Through a complete overhaul and engineering assault, Jeep’s turned their 2011 Grand Cherokee into what’s arguably the best Jeep yet.
Our Justin Pritchard recently spent ten days and some 2,500 kilometres in the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited covering a wide variety of Northern Ontario’s on and off-road terrain.
Below are the notes from his mid-November road and trail test. As you’ll see, the Grand Cherokee doesn’t only excel at tackling numerous surfaces—paved and otherwise—but it stays very classy in the process. If you’re in the market for a 4x4 with real capability in this size and price class, the 2011 Grand Cherokee should be a priority test-drive. It’s seriously well done.
Location: Highways 401 and 400, Mississauga to Sudbury, Ontario
Conditions: Good weather, slightly breezy, bare pavement
Notes: Grand Cherokee rides with a solid, planted and refined feel. Wind and especially road noise are kept nicely muted. Feels heavy and stable, even over 120km/h-- though steering is a little nervous and vague at speed. A bit more feel and heaviness to the steering would go a long way here. Great stereo system for cruising.
Passing power from the new 3.6 litre ‘Pentastar’ V6 is adequate but not mind-blowing. Much of the 280 horsepower piles on quietly at higher revs when opened up.
What a cabin! Leather, wood and chrome are all tastefully applied and assembled nicely. Automatic or power everything on board, and this cabin is bigger, plenty more posh and plenty more user-friendly than the last one. Switches and controls are even updated for a better, higher-quality feel. The new Volkswagen Touareg comes to mind. Could use better rearward visibility for lane-changes, though.
Our Justin Pritchard recently spent ten days and some 2,500 kilometres in the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited covering a wide variety of Northern Ontario’s on and off-road terrain.
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| Through a complete overhaul and engineering assault, Jeep’s turned their 2011 Grand Cherokee into what’s arguably the best Jeep yet. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com) |
Below are the notes from his mid-November road and trail test. As you’ll see, the Grand Cherokee doesn’t only excel at tackling numerous surfaces—paved and otherwise—but it stays very classy in the process. If you’re in the market for a 4x4 with real capability in this size and price class, the 2011 Grand Cherokee should be a priority test-drive. It’s seriously well done.
Location: Highways 401 and 400, Mississauga to Sudbury, Ontario
Conditions: Good weather, slightly breezy, bare pavement
Notes: Grand Cherokee rides with a solid, planted and refined feel. Wind and especially road noise are kept nicely muted. Feels heavy and stable, even over 120km/h-- though steering is a little nervous and vague at speed. A bit more feel and heaviness to the steering would go a long way here. Great stereo system for cruising.
Passing power from the new 3.6 litre ‘Pentastar’ V6 is adequate but not mind-blowing. Much of the 280 horsepower piles on quietly at higher revs when opened up.
What a cabin! Leather, wood and chrome are all tastefully applied and assembled nicely. Automatic or power everything on board, and this cabin is bigger, plenty more posh and plenty more user-friendly than the last one. Switches and controls are even updated for a better, higher-quality feel. The new Volkswagen Touareg comes to mind. Could use better rearward visibility for lane-changes, though.
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| What a cabin! Leather, wood and chrome are all tastefully applied and assembled nicely. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com) |