Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 V8 Hemi Overland

Price as tested: €POA.

In brief: Pointless? No, not quite. If you’ve got the wherewithal, it nicely straddles the gap between practical and sporting SUV.


I can confidently predict that no-one in Ireland is going to buy one of these. Not the new Jeep Grand Cherokee itself. Actually, I’d be very surprised if that’s not going to be at least moderately successful, in 3.0 CRD V6 diesel form. It’s handsome, relatively affordable and will be nigh-on peerless in the rough stuff, so what’s not to love?

No, I mean that this specific version, the 5.7-litre V8 Hemi (and yes, that’s petrol powered before you ask) will sell in single digits, if at all. Quite apart from the obvious Co2-related penalties, there’s the prospect of gargantuan fuel and insurance bills.

So why are we driving it? Well, for the simple reason that it’s there; Jeep offered us the chance, and it would be churlish not to find out what life is like on the other side of the diesel-philic fence.

Besides, there is rather more going on here than you might at first think, and perhaps that glib no-one will buy one assessment might be a touch to fast off the mark.

First off, this is our first chance to drive the new Grand Cherokee on Irish roads. Based on the same chassis as the current Mercedes-Benz M-Class, this is no hulking, gargantuan American behemoth. It’s big, certainly, but no more so than any Euro-friendly SUV, so you can leave your Chelsea tractor inhibitions at the door.

From the front, with the glowering headlights and bulging bodywork, it looks brilliant; menacing and Gotham-esque. Around the back, it’s a little less successful, looking like a cross between an old Grand Cherokee and a Kia Sorento. Never mind.

Inside, there’s a similar mix of styles. The vast sweep of the cliff-faced dash is covered in expensive looking leather and wood that doesn’t look like it’s been injected into a mould. The main dials are crisp and clear and almost everything you touch looks and feels expensive. Almost. It is let down by the garish faux-aluminium centre console, the switches for the HVAC controls and the clunky gearshifter. American cabin tastes still have not caught up with European quality levels, it seems. Still, it all feels pretty well bolted together, the seats are marvelously comfortable and there’s lounging space for a basketball team in the back.

Boot space doesn’t look great when first you see it (the floor is high set thanks to the massive full size spare stashed underneath) but the tape measure says that there’s 782-litres back there, which is pretty massive. 1,554-litres with the rear seats folded though it s a bit of a disappointment. A Ford Mondeo estate offers more room.

Mind you, you’ll need to watch the build quality. A rogue bit of panel fit meant the right rear door would only open a crack. A simple fix, and it was an early-build RHD car, but still, Jeep is going to have to try harder than that to shake off any lingering quality worries.

Now, let’s get to the good bit. The engine. A proper, massive, 5.7-litre God Of Thunder with Hemi heads and... wait, I can’t hear it...

The fact is that while we assume that every American car with a V8 sounds like a NASCAR race under the hood, the fact is that this is just a pretty normal engine option stateside. So instead of gurgling and woofling like a Hollywood sound effect, it is in fact whisper quiet until you give it the absolute beans, and then makes a crisp-edged snarl more akin to a BMW straight-six than a bent-eight slice of Detroit pig iron. This is a properly sophisticated engine, and with 352bhp and 520Nm of torque, it can push this big 2,382kg Jeep from 0-100kmh in a very respectable 8.7secs. Not as fast as the 3.0-litre diesel (8.2secs, amazingly) but still pretty rapid.

And while you might be expecting to need to be followed at all times by a tanker truck, allowing for necessary refueling every eight minutes or so, the Hemi confounds by being relatively frugal. We got an average of 15.8l/100km, or 17mpg. Hardly the stuff of a Prius, it’s true, but that was with a morning’s hard pedaling on backroads and across country. A more economy minded motorway run should see you easily beat Jeep’s claimed 14.1-litres per 100km combined cycle figure. To put that in perspective, my wife’s ancient, creaky Renault Laguna 1.8 estate gets around 21mpg on average...

Co2 emissions? Best not to ask? Well, no actually. 327g/km seems gargantuan, but thanks to the vagaries of the Irish tax system, you’ll pay exactly the same as someone whose car emits as little as 226g/km.

And it drives well too. OK, so it’s big, heavy and the steering is a bit vague, but you can still place the Grand Cherokee with confidence, and that air suspension system (standard on Overland models) soaks up the worst that Irish tarmac can throw at it. It’s a massive improvement on the wobbly, rough-riding live-axled last-gen Grand Cherokee. There’s a touch of float, and a hefty dose of initial body roll, but once that’s passed, the Grand settles down into a nice, comfortable cornering attitude. On motorways, it tracks straight and true and refinement is little short of excellent.

The Quadra-Drive II transmission (I love the way Americans name everything like this) which comes as standard on the Overland (regular Laredo models make do with a mere Quadra-Trac II system) includes a Land Rover-like selection system that can set the car up for Sport, Mud and Snow, Sand and Rock Climb modes. A quick blast on some muddy bits on the Curragh confirmed little more than that you’d have to be trying very hard to get a Grand Cherokee stuck. The air suspension can stretch up to give you more ground clearance and better approach and departure angles when off-roading, and crouches down on the motorway, or when in Sport mode, to improve the aerodynamics. Maximum towing weight, critical when you’re buying a car like this, is 3,500kg.

Does it make any sense? No. But then what car with a luxury cabin and the ability to go hoicking over mountains like a demented Edmund Hillary does? Being as having a large SUV is the height of silliness to begin with, why not go the whole hog and get yourself a Hemi?

Facts & Figures

Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 V8 Hemi Overland
Price as tested: €POA
Range price: TBA
Capacity: 5,654cc
Power: 352bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Top speed: 225kmh
0-100kmh: 8.7sec
Economy: 14.1l-100km (20.0mpg)
CO2 emissions: 327g/km
Road Tax Bad: G €2,400
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested.