Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD

With fuel prices on a seemingly endless upward spiral, more people are looking at diesel vehicles as a more economical option. Larger vehicles, especially four-wheel drives, which are heavier than sedans, are the perfect platform for the modern, eco-friendly European diesel engines.

The iconic Jeep brand has had diesel power for a while but now it has really hit its straps with the new 3lt V6 diesel that powers the upgraded Grand Cherokee.

This engine is the successor to the original five-cylinder, in-line, 2.7lt diesel but offers 33 per cent more power and 28 per cent more torque than the engine it replaces.

The new V6 uses common-rail injection, four valves per cylinder and a variable geometry turbocharger to achieve its peak power figure of 160kW of power and a thumping 510Nm of torque at a very low 160rpm. The torque figure is among the best for any four-wheel drive vehicle in Australia and leads to the Grand Cherokee having a tow rating of 3500kg, which again is up there with the best in the country.

The Grand Cherokee CRD comes with a five-speed automatic transmission that has been especially designed for the vehicle. The transmission can be left in its full automatic mode or manually shifted by moving the gear lever left or right to go up and down the gears.

Jeep’s Quadra-Drive II transfer case gives full-time four-wheel drive and the Grand Cherokee also gets the latest Electronic Stability Program (ESP), which works with the anti-lock brakes to help the driver retain control in emergency situations and when cornering.

The Grand Cherokee isn’t just an engine and transmission on wheels. It is a true luxury vehicle that you’d be happy to be seen in anywhere.

Inside, you get all that you’d expect from a luxury car. The Limited model, which we tested, had leather seats throughout, dual-zone climate-controlled air-conditioning, premium 276W Boston Acoustics CD sound system power windows and mirrors, rear park-assist sensors and a vehicle information centre that includes a tyre pressure monitor.

The list could go on, but suffice to say that you’re really not left wanting.

On the road, the Grand Cherokee CRD is smooth and predictable. Don’t worry about speed bumps or potholes – the Jeep is designed to take on more than that.

Jump in and put the key in the ignition and the seats and mirrors automatically adjust to your pre-specified requirements, as does the stereo system. You get two keys so you can pre-adjust everything to his or her liking and it’ll go back to the settings specified for that key. Impressive.

Inside, the new Grand Cherokee is roomier than its predecessor with ample room for five big adults and a heap of luggage. Safety is well taken care of with airbags for both front passengers as well as side-curtain bags for all.

The really good news is that although this beast out-performs and out-tows most on the market, it’ll do it all with a claimed city/highway combined fuel economy figure of just 10.2lt/100kms. This is impressive considering the vehicle weighs 2169kg unladen and has a 0 to
100km/h time of nine seconds which, incidentally, is half a second faster than the 4.7lt V8 petrol version.

This is a delightful vehicle to drive in any conditions.

Prices start at $56,490 for a V8 Grand Cherokee Laredo. The diesels start at $59,090 for a lower-spec Laredo CRD and the Limited CRD comes in at $69,090.

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