The Limited is the best-selling equipment level in the line-up, and gets significant improvements over the base Laredo such as leather seats, sat-nav, sunroof and power tailgate.
It also adds significant safety equipment over Laredo, such as forward collision warning, active cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and lane departure monitoring.
The 3.6-litre petrol is only available in Laredo 4x2 (or 4x4) and Limited 4X4. Up to 2017 it was also available in Overland spec.
Options include panoramic sunroof, Nappa leather seats and underbody protection plates.
The Grand Cherokee Limited shimmies just under the ($64,132) LCT threshold.
Jeep introduced its ‘There And Back Guarantee’ last February, which includes five-year/100,000km warranty (in place of the previous three-year/100,000km cover), five years roadside assist and five years/100,000km Capped Price Servicing.
At the time of writing, with annual 15,000km services, the Limited will cost a total of $2625 over its five-year CPS period.
The Pentastar V6 is a honey of an engine, with excellent power, torque and smoothness. Fuel consumption is not bad either, with a 11.2L/100km average on test (with mostly highway running).
Inside, there are excellent, clear and logical instruments and controls, occupants get plenty of room to stretch out. There are comfortable supportive leather seats and a generous cargo space (only limited by the swept back tailgate when carrying bulky, squared-off items).
Key refresh ingredients include electric power steering, idle-stop, Eco mode and changes to the 3.6-litre engine, which result in minor increased power and fuel economy.
The refresh also saw new front-end styling and new wheels, as well as new windscreen and side glass to reduce noise levels. The Limited is one grade up from base grade Laredo 4x4, and $10,000 more expensive.
The V6 petrol won’t attract buyers who tow as much as the ($6500 more expensive) Limited diesel, given the petrol’s relative thirst when towing. The diesel has a better towing capacity too with 3500kg versus 2812kg for the petrol.
The Grand Cherokee can carry four adults in comfort, five at a pinch. Three sub-teenagers in the back will be happy campers on a trip, although a family of five will find the cargo area luggage capacity a bit tight for a long holiday.
Although the cargo floor is squared off with minimal wheel arch intrusion, the deeply sloping tailgate robs the cargo area of usable space when packing up to the roof.
The Grand Cherokee’s contemporary opposition, in price and spec, are the Ford Everest, Land Rover Discovery and Toyota Prado (although both Everest and Prado are diesel-only). Despite the current Discovery starting at $66,450 (plus ORCs), VFACTS lists it in the Large SUV >$70k category.
The Grand Cherokee has plenty of appeal; it’s laden with features and excellent refinement, performance and comfort. Even though it’s a good vehicle to drive, is it a good buying proposition? That’s not as easy to call, because the WK-series Grand Cherokee has been the subject of numerous recalls in Australia since launch in 2011.
Most of the recalls concern 2013-2014 models, and none since the pre-update 2016 model. Hopefully the Grand Cherokee’s bugs have been ironed out since then.
2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited pricing and specifications:
Price: $62,500 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.6-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 213kW/347Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 233g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP