Iconic American carmaker Jeep is back in India. And the Cherokee looks the part of a brutal off-roader but with a great sense of style.
Back in the driver’s seat, you’ll see the dashboard dominated by an 8.9-inch touchscreen and, despite that, a huge array of buttons on the steering wheel and the centre console. All those buttons control the Cherokee’s long list of features – activating the voice control, scanning through the gazillion menus on the instrument cluster screen, controlling the air-suspension and the four-wheel-drive system, and setting the radar-based adaptive cruise control. It takes time to learn what they are – the steering audio controls, for example, are behind the steering wheel where your fingertips normally are. The list of equipment is long on this impressively named Summit variant – panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, SD card, USB and aux-in ports, sat-nav, Bluetooth connectivity, parking sensors, keyless entry and go, reversing camera, an electric tailgate, two USB slots for the rear passengers – it goes on and on.
Driving the Grand Cherokee is a soothing and invigorating experience and its excellent chassis (borrowed and improved from the 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-class) and beautifully smooth drivetrain make it that way. Under the hood is a 3.0-litre V6 diesel that starts with a cultured hum, much like the V6 under the hood of an M-class. It is mated to ZF’s eight-speed automatic transmission that complements this engine’s 240hp and 570Nm excellently. The engine doesn’t rev much – even flat out and in Sports mode, the V6 upshifts at 4,000rpm. But with the linear way this engine makes power, 4,000rpm is all you need. It’s no slouch either – our VBox clocked it at 9.02sec to 100kph, which isn’t as fast as its German rivals, but is still plenty quick.
It’s fantastically stable at speed too, with a flat ride, unshakeable composure and a barely audible engine and this, along with the long legs of the eight-speed gearbox, makes the Grand Cherokee a phenomenal tourer. It’s got tremendous grip, the air suspension ably keeps body movements in check and the reasonably direct steering masks the SUV’s not so inconsiderable 2,406kg.
It is in stop-start traffic that you notice that the Grand Cherokee’s gearbox jerks as it engages first gear, and you have to be extremely gentle with the throttle to get around this. You also notice that visibility is a bit limited by the thick A-pillar (thanks to stringent roll-over regulations in the US). Apart from this, though, it is quite nimble for its size, and the massive screen means you don’t have to squint to see what the rearview camera is showing you.