From the 2009 New York Auto Show, Cars.com's Kelsey Mays takes a look at the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Transcript
(upbeat music) <v Narrator>"cars.com" auto reviews. Hi I am Kelsey Mays from "cars.com". We're at the New York Auto Show checking out the new redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Now, Chrysler the owner of the Jeep brand, obviously, right now is trying to negotiate a shotgun marriage of sorts with Italian automaker Peugeot. They are also trying to a decidedly different story that, "Hey, we can build high quality, fuel efficient cars, certainly better cars than that Sebring you rented in Florida last summer". You know, back when you had disposable income and actually took vacations. Either way, the Grand Cherokee will be litmus test for these cars of a new era to see whether Chrysler can really build a world class machine. Can it? Let's take a look and find out. Grand Cherokee is a few inches longer and lighter than before, but it still looks the part of a Grand Cherokee, which is sort of equal parts butch and luxury, kind of a thing you get from a vehicle of this type. Certainly, Jeep like framework upfront with horizontal bezels for the headlights, a seven slot Jeep grill. Wheels can be up to 20 inches and behind them is a four wheel Independent suspension. Now, the last Grand Cherokee had a solid axle in the rear. Four wheel independence suspension, better for ride quality. Is the interior world class? Well, at first glance I'm inclined to say yes. This is a very well optioned model obviously but it's got high ranked leather even leather wrapping at the top of the dashboard. Other materials are low glass, soft to the touch feel along the doors. This is real wood trim, not the fake plastic wood in a lot of cars. Not a ton of space laterally here. I am five eleven. I could use a little more space for my knees to spill out. But I actually have very good thigh support here. The seats are nice and long. Center console. Not the largest, kinda small here. Glove compartment, about average for this class. There is an available terrain select system, similar to something that Land Rover offers. It allows you to adjust the available air suspension to various settings here, the suspension and the drivetrain. Obviously, you've got sand and mud, you've got snow, you've got rocks, you've got an automatic setting and finally you've got a sports settings which supposedly makes the car a little more fun to drive. Back seat's fairly roomy actually. I could use a little bit more thigh support here, actually in contrast to the front seat. But I've got plenty of headroom. Overall legroom is great. The seat reclines, forward and backward and it's infinitely adjustable. There aren't two or three recline settings as there are with some. Car room is up versus the previous Grand Cherokee and it's competitive with this segment. And what really is this segment? Well it's two bro crossovers, like the Nissan Murano, the Ford Edge, even Toyota's new Venza. And those cars get 18, 19, 20, all the way up to 22 miles per gallon with the four cylinder engines sometimes. The Grand Cherokee with out tow them all. It's gotta a V6 or a Hemi V8. But at the same time gas mileage even with the V6 isn't quite up there. Is this a world class vehicle? The interior certainly is and it looks good as well. Will buyers buy it? That's a larger question, I'm not sure I can answer right now. <v Narrator>For more, car related news go to "cars.com" or our blog "kickingtires.net".
