"RacinBob" (racinbob)
11/08/2016 at 19:26 • Filed to: None
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"RacinBob" (racinbob)
11/08/2016 at 19:26 • Filed to: None | 1
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I just drove a near base FWD Cherokee and was left mostly impressed. That was not what I was not expecting by a 4 year ownership of a ‘84 Dodge Omni GLH decades ago.....
I thought the fit and finish was good, rattle free and some nice details such as stitching on the dash. It seemed comparable to my wife’s ‘16 Civic which is a good thing.
The engine sound is ok. smooth and quiet down low 1500 to 2000 rpm, which is where the transmission wants the engine to live at. But, give it the boot, and there is a lot of noise but not much grunt. It’s a reminder that the 2.4 liters is pulling 3500 pounds around.
The MultiAir engine is unlike any other in that there is no throttle, it’s magic with cams. Neat stuff but would I trust it to last 100,000 miles. Time will tell. This is worth a watch.
The 9 speed transmission is interesting. I found the more gentle I was with throttle, the better things played together. Granted this is a 2.4 but if you push hard, it drops like 4 gears and all the sudden you have redline noise without a lot more grunt. One other thing was at cruise control at 45 mph, it seems to do some searching for the right gear, so I wonder whether a 9 spd is better than a CVT. This is one area where I think the Civic CVT works better.
All in all, the Cherokee was smooth, quiet, had good stereo and excellent backup camera. It delivered 25 mpg at 50/50 city/hwy. It consistently over 30 mpg at 70 mph. Given it’s on rental lots, I suspect Jeep is interested in dealing. It’s worth a look.
BloodlessWeevil
> RacinBob
11/08/2016 at 20:26 |
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“...there is no throttle”
That’s a nice theory. It’s not true, but it’s nice to think about. I guess.
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RacinBob
> BloodlessWeevil
11/09/2016 at 13:35 |
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No seriously, there is no throttle plate - Watch the video.
Per Wiki - FCA , at the time Fiat S.p.A. , launched Multiair in 2009 employing a proprietary electro-hydraulic system to precisely control air intake without a throttle valve , [4] in order to increase engine power and torque, reduce fuel consumption, reduce emissions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MultiAir
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BloodlessWeevil
> RacinBob
11/09/2016 at 20:10 |
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Yeah, I’m not sure why they said that. It is entirely theoretical with regard to the multiair system. It does not have enough range to restrict flow enough to throttle the engine properly. Both the 1.4L and 2.4L multiair engines have throttles just like a conventional engine. Here is a diagram for the throttle of a “2016 Jeep Cherokee Latitude FWD, 2.4L I4 MultiAir”:
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RacinBob
> BloodlessWeevil
11/10/2016 at 18:57 |
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What the heck. I learned something! You know I was wondering why people were not making a bigger deal out of it because you are right, going from idle to full throttle is pretty amazing if it is done with valves alone. That would have to be pretty fine control.