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2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Jeep's luxury-SUV pioneer is reborn

As the original mainstream luxury SUV, the Jeep Grand Cherokee deserves much of the credit for the SUV?s position as a status symbol. The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is an all-new SUV that aims to return the Grand Cherokee to a place among the luxury elite, while retaining the rough-rider attitude of the original.

 

Announced at the L.A. Auto Show for sale in December 2010 was the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit, which added more luxury to the already luxurious Overland model. Available in an exclusive Rugged Brown paint scheme (as well as gray, white gold, and black), it has a chromed grille and fog lamp bezels, with 20-inch bright, polished aluminum wheels. The interior has real Black Olive burl wood trim blended into the instrument panel, the standard heated steering wheel, and the upper panels of both front and rear doors. The interior is two-toned, black and New Saddle, with saddle-color Nappa heated and ventilated leather seats, and Berber floor mats with Black and Chestnut accent binding. Standard features include Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross-path detection systems.

The new V6 increases highway gas mileage to 23 mpg highway (22 mpg with 4x4), over 500 miles per tank, though city mileage fell 1 mpg. The interior provides over four inches of increased rear-seat knee and leg room, and 17 percent more cargo volume (as released first on allpar.com). Numerous safety features are standard, and options include Blind-spot/Rear Cross-path detection and Adaptive Cruise Control with Forward Collision Warning, along with FloTV, satellite TV, and Internet router. All three trim levels can be ordered with Trail Rated configurations.

The base engine is a new 3.6 liter V6 engine pumping out 290 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4,800 rpm; 90% of peak torque is available from 1,600 to 6,400. The new Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 is not only more powerful - by 80 horses - but gas mileage is 11% higher.

The V6 Grand Cherokee has more horsepower than Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, and GMC Acadia, with more torque than Highlander or Pilot, and similar gas mileage to all three competitors (within 1 mpg) according to Chrysler Canada's materials. Towing is rated at 5,000 lb with the V6, similar to or more than the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, and GMC Acadia; but goes up to 7,200 lb with the Hemi V8 (equipped properly).

The interiors have better craftsmanship, with soft-touch, premium materials and genuine wood trim; all models have bright chrome accents. The Keyless Go system, optional on some models and standard on others, unlocks and locks the doors without a fob. The CommandView sunroof has fixed glass panels above both rows of seating, with an express power shade to cover it.

Compared with the outgoing Grand Cherokee, the 2011 Jeep has 4 inches more rear seat leg room, with 12° of recline, a standard center folding armrest and rear seat vent controls, and 17% more cargo capacity... with the spare tire now mounted inside.

The base model, the Laredo E, is a well equipped machine with standard passive entry/keyless go, new double dash construction with acoustic side glass, electronic stability (with hill start, roll mitigation, and trailer sway control), side curtain airbags in front and rear, front side airbags, front active head restraints, power driver seat, 17 inch aluminum wheels, fog lamps, power-adjusted heated mirrors, trip computer (with feature personalization), LED interior lights, and dual zone temperature control. Overall, the base model is as fully loaded as some top line models; but it is the only model that cannot be ordered with the Hemi.

The Laredo X brings leather trim, heated front seats, power front passenger seat, 18 inch wheels, hard-drive based stereo with hands free phone system, 506-watt, 9-speaker Alpine stereo, remote starter, Park-Sense (rear distance detection), and alarm. 

 The Limited adds a dual-pane panoramic sunroof, Quadra-Trac II, dual-zone automatic temperature control, heated first and secondrow seats, ventliated front seats, power liftgate, heated and tilt/telescope steering wheel, memory settings (for seat, mirrors, and radio), 18" shiny wheels, HID headlamps with SmartBeam, rear backup camera, and rain sensitive wipers.

Finally, the Overland model adds a unique interior, real wood/leather wrapped heated steering wheel, premium navigation system with voice recognition, and new 20" aluminum painted wheels.

Options include the Hemi with bright dual exhaust, Class IV trailer tow group, Quadra-Drive II (Hemi only, July availability), and Quadra-Lift (July).

Cargo capacity has increased 17% over the last model, with 36.3 cubic feet of space.

The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee's ruggedness is achieved with more than 5,400 welds in the body alone. Torsional stiffness is 146% more than the current Grand Cherokee and is stiffer than the BMW X5 and Toyota Highlander for improved durability and reduced noise, vibration, and harshness. With more than 3,700 mm of arc welding and 100 m of structural adhesive to augment welding, this marks a 53% increase in spot welds, a 42% increase in arc welds, and a 38% increase in structural adhesive. 

Standard safety features include Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Electronic Roll Mitigation (ERM), four-wheel Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) with rough-road detection, four-wheel Brake Traction Control System (BTCS), Passive Entry/Keyless Go, Remote keyless entry, express up/down windows for driver and front-seat passenger, seat-belt pretensioners, Trailer-Sway Control and Remote-Start which is standard on Overland and available on Limited. The Brake Assist System recognizes emergency situations (by seeing how quickly the driver hits the pedal) and increases brake pressure; it's based on research that shows that in many accidents drivers had panic-stopped without fulling activating the brake.

Other standard safety features include standard full-length side-curtain air bags which extend protection to front and rear outboard passengers, seat-mounted side thorax air bags that enhance protection for the driver and front passenger, and active head restraints which deploy (move forward and up) in the event of a rear collision. The body structure is all new and designed to achieve expected safety performance in global markets (new roof-crush standards, side-impact standards and Euro pedestrian impact).


 





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