Reader Review of the Week: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

“4WD Enthusiast” from Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., sounds like the quintessential off-roader. He owned a V-8-powered 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and now he has the redesigned V-8-powered 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

While 4WD Enthusiast’s wife won’t let him take his new Jeep Grand Cherokee off-roading quite yet, its on-road prowess and build quality were enough for this reader to choose the Jeep over the BMW X5 and Mercedes M-Class. Find out why below, and submit your own reader review here.

“The Jeep came loaded with everything but skid plates and safety sensor group. But the 20-inch wheels do look nice (if I had a need to go off-roading all the time, the 18-inchers with the Off Road 2 package would probably be best). The 20-inch all-season tires will be upgraded to all-terrain when I need to switch them out. But, as my wife won’t let me take this $44,500 Jeep off-road for a few years, I’m not worried about it.

“Everything you’ve read about this Jeep is true. I owned a 2005 JGC, and the 2011 is light years ahead of it in every respect. I went with the 5.7-liter V-8 over the V-6 (which is good and better than the old 4.7-liter V-8 I had in the 2005). At the end of the day, $500 more a year isn’t enough to get me to lose performance; off the line, it’s a screamer. The interior is well-executed, best I’ve seen from Chrysler on any vehicle. The premium leather is great, and the interior is quiet when it’s supposed to be. But, floor it, and you can hear the wonderful Hemi going to work. Haven’t taken it off-road, but the air suspension, Selec-Trac and Quadra Drive II should make easy work out of Winter driving.

“I shopped other SUVs, including the BMW X5, Lexus and Mercedes. Basically, for $10,000-$15,000 less, I got a vehicle that has built-in quality that meets and exceeds these vehicles with more off-road capability. Yes, the Mercedes and Jeep are cousins, but IMO, the Jeep is the stronger, more tight vehicle of the two. (I’ve read that there are thousands more safety welds in the Jeep frame versus the MB frame.) All in all, I’m delighted that Detroit and Chrysler can make a Jeep like this. If Fiat/Chrysler are able to execute like this in their other cars, Chrysler will be back soon and more relevant than ever before.”

2011|Jeep|Grand Cherokee