2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel: Oppo Review

"getFuckedHerb" (goongetfuckedherb) 06/16/2014 at 13:35 • Filed to: Oppo Review, Diesel, Jeep

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Sorry for the craptastic photos, it was raining cats and dogs when I went to take them.

The wife and I recently picked up a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited to replace her aging Rav4. While we didn't spend the big bucks, we did tick enough option boxes to get a decent interior, off road toys, all the towing goodies and of course a hear that pumps diesel. Over the last 800 miles we've formed mostly positive feelings for the Jeep, including averaging 27.0 mpg (even with a poor batch of diesel on fill up number two).

(Delivery Optional)

2014 is the first year Jeep has offered the VM Motori 3.0L single turbo V6 diesel. VM Motori is currently owned by Fiat Industrial and Fiat Group Automobiles. While there were some visual improvements and model shifting for 2014, the 3.0L Diesel was the biggest option add for the WK2 Grand Cherokee platform.

Exterior 7/10

The optional LED running lights and handsome figure of the WK2 go a long way towards making a good looking truck.

I'd prefer a little less chrome and body color matched fender flares for all model lines, not just the Overland and Summit.

Interior 8/10

While the Summit has the option for a full leather dashboard, the Limited we've opted for is a swath of soft touch plastic. In this case it's not all bad, it is molded into an attractive shape and is accented by fake wood that looks as realistic as I could hope for. Blueish accent LED lighting abounds- the cup holders, door pockets and handles all get ambient lighting: a nice touch here. Higher levels get interesting color options inside (Indigo Blue, a nice Brown) but we went with black over tan. Because of the Luxury 2 package we also got perforated ventilated seats: one of my must have's for leather in a hot climate.

Noteworthy that while the platform mate Durango can be had with 7 seats you're limited to just 5 in the Grand Cherokee, leaving room for the next generation Grand Wagoneer to slot in.

The seats (heated/vented) are very adjustable and supportive- a long road trip returned favorable feelings compared to our 2007 Rav4 or the 2013 GMC Acadia. The steering wheel is power tilt/telescope and the rear seats get the heated option as well.

Acceleration 5/10

Opting for the 3.0L Diesel doesn't tick the performance box with only 240hp pushing the 8 speed auto. 0-60 times of 8.0 seconds and 1/4 miles of 16.1 seconds at 84 mph are below average, even for family sedans these days.

Braking 7/10

The Grand Cherokee is hefty, 5432 pounds in this form, and has 54% of that heft over the front wheels. Luckily the Diesel comes with the heavy duty brake package, offering 13 inch front and 12.5 inch rear with four channel ABS. All of that provides a respectable 70-0 stopping distance of 184 feet. Pedal feel is good, if a little on the soft side, but stopping feel is strong and planted.

Ride 8/10

This Jeep benefits from the quadra ride air suspension tech, which uses control arms on the front and a multilink on the back to allow for a fully height adjustable ride. Ride quality with the air suspension is excellent, soaking up road imperfections while still providing feedback in abrupt maneuvers.

Handling 7/10

The V8 Grand Cherokees (including the SRT-8 variant) still receive rack and pinion steering while the V6's (Diesel included) get an electro-hydraulic setup. The steering is light, and fairly numb. Some feedback does make it back but not enough to suggest the handling is somehow enthusiastic. Un-obtrusive is the best descriptor, with no tendency to wander or lean: a great long hauler.

Gearbox 8/10

All Grand Cherokees get 8 speed auto-boxes for 2014, though the V6 model has one that has been tinkered with by Chrylser where as the V8's and Diesel get the ZF 8HP70 without the bean counters breathing on it. Included here are some flappy paddles that work, and are fairly responsive. The transmission does a good job selecting and changing gears without drama. 55 mph cruising in 8th gear results in a leisurely 1300rpm lope for the diesel.

