Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT 2017 Review

Jeep's Grand Cherokee SRT is a menacing car which turns heads.

Yet for all its dramatic presence – both under the bonnet and cosmetically – it's just a cuddly puppy dog of a car to drive. The intimidating size becomes less of an issue once you've mastered the whole ‘Park Assist’ feature which is standard equipment.

The system proved its usefulness when it quickly backed the Jeep into a standard-sized parking slot in a busy inner urban street on a Saturday night, while simultaneously avoiding an adjacent light pole. What’s more, the Jeep did so after picking the slot before it had even drawn level with the car parked in front. At rest, the nearside wheels were just centimetres from the kerb…but the parking slot was intended for cars narrower than the Jeep, so the driver's mirror was poking out into the road.

While the ‘Park Assist’ system is very effective and easy to use, it's not like the Jeep is difficult to reverse. However, on one occasion backing into the driveway at home, the AEB system brought the Grand Cherokee SRT to an unexpected halt after the system was fooled by a slightly protruding plant right next to the driveway.

Another driver-assist/active safety system fitted is Jeep's forward-collision warning facility, which activated a couple of times during the week. Either I'm getting used to these systems or this one was less strident than others. It doesn't frighten you out of your socks and the reaction is more measured, with the AEB system leaving the braking until later than some over-protective systems in certain European prestige brands.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT cruises at 100km/h with the tacho needle sitting on just 1800rpm. There's a little wind noise present, but the cabin is kept very well isolated from road noise. Tyres are a little more plaintive at lower speeds on country roads. FCA has introduced a noise-insulating windscreen and side glass with the latest model year Grand Cherokee and certainly the SRT tested seemed much quieter than I recall of the previous model from four years ago.

Jeep’s Fuel Saver system disables four of the eight cylinders when there's little requirement for torque – open-road touring, for example. Engine operation in this mode is quite coarse, frankly, and the labouring worsens as soon as the Jeep hits a moderate hill.

At around 60km/h the engine is running at 1500rpm or lower and is perfectly smooth with all eight cylinders firing, but when that number of cylinders drops to four there's an unappealing rumble which vibrates through the very core of the driver. It can be felt through the steering wheel as well.

Nevertheless, there is an easy fix: Just turn the knob in the centre console one position anti-clockwise to switch the drivetrain mode to 'Sport' every time you hop in the Grand Cherokee SRT. It won't save fuel, but it will calm your nerves.

Fuel consumption for the week hovered around 19L/100km during a series of Monday-to-Friday commutes during school holidays. After some gentler driving – with less stop-and-start traffic – the average fell below 17L/100km and finished up at 16.8.

FCA’s 6.4-litre V8 is muscular and channels power and torque to the drive wheels from low revs. There's nothing high-strung or European in this powerplant's character. With the throttle wide open the V8 sounds like rolling thunder amplified to 11.

We recently compared the various launch control systems of different passenger cars and awarded them a bucketing or a bouquet for ease of use. The system in the Grand Cherokee SRT takes user friendliness to new levels. Push a button left of the gear-shift plinth, hold the brake pedal pressed hard, build up the revs and then release the brake. Away she goes…

On the subject of the gear-shift lever, the last time I drove a Grand Cherokee SRT it featured a lever distinctly more about form than function. Following a high-profile incident in North America, the gear lever in the Jeep is now a more conventional unit, which is utterly foolproof. And either the lever itself or the shift paddles provide rapid-fire gear changes. An eight-speed automatic, the transmission also drops back a gear on hills for engine braking.

Engage the cruise control and speed is maintained very well on hills. The transmission kicks back just one gear on a fairly steep climb, but the car also reins in things nicely on descent, limiting road speed to 84km/h on one particular grade after the cruise control had been set to 80km/h. This points to the easily tapped torque and the smarts of both the transmission and the cruise control system. Overall the Grand Cherokee SRT is powered by a set-and-forget sort of drivetrain – one which will hold speed with little input via the right pedal.

When it comes to ride quality around town, the Grand Cherokee SRT is hard-core, yet all is forgiven at higher speeds. In fact, body control is startlingly good for a vehicle such as this. Despite its new, lightweight suspension components, the mass of the Grand Cherokee is still enough to ensure it won't bounce around over uneven bitumen. Nevertheless, the weight doesn't get in the way of the SRT variant's cornering. This is one SUV with the potential to keep up with hot hatches on twisty roads.

The electrically-assisted steering is not too heavy, but there's still good feedback and reasonably crisp turn-in. And the Jeep can be placed quite precisely on the road. Try to provoke lift-off oversteer or power-on understeer and that lovable puppy-dog nature comes to the fore again – but with no tail wagging. It just grips and goes.

At night, the Jeep's intelligent high-beam system is very responsive and the adaptive headlights are bright and effective even on low beam.

While the driving position is generally very well designed, and the seats are well shaped but not aggressively bolstered, the foot-operated parking brake leaves no room for a footrest.

And the one other misgiving from the driver's seat is the Jeep's analogue speedo, which has very fine increments and small type, making it hard to read at a glance. Thankfully there's also a digital readout in the lower right quadrant of the tacho.

Audio volume, track and channel switches are located on the rear side of the steering rim, where they're less obvious than in other brands. Once you're familiar with the set-up it's very easy to use, much like most of the Grand Cherokee SRT’s controls.

FCA’s UConnect infotainment system delivers very good sound through the speakers and the interface is as easy to use as most other systems in the Jeep, although it took a while to find the seat-heating there (rather than the common discrete switches in the centre console). There are plenty of apps and drive modes to keep drivers (and front-seat passengers) amused for hours.

The Grand Cherokee SRT provides plenty of headroom in the rear, even with the sunroof fitted. Rear seat passengers also score adjustable air vents, separate seat-heating switchgear and knee room which is suitable for adults – although surprisingly there's not as much room to stretch out as you might expect in a vehicle of this size.

Under the floor of the large boot resides a space-saver spare, and a rechargeable torch sits in the panel on the left side of the boot, just for emergencies.

Since I last drove Jeep's high-performance SUV flagship the Grand Cherokee SRT design has matured. It's a much better vehicle now, and the newly-announced five-year warranty is icing on the cake.

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT pricing and specifications:
Price: $91,000
Engine: 6.4-litre eight-cylinder petrol
Output: 344kW/624Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 14.0L/100km (Combined)
CO2: 327g/km
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP, 2013)

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>> Jeep Grand Cherokee 2017 Review
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