2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee: Refined Just Right; Raw Where It Counts

[rezzahd]

Do you think the tech in cars will shift more so to the engines? If it does I could see a lot going wrong, but it is honestly inevitable. I just do not see sport cars getting a speed boost from technology, but I know it is possible.

It already has. We have drive-by-wire systems, driving assistance technologies that can tap into the engine management systems to assist in collision prevention. The engine management systems benefit from newer developments for faster reading/monitoring (ie sports cars) or enable technologies such as cylinder deactivation or start/stop technology. All of those rely majorly on a vehicle's electronics system.

I mean look at the Nissan GT-R, its a marvelous performance machine only made possible with technology. The vehicle ECU monitors every aspect of the vehicle and alters everything accordingly. You also see vehicles have adaptive suspension technologies that can adapt to road conditions, which is tech-based.

I can go on and on about all the tech systems but I hope you get the idea of why we're trying to cover it all.

I do see tech improving fuel economy of vehicles. There's only so much you can do mechanically but with the aid of new electronics and even electric motors, we will see new improvements in the future. Mazda has their i-eLoop that captures wasted energy from braking and stores it into a capacitor to run vehicle accessories at idle, which is made possible by technological developents. It also yields about a 1-2mpg increase on a pure gasoline vehicle too.

Have you seen any of the new Infinity's tech in their vehicles? I have heard a lot of things that are good about them. I drive a 2002 M45 and it was one of the best cars I have ever owned when it comes to tech. I absolutely love how they put their cars together.

 

[none12345]

I wish the fad of headlights that stick out like bug eyes would go away. Ugly as hell.

 

[fedelm]

Are these car pieces really working? They seem awfully out of place in this site.
You should create "TomsCars" or something.

 

[tuanies]

Lessee now, Grand Cherokee..... Is that a processor or maybe storage?? Pretty sure I don't have one in my computer!! What's next, toilet fixtures!!

Do you have an iPhone or iPad in your computer? I'm pretty sure my desktop and laptop don't have ARM SoCs in them either. Watch out for our review of the toddler potty with built-in iPad mount next.

Have you seen any of the new Infinity's tech in their vehicles? I have heard a lot of things that are good about them. I drive a 2002 M45 and it was one of the best cars I have ever owned when it comes to tech. I absolutely love how they put their cars together.

Love the M45, great looking car. The new Infiniti Q50 has electronic power steering without a physical link between the steering wheel and the steering system. It sounds cool but I haven't had a chance to drive it yet. We've covered Infiniti's driver assistance systems in detail in the JX35 review

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/infiniti-jx35-qx60-crossover,3417.html

Are these car pieces really working? They seem awfully out of place in this site.

You should create "TomsCars" or something.

They are working. Even CNET and Digital Trends are doing car reviews. There's just so much cool new technology in the cars and its only getting more advanced. If every other site had the resources, they would be jumping on it too. There's a lot of car enthusiasts among tech editors and IT folks, including reps from the manufacturers. Don't worry though, we still cover the usual CPUs, motherboards, graphics cards, etc... What I do does not impact the content flow from the other editors.

I'm not trying to convince people to buy a certain car - you can check the many traditional automotive review outlets for that. What I want to do is present the option packages, mostly tech-focused and give a detailed overview of what it does and inform the masses of whats good, bad and if its worth the money - especially since the option packages can vary from $100 to $10k.

 

[DavidHart]

I was all ready to buy one of these.
Then I checked one out at the dealer and found it had a ridiculous foot operated parking brake. That is bad enough but the lever intrudes so far into the footwell it gets in the way. There is no footrest and nowhere to rest your left foot while driving.

What an unbelievably stupid way to ruin a good car!
Total deal breaker.

The 2014 Grand Cherokee does have a foot operated parking brake but I don't have any problem resting my foot underneath it as it clears the area when released (. There is a foot resting area for your left foot. It sounds like you either left the parking brake on, it wasn't adjusted properly, you had your seats too high/too far forward, or you just have bigger feet than me (size 9.5) ...

