Topping off the Jeep range is the ornery,
hairy-chested Grand Cherokee SRT (formerly SRT8) packing a 6.4-litre Hemi.
Yeehaw. Costing what seems a not unreasonable $109,990, given the cost of high
performance Euro rivals, it is packed to the gills with luxury, safety and
performance gear. However the one aspect we were most interested to check out
was the influence of the new eight-speed auto, replacing the old five-stage
'box of yore.
The new GC SRT is still a weighty behemoth,
all that American muscle weighing some 2,443kg, but there's an extra 20kW of
power, with the peak set at 344kW. Torque is unchanged at 624Nm. These are large
numbers, but then it's a large vehicle.
The
Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT is the fastest and most powerful Jeep has ever
produced
Naturally, being winter, the roads were wet
come time for performance testing. However, that's not so much of an issue with
AWD. Jeep really wants you to get the best out of the SRT and so there are
Sport and Track modes in the Selec-Trac system, optimising grip and ESP
settings, and also launch control. With everything sorted for a maximum
getaway, the very first wet run ended up with a 5.2sec run, half a second
better than before. What a tranny! Shifts are almost twin-clutch quick, rifling
through the box with a barely perceptible interruption in power. That an
atmo-powered vehicle this heavy can be this quick boggles the mind. But then it
does bring quite a bit of mechanical grunt to the table. Rev it at idle and the
whole vehicle rocks. It's a good party trick.
The
cabin has a 'race-inspired' feel; leather and aluminium abound
We tried a repeat in the dry and guess
what? No quicker whatsoever. It's every bit as fast on the 80-120 overtake too,
with a best of 3.1sec. Last time it barely cracked 4.0sec so this is a quite
stupendous improvement, most of it due to the new auto. Wet stops from 100
aren't worth reporting but in the dry we failed to match Jeep's claim of a 35m
stop from 100km/h. The huge red calipers promise much, as they're Brembos with
six pistons up front, four down back, all bearing down on ventilated discs. But
there's lots of weight and momentum to arrest. Perhaps 35m is possible on
better road surfaces. Whatever, sensitivity at the pedal is impressive, and
even modest pedal pressure brings the beast to heel.
Seats
are part-leather, part-suede and very supportive during press-on driving
What's right impressive about all this
performance is the noise that accompanies it; even at round town revs circa the
2,000rpm mark, there's a resonance that sets your neck hairs on edge. And
unlike some atmo V8s this packs quite a reasonable wallop down low. The GC will
handle town speeds in seventh gear, burbling away merrily below 2,000rpm. The
engine features Fuel Saver Technology which turns the V8 into a V4 when torque
demands are modest. We regularly saw fuel use just under 20L/100km when giving
it the industrial-sized, metal-plated jandal but that's no different to what
some of the 'downsized' turbo V8 SUVs manage in similar circumstances, and a
figure of around 12 is possible using active cruise control. Mention of active
cruise, it incorporates a collision avoidance system, giving an audible warning
if closing distances are falling too quickly and a crash seems imminent.
The
heart of the Grand Cherokee SRT – the 6.4-litre Hemi powerplant
Need big in your vehicle? The cabin and
luggage space mimic engine size. Activate the powered fifth door and there's
782L of cargo space on offer. With rear seats folded dead flat- the squab ducks
down as the seat back rolls over- there's 1,554L at your disposal. And for
towing, it's up there, though the sporty suspension settings limit the SRT's
maximum to 2,950kg, 550kg less than the regular 5.7-litre GC. The interior of
the SRT8 is something else. Ok, so it retains the nasty foot-operated parking
brake, but the rest is genuinely interesting, aesthetically pleasing- plenty of
carbon and alloy trim - and features quality components. The cloth- and
leather-trimmed powered, vented and heated seats look and feel great, with an
excellent range of adjustability. The new multifunction wheel is easy to sort
(and warmed for your winter comfort) while settings for most everything are
dealt to by the 8.4-inch UConnect central touch screen. Familiarisation does
take a little time.
The
rear end features a dual exhaust set-up and a diffuser
The features list is lengthy, and includes
items like power wheel adjust, comfort entry and pushbutton start, full sonar
and reversing camera, rear cross-path detection when reversing, heated rear
seats, and adaptive bi-xenon headlamps with DRLs. You name it. And for on-road
security there's a variable torque split for the permanent AWD system and an
electronic rear LSD, while comfort is enhanced with adaptive damping. Finally,
we like the special styling features of the SRT8, like the scalloped heat
extractors on the hood and the stunning 20-inch sparkly alloys.
The SRT8 used to be a big bruiser, and it
still is, but you get the impression the former lunk has gone to college and
come out more sophisticated and much better for it. Considering you'd pay at
least half as much again for something as quick and well equipped from the EU,
the new SRI represents something of a large luxury SUV bargain.
