Expected Date: 31 August 2016
Expected Price: Rs 45 lakh - 55 lakh(Estimated Ex-Showroom Price)
Fuel Type: Diesel
The Grand Cherokee range of SUVs has been a successful and popular selling brand for Jeep. To make things more interesting, Jeep has announced a raft of enhancements to the current model for 2016/17. In addition to the new Grand Cherokee (MY16), the company has also introduced the Grand Cherokee 75th Anniversary special edition to celebrate its 75 years of history and the Grand Cherokee SRT Night in the UK market. The new Grand Cherokee in UK now gets a new Start/Stop function and an electric steering which helps in achieving a 14 gram reduction in CO2 levels as compared to the older model.
Jeep Grand Cherokee Overview
Jeep, a brand of Chrysler Group LLC, is often credited for introducing some of the best Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) all over the world. The Chrysler Group LLC is a consolidated subsidiary of the Italian auto major Fiat. Jeep, as a car maker, has a long history that depicts its constant strive and efforts to achieve innovation, in order to keep progressing in terms of technology and performance. It is a firm known for maintaining a fine balance between its traditional designs and technological advancements. Since its establishment, Jeep has launched a number of cars along with lending its designs to other manufacturers, as well.
Jeep will be launching the Grand Cherokee in India, which is considered to the be the most awarded SUV in the existing market. A complete vehicle, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a model that combines power, looks, innovation and performance. The huge success of the Grand Cherokee can be quantified through the generated revenue, customer reviews and the high number of awards it has received. It is a vehicle with vast capabilities, be it with regards to acceleration, engine, comfort, safety or looks. The list of accolades and recognitions earned by this car are endless and spans all the involved aspects. In the year 2013, Jeep Grand Cherokee has been presented with awards like SUV of the Texas and Luxury SUV of Texas. Apart from these, Customer Digest gave it the Best Buy certification and the US government awarded the Grand Cherokee with a five star rating (side crash testing).
Also, Fiat plans to open separate dealership outlets for the Jeep Grand Cherokee as this brand will cater to the demands of a niche section of society. This will also be aimed at creating brand awareness among customers and top 10 Indian cities are expected to be locations for the outlets. As of now, local manufacturing of this car in not being considered, which means that the vehicles will be imported from Detroit. “We are watching the rupee behaviour and will take an appropriate decision on the product’s pricing,” said Nagesh Basavanhalli, President and Managing Director of Fiat Chrysler India Operations.
There is a lot more to the Grand Cherokee than to its performance, control, speed, engine and acceleration. It is a proven fact that no matter how well a vehicle performs, the first impression of a car is formed by the way its looks, whether it is appealing or not. In fact, sometimes the appearance of a vehicle trumps all other factors and influences the decision of the buyer. The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a winner in regards to this aspect, as well. With improved aerodynamics, minimally detailed grille, a large bumper and five spoked 20-inch alloy wheels having chrome bezel inserts, this car is sure to attract a high number of buyers. Generally, off-loaders are associated with rendering a good performance in non favourable terrains like jungles and rocks. However, the pick up and acceleration of Grand Cherokee is amazing, enabling it to perform par excellence in areas where there is scope of travelling at a high speed. While this car comes equipped with a 6.4 litre engine in the global market, the Indian version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee is expected to be fitted with a 3.0 litre engine. It is capable of travelling at high speeds in both, low and high temperatures.
Engine & Specification of Jeep Grand Cherokee
With continuous innovative engineering and design, Jeep has really worked hard to level itself up with the best in the international arena. Result is the current generation engine which offers exceptional power and successive torque. Transmission is also automatic, to offer world class expertise and performance in one package. Rough highway terrains is where the real test of Jeep Cherokee is, as some state that the current variant can travel just some steps away from the travelling vertical.
Being an SUV in the true sense, Jeep Grand Cherokee is a masterpiece of technical excellence, designed to perfection so that it performs both off and on the road. The global version of Cherokee SRT comes fitted with 6.4 litre engine having capacity to output 468 bhp with torque in the range of 624 Nm. The engine in the Grand Cherokee comes with a five-speed automatic transmission, which can bear speed variations without putting much load on the engine. Smooth switching between gears results in better engine mileage, which actually have a cumulative effect on the total engine efficiency. The Indian model of the 3.0 litre diesel engine itself seems enough, as diesel being the most economic fuel in the world, offering a performance that matches petrol based engines. As the vehicle is yet to be launched in India, the exact specification of the engine and performance variables are not made open. With Jeep's earlier versions the automobile industry is expecting a performance based engine, which will be a pleasure with its four-wheel drive capacity.
Performance of Jeep Grand Cherokee
Provided a situation where the vehicle needs to travel fast when facilitated, is also a performance variable of SUV other than being an rugged monster image it reflects. Such strict features are hard to find in present off the road SUVs. Speed and pick up is where the company's present focus was and tailored the overall design to incorporate it perfectly. The motor's pick up is 0 to 100 kmph in a matter of few seconds, and is ready to rule the streets with its amazing speed and top of the line comfort. The top acceleration of the vehicle is also not at all compromised and can bear extreme temperatures with ease. One of the USPs of the Jeep Grand Cherokee is that it will be able to render a powerful performance on all terrains, be it a highway, city, uneven paths or rough terrains. The power of the Grand Cherokee combines excellently with the automatic transmission to ensure a high performance level.