None of my friends/family have had any problems resting their feet and there aren't any complaints in any of the Jeep forums. I would suggest that, if you haven't already bought a new car, that you go back and check it out again.

 

[Nicholas K]

Jeep heh?
Interesting.
What's next for review Tom?
Toothbrushes? Jeans? Real estate?
Do you honestly believe that's what we are here for?

 

[Niva]

As of a couple weeks ago I own a 2014 SRT GC so this was actually an interesting read for me. I didn't know the details of what was behind the Uconnect system but it is really nice and works so well. I usually use the remote start and that's probably why I haven't even noticed delays in Uconnect starting up.

Yeah, I cry a bit at the gas station, but then again I grin every time I hit the gas. I'm looking forward to your impressions of the SRT variant.

 

[the_brute]

&Mu_engineer, its a jeep. not a race car. A better question is how much flex/break over angle. Up until a last year the very min 4000 lb wrangler (5000+) jk unlimited had a small MINI VAN motor in it. Floored it might be 30 or so seconds to hit 60 MPH. Jeeps (even the old Liberty, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and to a limited point Commander) have actual frames. not unibody. A jeep *should* be easy to do a very little work and get a huge amount of flex. (flex meaning how far the shock/springs can stretch and still come in contact with the ground)

This is sad that they just don't sell this under the Dodge nameplate and keep Jeep for what it has been. Very underpowered heavy, and awesome easily modified off road (3-4' boulders) rock crawlers, or being able to go up a 70%+ slope.

And last thing, you took this thing nowhere off road. Go over a fallen tree and you would lose the plastic bumpers. unless you go at it in an extreme angle but the tires wouldn't have enough bite to grab and pull you up, and you would probably turtle it.

 

[rezzahd]

&Mu_engineer, its a jeep. not a race car. A better question is how much flex/break over angle. Up until a last year the very min 4000 lb wrangler (5000+) jk unlimited had a small MINI VAN motor in it. Floored it might be 30 or so seconds to hit 60 MPH. Jeeps (even the old Liberty, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and to a limited point Commander) have actual frames. not unibody. A jeep *should* be easy to do a very little work and get a huge amount of flex. (flex meaning how far the shock/springs can stretch and still come in contact with the ground)

This is sad that they just don't sell this under the Dodge nameplate and keep Jeep for what it has been. Very underpowered heavy, and awesome easily modified off road (3-4' boulders) rock crawlers, or being able to go up a 70%+ slope.

And last thing, you took this thing nowhere off road. Go over a fallen tree and you would lose the plastic bumpers. unless you go at it in an extreme angle but the tires wouldn't have enough bite to grab and pull you up, and you would probably turtle it.

See man I think these are the kind of things that need to be mentioned when it comes to trying to teach things about these kind of vehicles.

 

[tuanies]

&Mu_engineer, its a jeep. not a race car. A better question is how much flex/break over angle. Up until a last year the very min 4000 lb wrangler (5000+) jk unlimited had a small MINI VAN motor in it. Floored it might be 30 or so seconds to hit 60 MPH. Jeeps (even the old Liberty, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and to a limited point Commander) have actual frames. not unibody. A jeep *should* be easy to do a very little work and get a huge amount of flex. (flex meaning how far the shock/springs can stretch and still come in contact with the ground)

This is sad that they just don't sell this under the Dodge nameplate and keep Jeep for what it has been. Very underpowered heavy, and awesome easily modified off road (3-4' boulders) rock crawlers, or being able to go up a 70%+ slope.

And last thing, you took this thing nowhere off road. Go over a fallen tree and you would lose the plastic bumpers. unless you go at it in an extreme angle but the tires wouldn't have enough bite to grab and pull you up, and you would probably turtle it.

