What is the Grand Cherokee ?

"Matthew Phillips" (flatsidewaysfl)
08/11/2016 at 13:00 • Filed to: None

An American revolution at work, let me explain. The Grand Cherokee since it’s introduction in 1993 has been the blue collar bitch slap to the Land/Range Rover. It took awhile to get to that point but since the second generation and fourth generations great strides were made in terms of engineering and design to be what I consider the Alexander Harrison to “insert English equivalent”.

Look at the Wj. Ok, I’m going to need you to look past the fact that it has the Mopar family look of the late 90's to 2005. Look underneath the skin and you’ll find some very German influence. One thing that made the Wj interesting is the fact that it is not body on frame nor is it unibody. It’s both. Porsche ran their dominatrix magic over Jeep’s chassis and together they made it stiffer and resilient. Other notable things that made this a premium alternative for the time was the convoluted six-speed auto that was really a four-speed that was really a five speed. and it’s fancy schmancy Quadra-drive Four wheel drive system.

“Ok that’s cool and all, but it looks like a Grand Caravan in a suit and they suck in long-term reliability.”

I’m not going to deny any of that because I own a WJ. but it was revolutionary for the turn of the century. Engineering that was born here has been mastered in today’s cars and a clean one still looks pretty good.

“how is this a bitch slap to Land Rover again ?”

Gosh, I’m getting there !

“ Which one ?”

Sigh... ok. Let’s use the Range Rover Sport vs the current Grand Cherokee.

Both are sort of aimed at the same customer. If you start at a higher level Grand Cherokee you’re sitting at a similar amount of toys and all-weather capability and both are very strong representations of their origin states.

Styling wise the Jeep is less refined but still handsome and distinguished. They both also offer competent performance models . Jeep Grand Cherokee for me has always been a very modest alternative to American luxury, just like the Range Rover. Unlike the Escalade or Navigator, it doesn’t rely on the overuse of chrome and historic family names to stay among the elite. Grand Cherokee is the definition of simple refinement. Everything the Range Rover Sport is. Sporty looks refined interior and features a rich story of all-terrain capability The Jeep has been doing for twice as long.

Realistically though is anyone really going to cross shop a Range Rover anything with a Grand Cherokee ? Unlikely. I’m especially curious to see what the upcoming Grand Wagoneer will do to the marketing of the Grand Cherokee. Will it be marketed as the Range Rover sport of the lineup or the Discovery ?

DISCUSSION (6)

E92M3 > Matthew Phillips
08/11/2016 at 13:07

They are both equal in terms of reliability. The GC wins with a lower hourly labor rate compared to the Land Rover.

Ash78, voting early and often > Matthew Phillips
08/11/2016 at 13:12

I like the GC, love its Durango sister, but in both cases I feel like there's an element of "Unibody Sellout" going on. They could have done this years ago, but there was a general belief that they had to be BOF, solid rear axle beasts. I'm not sure if it was the customers or the companies driving this (both!). Either way, as a predominantly car-oriented guy, I like the results all around.

Chasaboo > Matthew Phillips
08/11/2016 at 13:18

Well, never forget.

I made a mistake and bought a Jeep.

Dru > Matthew Phillips
08/11/2016 at 13:46

Hm. I have a WJ and I thought it was strictly unibody.

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > Matthew Phillips
08/11/2016 at 14:43

Man, I don’t know where you’re coming from on this German WJ business. A WJ is pretty much a curvaceous ZJ, and the ZJ was one of the last things AMC designed. And both are quite unibody, too. Sure, they have frame rails, but it’s unibody frame rails.

Matthew Phillips > Ash78, voting early and often
08/12/2016 at 00:22

I do too, that's why I felt compelled to write this thing lol.