Exterior, Interior & Safety Features of Jeep Grand Cherokee
It is actually the looks and visual appeal that catches attention before a customer goes into the details like performance or power. And these days it is really a high priority parameter, and customers are ready to overlook other factors if they feel connected to the outer look/appeal of the finished vehicle/product. With its classy LED lamps, the vehicle gives masculine sleek front look, which adds to the preplanned aerodynamics that results in better off road capabilities. Front grille comes with minimal detailing to make it look robust. In order to make minor collisions at bay the new Jeep Cherokee comes with a larger bumper. Another add-on is the 20-inch aluminium alloy wheels to further enhance its outlook. The intriguing black shade for the lower front grille is an innovative approach, which explains the years of expertise and multiple awards bagged by the Jeep brand. Company's hard work is repining fruits with this class defining characteristics along with a unique and robust design that is destined to become a success.
With the all new Jeep Grand Cherokee, owners can expect a truly grand feel with state of the art deluxe interiors. Company has really worked hard to come up with a best in class infotainment system, dual zone air conditioning as well as a catchy steering wheel, along-with padding on the seats and wheels, which provide the vehicle an elegant finish.
The major attributes of an SUV and of a deluxe sedan have all been incorporated while designing the Grand Cherokee by Jeep. The vehicle offers feature set, which are totally comparable with the best models in the segment. Keeping the design simple yet feature rich is where the company has invested its resources. With its Cherokee model, the auto maker has come up with a surprisingly simple basic structure where even the large mechanical fixture like lifting of SUV to provide adequate ground clearance when needed, can be amazingly implemented just at the push of a single button. The company as previously mentioned has left no stone unturned when it comes to Jeep Cherokee's comfort. There is a automatic mode to keep the atmosphere inside the vehicle at controlled levels all the time. Not to forget the solar sensors installed in the system to allow passengers to have nice and soothing heating levels. There are adequate outlets at the rear seat for circulation of air, which provide not only good temperatures but also well conditioned surroundings when needed.
Dual zone automatic as well as manual temperature systems work in close association, by clubbing the two, company has left the option open to passengers regarding the manner of selection they find more suitable. For utmost fresh air, a separate cabin air filtration system has also been installed to allow inside air to be as healthy as possible. Leather wrapped steering wheel is yet another feature unique to Jeep Grand Cherokee. The electronic information kit comes as part of company's plans to provide the customers a real time feel of the audio, current speed of the moving vehicle plus adaptive speed control. With quite a decent amount of effort being put into making the vehicle steering as driver friendly as possible, the designers have integrated paddle shift controls plus the wooden steering has a heating adjustment to give the driver a dream ride irrespective of the terrain. Apart from comfort, Jeep Grand Cherokee comes installed with some unique safety features too like infra red sensors along-with rear seat emergency outlets, thereby making the Cherokee ride not only enjoyable, but a safe one as well. To this end designers have also added sufficient grip to the vehicle steering.
Allowed Head space for the driver is 39.9 inches in the front, whereas the number for back row is 39.2 inches. There is ample leg space for the driver fixed at 40.3 inches, while the same in the rear is 38.6 inches, giving enough total volume to breath, which is a deluxe 105.4 ft. The vehicle can accommodate a maximum of five people and has a fuel tank capacity of 93.1litres. Interiors give a nice and posh look with an integrated top of the line accessories. With the already discussed elite air conditioning and audio player which according to some makes you to listen more and more. The interiors come with controls that allows to run outer wheel driving modes. Not to mention the power window option that just comes as a part of the standard package.
Company fitted wheels clearly reflect the motive of providing the vehicle a level of masculinity, measuring at around 20 inches. The standard wheel fitments provides space for remaining under the framework which assists in terrain specific adjustments. The wheel base is intentionally made large, so to have 2 to 3 inches ground clearance without affecting the vehicle's suspension greatly, when the terrain specific Quadra lift system becomes active. Vehicles like the SUV's comes loaded with a traction system, which allows to keep the vehicle in full control irrespective of the nature of terrain. It acts as a benchmark that reflects how efficiently the vehicle is successful in using the given technology platform. Real time performance is the de-facto standard that defines practical success of the vehicle, since the most well devised mechanisms like the four wheel drive turn ineffective if SUV doesn't adapts accordingly. Jeep Grand Cherokee is designed to make use of the techniques in the best possible manner. 'Selec-Terrain' is the name given to the new traction mechanism developed by Jeep Cherokee, providing 5 separate modes of traction, which can be adjusted depending upon the surroundings for e.g., Sport, Sand Mud, Auto and Rock. In rock mode however, the height of clearance changes by 2.6 inches. While in the snow mode, the clearance changes just only slightly, providing comfortable ride feasible in snowy cold areas.
Power is metered in between the axles and more adjustment is supposed to be achieved in snow mode. Adequate traction to provide balance is required on slippery turf like the mud and sand, where frictional force diminishes. Both front and the rear wheels comes fitted with disc brakes. The front end of the vehicle has independent suspension while rear one comes with multi link suspension. With regards to handling and safety Jeep Grand Cherokee is a perfect company to have. The vehicle comes with superior handling with its Quadra lift system and Selec-Terrain transmission system. With its best in the segment air-bag and collision impact resistance (which even got awarded recently), the Jeep Grand Cherokee provides the most superior safety attributes possible.
