We can think of a lot of reasons to buy the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk – it’s fast, angry, loud, and yet surprisingly practical – just check out our review. But there are also a number of reasons which we think might hold buyers back. Here, we list what we reckon are five good reasons to steer clear of what Jeep’s calling “the world’s quickest and most powerful SUV”.
If you want a V8-powered SUV, you could buy a BMW X5 ($138,610 plus on-road costs) – and lap-up the badge prestige accompanying it.
Sure, the X5 mightn’t be as fast as the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (0-100km/h in 4.9sec v 3.6sec), but it will do a better job of blending in at the school drop-off zone. Just don’t think you’re getting a German-built car… like the Jeep in fact, BMW’s X5 is also built in North America (Spartanburg, South Carolina for BMW and Detroit, Michigan for Jeep).
No-one should be surprised to ascertain a supercharged V8 engine displacing 6.2 litres, delivering more twist than a Lamborghini Aventador (690Nm v 874Nm), and encased in 2500kg of steel and aluminium, won’t run on the smell of an oily rag.
But, with the fuel economy number conspicuously absent from the Trackhawk’s specification sheet, we reckon it’s safe to say you’ll be a frequent visitor to the fuel bowser.
In America, ‘Jeeping’ is synonymous with four-wheel driving, just as ‘Hoovering’ is with using the vacuum cleaner. In fact, going back to the war years, you could say Jeep owes its existence to off-road ability.
But we reckon the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk should steer clear of muddy trails. With low-slung bumpers, liquorice strip tyres, and single-range transfer box it’s one Grand Cherokee far better suited to duties in the concrete jungle.
Jeep already makes a fast-enough-for-every-day-use Grand Cherokee; it’s called the SRT, and it’s sufficiently bonkers. It’s also quite expensive ($91,000 plus on-road costs), entirely capable of doing most of what the Trackhawk does – plus it can go off-road(ish).
OK, it’s not quite as fast or powerful (344kW/624Nm) as the Trackhawk, and it doesn’t come with quite the same bragging rights. But who cares? We go to a lot of track days and we’re yet to see anyone behind the wheel of a Grand Cherokee tightening their seatlbelts and flipping the visor on their crash helmet.
It might be the world’s quickest and most powerful SUV, but the Grand Cherokee is also one of the most recalled ever. Jeep holds the record Down Under as the most-recalled car brand in a calendar year.
In 2016 it issued 14 recall notices, which for the Grand Cherokee, included faulty airbags, rupturing brake-calliper housings, short-circuiting sun-visor vanity lights, tailgate electrical issues, and even rolling away when parked. For the current generation released in 2011, the recall count is now at 20 thanks to an unexpected acceleration issue.
Then again, you may take no heed of our ramblings and decide you want one anyway.
Check out out our Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk 2018 Review.