 miles on a single tank to go with best-in-class towing capacity of 7,400 pounds.
Oh, did we forget the SRT? It’s missing its “8″ appendix, but still scorches along with a 470-hp HEMI and a 0-60 mph time of about 4.8 seconds. With launch control and a sporty 70-percent torque split to the rear in Track mode, it’s one of the best-handling SUVs we’ve driven.
The Grand Cherokee still has a fluid feel on pavement, but it’s also vastly talented off-road. The most advanced versions can still clamber over boulders and logs with ease, and the new automatic enables a lower crawl ratio that suits the Ecodiesel especially well. The Quadra-Lift air suspension continues, as do the three four-wheel drive systems—Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II, and Quadra-Drive II—as well as the Selec-Terrain management system, which automatically caters the powertrain settings for the terrain (Sand, Mud, Auto, Snow, and Rock).
On the infotainment front, the Grand Cherokee stays in front with new Uconnect screens (five-inch or 8.4-inch) and its cleaner, simpler interface. Piped-in 3G data adds cloud-based services like voice-to-text and natural-language navigation via voice commands. Finally, there’s a Summit edition with every feature imaginable, including a 19-speaker, 825-watt Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system, including 12-channel amplifier and three subwoofers. At that level, the only option is a Blu-Ray DVD entertainment system–and we’d take iPads and WiFi connectivity in any case.
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