2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Test Drive

Grand Standing

Jeep catches up with its competitors with the totally redone Grand Cherokee.

Should You Buy This Car?

In a world of $89,000 Porsche Cayenne turbocharged SUVs and $70,000 offerings from BMW and Land Rover, the Hemi Grand Cherokee, which does zero to 60 miles per hour in about seven seconds, seems like a bargain. Unlike many of today's SUVs, including the Nissan Pathfinder, Ford Explorer and Acura MDX, the Grand Cherokee does not offer an optional third-row seat. "Our traditional Grand Cherokee customers didn't want this vehicle compromised by a third-row seat," says Brown. Those who want a Jeep with three rows of seats must wait until this fall for the Jeep Commander. This slightly-larger Jeep will be built off the new Grand Cherokee platform, but Brown promises, "It won't be humongous."

Every other auto manufacturer wants to play in Jeep's muddy backyard. Many more SUV models are on the way, in a market that is looking a bit peaked. As for the price/value equation, the Grand Cherokee is competitive against other five-seat passenger SUVs. Plus, Chrysler has a seven-year/70,000-mile warranty on key powertrain components. That warranty doesn't cover much, but if any of the biggies (engine, transmission or transfer case, for example) go bad, you are covered. The rest of the vehicle falls under a fairly conventional three-year/36,000-mile coverage.

Most SUV buyers never do any serious off-road driving, which is why crossover SUVs (trucklike in appearance, but carlike in platform engineering) have become so popular. The Jeep, by contrast, is still a genuine rock-solid off-roader, but now makes fewer compromises in its on-road behavior.