The XJ Cherokee and all Grand Cherokee's have been unibody. They are not body on frame like the Wrangler. You cannot physically remove the body off the frame and it relies on the body for structural integrity. That has not changed its off-road capabilities at all though. If they sold the Grand Cherokee under the Dodge nameplate, it would render Jeep completely useless and the Wrangler would have to go away. Sales of the Grand Cherokee and new Cherokee will keep the Jeep brand alive - not everyone needs a rock crawler. Some people just want a capable vehicle for trails or they live at the end of an entertaining dirt road. No shareholders in their right mind would keep a brand alive if they only had one mass produced vehicle that appealed to a niche, required its own platform, development and everything else in between but with limited sales. If that were the case, we'd be looking at $100k+ Wrangler's.

The Grand Cherokee and Cherokee are good for the brand, despite what the purists think. Would you rather have a couple fairly capable mainstream SUVs to keep the Wrangler alive or have no Jeep at all? You cannot have your cake and eat it to. Yes Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge are under the same umbrella, but when you're presenting to share holders the sales numbers are broken down by brand. The brand that lacks sales will eventually suffer a horrible death as Plymouth, Oldsmobile and Mercury have, regardless of their heritage.

Not all off-roading involves rock crawling or going over trees. I came about half an inch away from snagging the bumper.

 

[danwat1234]

Not an advanced Hybrid with an Atkinson cycle engine and powerful electric motors, yawn

I think you got your yawns mixed up. A hybrid with a buzzy little Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder with a two-digit horsepower rating coupled to a whiny electric motor, saddled with a half-ton of batteries and a DANGER WILL ROBINSON DON'T TOUCH THAT GAS PEDAL!! front-and-center MPG display makes somebody yawn.

Why do you think Jeep would go with a sub 100HP Atkinson cycle engine? The Toyota Highlander Hybrid uses a 3.5 Liter 6 cylinder Atkinson cycle engine with powerful electric motors to get it more oomph, a net of 280HP. Averages 25-28MPG real world average on fuelly.com. The Lexus brand does a similar setup with their fast Lexus hybrids.
The weight of the battery for the Highlander battery weighs something under 200 pounds. It would be a lot more if it was a plug-in hybrid model but for just a hybrid the battery pack isn't that large.

 

[wip99gt]

I take my Grand Cherokee off road all the time. With my 2 1/2" lift kit, rock rails, and much better skid plates than the cheap stock ones it is a pretty good offroader. When I only need my laptop or for large start ups I use it for work even. It's been down all kinds of ice roads, lease roads, and logging roads up in Northern BC, AB, and the Northwest Territories.

 

[computerguy72]

Jeeps are some of the least reliable vehicles on the road. CR only rates 1 brand with lower overall reliability - land rover. Hopefully Jeep is working hard to move up.

 

[mitch074]

Pneumatic suspensions? Sooo new... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroen_DS

 

[wip99gt]

That Citroen is such an ugly car though. But yeah pneumatic suspensions have been out for a long time. It's not like semis and trailers have been using air ride for decades either.

 

[tuanies]

Yea its nothing new but its fantastic when its implemented well.

 

[wip99gt]

For sure. I didn't want it on my jeep because you can't fit 32" tires on. They rub when it lowers. Still needed a 2.5" lift to fit them which is better than a WK grand cherokee as you need a 4" on them for 32s.

 

[tuanies]

For sure. I didn't want it on my jeep because you can't fit 32" tires on. They rub when it lowers. Still needed a 2.5" lift to fit them which is better than a WK grand cherokee as you need a 4" on them for 32s.

Yea if you're going to mod it then its not something you probably want. But if you're going to keep it stock, its pretty awesome. Speaking of which, the SRT8 gets dropped off tomorrow

 

[wip99gt]

My accountant has one. It's a heck of a lot of fun. I think the WK1 with the 6.1 feels a little faster though. The launch control they put in on the 2013 model helps. We raced it against my apprentices 2005 Ram SRT10 last weekend. The cherokee won the launch but by 60mph it had no chance. The Ram also also slightly modified. That jeep needs running boards as those wheels kick up stones and chip up the paint on the fender flares quite a bit.

 

[tuanies]

My accountant has one. It's a heck of a lot of fun. I think the WK1 with the 6.1 feels a little faster though. The launch control they put in on the 2013 model helps. We raced it against my apprentices 2005 Ram SRT10 last weekend. The cherokee won the launch but by 60mph it had no chance. The Ram also also slightly modified. That jeep needs running boards as those wheels kick up stones and chip up the paint on the fender flares quite a bit.

Wouldn't surprise me, but the 8-speed ZF and the interior improvements on the WK2 refresh makes it a much more refined car. I just love how nice of an all-around car the GC has become. Going to try and grab a new Cherokee Trailhawk when we start getting some snow up here too.

 

[wip99gt]

I still got the 5 speed in mine and the 8 speed had me tempted. There is no comparison between the WK1 and WK2 interiors for sure and that's one of the reasons I waited to purchase mine. I think next summer I'm trading the jeep in for the diesel one. That VM Motori diesel they're using looks pretty good. It sure has a beefy bottom end. Banks already has a couple of them so hopefully there'll be a chip for it out soon. That with a new exhaust and EGR delete should make for a pretty good vehicle. When I want to go fast I have my datsun 280Z which goes toe to toe with that SRT8.
I find the Cherokees really ugly although the trailhawk is decent off road. I was out for a Dodge demo at an off road course and they had one out there. Be careful as the skid plates are really thin on them and get the V6, the 4 cylinder in the trailhawk just doesn't have the torque.

 

[tuanies]

I still got the 5 speed in mine and the 8 speed had me tempted. There is no comparison between the WK1 and WK2 interiors for sure and that's one of the reasons I waited to purchase mine. I think next summer I'm trading the jeep in for the diesel one. That VM Motori diesel they're using looks pretty good. It sure has a beefy bottom end. Banks already has a couple of them so hopefully there'll be a chip for it out soon. That with a new exhaust and EGR delete should make for a pretty good vehicle. When I want to go fast I have my datsun 280Z which goes toe to toe with that SRT8.
I find the Cherokees really ugly although the trailhawk is decent off road. I was out for a Dodge demo at an off road course and they had one out there. Be careful as the skid plates are really thin on them and get the V6, the 4 cylinder in the trailhawk just doesn't have the torque.

Love the old Z's, always wanted one but too impractical for me. I've yet to drive the diesel variant but with the promised gas mileage, its pretty nice. The new Cherokee was ugly at first, its slowly starting to grow on me but I've yet to see it in person. I really hope they make a SRT6 version though.

 

[wip99gt]

It's ugly in person as well. I think the V6 trailhawk is decent for what it is though. For that price I don't really see something that is that practical while being competent off road. It won't beat a rubicon or defender on the trails but is a much more civilized vehicle. The only real competitors I see are the 4runner, which is better but more expensive, and the Xterra. Both are much worse on fuel economy as well and aren't as nice on the road.
One gripe I have with the new jeeps are the material they have in the wheel wells. I was out mudding with mine and washed it this morning and found the rear insides are getting pretty messed up already. I am hard on vehicles but have never had that happen before. I guess the 4" of mud packed in there does add a lot of weight and I shouldn't expect it to be as tough as my 2500 and 4500 dodge trucks. It does go through crap more than my 4500 though although the 5000lb weight difference and single axle helps. Nothing beats the 2500. 4" lift, 34" tires, 400hp 5.9 cummins, 450hp clutch, and ARB bumpers make for a pretty bullet proof vehicle.

 

[d3seeker]

Seriously it looks like hey are trying to slowly take the JEEP out of this Jeep. Seems to still perform like a Jeep somewhat but it loosing it character and becoming just another SUV by the year.

and no CD PLAYER!!?

 

[d3seeker]

Seriously it looks like hey are trying to slowly take the JEEP out of this Jeep. Seems to still perform like a Jeep somewhat but it loosing it character and becoming just another SUV by the year.

and no CD PLAYER!!?