2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT review, test drive

I head out of town, and on the way out, tend to pull the engine hard. It’s only natural. Performance is seriously strong and the SRT is hurled down the road with plenty of energy. Performance, however, is not nearly as strong as the BMW X5M or, for that matter, the Range Rover Sport SVR but that’s only in relative terms. What I soon discover is that the SRT has the unique ability to entertain by making use of the incredibly strong midrange. It’s loads more fun and almost as quick. The trick is to actually be lazy and allow the gearbox to shift up to a higher gear. All you have to do then, when the opportunity presents itself, is hit the gas and use all that bottom-end urge that’s lying coiled under the bonnet like a giant Anaconda. It may not be in the right gear, but power just comes flooding in, SLAAAAM. Effortless punch from just about any engine speed, wow, like never before, truly something else. It’s what all good ‘street’ tunes need, according to American tuners. Finally, I get it. American muscle; yeah, this is it. And all on regular pump gas; 91 octane.

Soon, I’m driving like a hooligan (and grinning like an ape). From rest, I normally whack the throttle open, using a lot of the travel on the pedal. This generates so much violence, most passengers just hold their breath or curse: over and over again. The instant g just throws us back in the seat. But then I don’t keep the throttle pinned; I just allow the torque to do all the heavy lifting. It’s so much more fun. The top-end isn’t as strong, but the mid-range helps it hit 100 in 5.8 seconds, plenty quick for a 2.3 tonne, full-fat SUV.

Also very impressive at speed is stability. The SRT uses a very different setup from a regular Grand Cherokee – it’s much lower slung and uses plenty of camber. And this allows it to have generous amounts of grip. It does roll around a bit in Auto and there’s a bit of roll in Sport too, but you also have a healthy amount of grip. The mode to use if you really want to throw the car around (yes, you can) is Track; where the dampers become as stiff as rocks and 70 percent of the torque is sent to the rear wheels. The ESP is also partially switched off in this mode and this makes the SRT quite pointy and fun, the car pivoting around the front axle quite naturally as you drive it harder and harder. The biggest surprise is just how much fun it is; the brakes are nice and crisp, the nose is keen to turn and grip levels are decent. And you do really enjoy adding power on the exit out of corners.