Eating Cake is better than Eating CrowHave you ever wondered what the use is having a cake without being able to eat it? What a ridiculous saying. I'm sure sometime back at the turn of the twelfth century it had meaning, or at least its literal translation may have been used in an entirely different way, but now it's one of those inane things that people say to fill dead air space, a sign that the time has come to end the conversation.
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| Can an SUV handle like a sport sedan on pavement and a mountain goat off-road? Yes, if it's the 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
It's as silly as those who say you can't have an SUV that can handle like a sport sedan on pavement and a mountain goat off-road. Porsche and to some extent Volkswagen, with their Cayenne and Touareg siblings, proved this point not too long ago, and Jeep has driven the point even further home with its
2005 Grand Cherokee, at a significantly lower price no less. The domestic brand synonymous with four-wheel drive took the opportunity to introduce its new sport utility to an eager group of journalists last week, in the 4x4 haven of Santa Barbara, California. OK, a haven maybe, but isn't visiting Santa Barbara more about gawking at multimillion dollar homes and lying on pristine beaches than overcoming treacherous obstacles on your way to tracts of uncharted wilderness. True, but you'd be surprised what lay over and beyond the mountains that surround the beachfront community.
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| The Grand Cherokee turns in so quickly, so effortlessly, even when being pushed, that the current 2004 model feels ancient in comparison. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
First of all, Southern California is networked by some of the best paved driving terrain on the continent. One of my favorite stretches of roadway in the Santa Barbara area is Torres Canyon Road. It winds serpentine-like through dense woods on its way up the coastal mountain and away from civilization before opening up to the dry, open grasslands that make up much of the California mountain range. The last time I was on this particular stretch was in a Dodge Viper SRT-10, which by the way corners like the road-ready racecar that it is. While I wouldn't go so far as to say the new Grand Cherokee came anywhere close to achieving the Viper's capabilities of adhesion, I found myself continually checking the steering wheel hub Jeep appliqué just to remind myself I wasn't in a sports sedan. The Grand Cherokee turns in so quickly, so effortlessly, even when being pushed, that the current 2004 model, which I initially felt wasn't too bad when compared alongside many of its peers, feels ancient in comparison. All of a sudden driving a sport utility through switchback corners was fun, and I made the most of it by laying into the throttle as often as the opportunity would permit.