Audio 7/10

Three radios are available in the Grand Cherokee for 2014, all of which are of the touch screen variety. The base 5.0 inch version is Microsoft powered, while the 8.4A and 8.4AN (we've got the AN here) are 8.4 inch screens powered by QNX. The AN has 3D nav and some additional XM goodies, and is very responsive. Audio quality is good with tweeters in the sail panels and decent spectrum coverage. One quirk to note is that a CD player is optional equipment to the tune of $395.

The diesel, sadly does not provide any soundtrack at all:

Toys 9/10

The Grand Cherokee offers a bevy of toys for 2014, starting with the 8.4 inch head unit and a 7 inc h screen in the dash. From there you can adjust your heated / vented seats or heated steering wheel, the audio, access navigation and interact with your phone. The bluetooth support offered by UConnect worked seamlessly with my Droid DNA and my wife's Galaxy S3- connecting and letting us make / recieve calls, listen to and respond to text messages with voice recognition, etc.

Sadly Jeep has partnered with Sprint to provide only 3G access to the truck, meaning apps take longer than they need to in order to download, and out here in the sticks of SD we get more 1x data for the truck than 3g. Verizon would have been much preferred in this part of the world.

Uconect does enable my favorite part of the Jeep though: you can load an app (or use a web browser) and start, lock/unlock or panic your car from anywhere in the world that the car has data reception. Combined with the standard remote start, this means you don't have to wander over to the lobby of your office building to start your car on a cold or hot day, just click on your phone and off it goes!

Value 9/10

Value is always tough for me, but we cross shopped a lot of vehicles. The Durango, it's stable mate and most obvious competition did not have a diesel option box and rode very harsh (R/T indeed!) even in the citadel model we drove. Comparing it across brand lines to the likes of an X5, ML350 or Toureg diesel meant significant dollars to have all the toys. If you're looking for a nice diesel with a few toys, this is the cheapest way to do so.

Total: 75/100

Engine: 3.0 Liter Turbocharged V6 diesel
Power: 240 HP at 3,600 RPM/ 420 LB-FT at 2,000 RPM
Transmission: Eight Speed Automatic
0-60 Time: 8.0 seconds
Top Speed: 120mph (limited)
Drivetrain: Full time 4WD with 2 speed transfer case and locking differentials
Curb Weight: 5275LBS
Seating: 5 people
MPG: 21 city/ 28 highway / 24 combined

MSRP: $49,800 as tested

HammerheadFistpunch > getFuckedHerb 06/16/2014 at 13:49

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hey, don't laugh at 8.0 seconds to 60, that's pretty damn great for 5300 lbs. Not to mention if wont be much slower at 8000 feet than it is at sea level. I would kill for 8.0 seconds to 60, I think im doing 11's these days.

dinobot666 > getFuckedHerb 06/16/2014 at 13:53

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Acceleration on the diesel Grand Cherokee is a bit tepid, mostly due to the gearing being tuned for fuel economy, not acceleration or towing.

It needs 4:11s, like any Jeep should have.

getFuckedHerb > HammerheadFistpunch 06/16/2014 at 13:53

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8.0 Is surprisingly quick feeling when in the truck.

HammerheadFistpunch > getFuckedHerb 06/16/2014 at 13:56

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would have loved to have that engine this weekend. I was on the road with a combined 9000 lbs of truck and trailer going over 8000 foot passes with 212 naturally aspirated HP and 275 ft-lbs.

getFuckedHerb > dinobot666 06/16/2014 at 14:04

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With transmission in sport mode it certainly helps. Turbo lag really kills the speed feeling.

conflictedracer1 > getFuckedHerb 06/18/2014 at 08:29

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This is of help about the WK2 Ecodiesel: http://conflictedracer.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/201…

You can improve 0-60 times if you shut off Eco mode. My best MPG to date is 34.4 mpg doing 60 mph. Also got 16.4 mpg towing a 7k lb enclosed trailer through the Poconos.