SRT8 Jeep, short take

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Well i went to the mitsubishi car show on saturday for a few hours, met a few other evo owners. Pretty small and not many cars. Still met some nice people and it was interesting and nice to talk to a few other owners. Anyway me and a few other guys were sitting there talking with the salesman i bought my car from and he mentioned they had a few SRT cars(used) in the back of the building. I mentioned that i would like to drive the 300C SRT8, the other guys thought the Jeep sounded neat. So we sat there and chatted for awhile longer(the salesman left and came back a few times). Just before we all decided to leave he asked us where we are going, then said that he gassed up and brought the jeep around for us. We turn and look where he was pointing and about 30 feet away was a  black SRT8 jeep. So the 3 of us pile in(the salesman didn't go), and went out for a spin. I didn't drive at first, the other guy driving kicked it down at about 40 a few times and was unimpressed. I mentioned that the real beauty of this vehicle is the standing start. He came to a complete stop and floored it, first gear is strong and the thing pulls very well. After about a dozen 0 to 70 runs i got behind the wheel. I spent more of my time trying to get it to drift under hard cornering/acceleration than messing with the standing start. Overall it was pretty fun.

Highs: looks(for an SUV), seats, power, power, full time awd, power
Lows: body roll(though it is an suv), tranny was rather fishy at just 13K

I'd certainly drive this, and i'm not an suv person. Overall a nice vehicle, expensive when new but a great used vehicle bargain(had a mid 30's price on the window).

[ifcar]

"tranny was rather fishy at just 13K"

You sound surprised?

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Not really, in the short test drive there were plenty of chysler tranny jokes flying around.

One guy mentioned that they must have beefed up the tranny for all that power, there was a moment of silence, then a crack about how its the same one from behind a 200hp V-6 300

Halfway through i started to wonder if he gave us this thing nowing  the tranny was bad, that way they could blame us for breaking it.

There is a reason the lifetime powertrain warranty doesn't cover the srt models.

[SVT666]

How can a guy be unimpressed?  It's the world's fastest production SUV.

[S204STi]

FlatBlack,

I love going to "meets," it's nice to get to know other people in the area that share your enthusiasm about your car. 

The SRT8 Grand Cherokee is badass...I wouldn't buy one because sports SUVs don't make a ton of sense to me, but I'd love to drive one sometime anyway.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

How can a guy be unimpressed?? It's the world's fastest production SUV.

Is it faster than a turbo porsche suv?

Just asking because i'm not sure.

Sadly, it didn't feel that fast, but thats mostly due to weight. Considering my Z feels slow from time to time my butt dyno is getting used to speed.

They could have taken some of the body roll out of it, and put the grab handles in a better position(they were on the a pillar, useless for cornering).

[TheIntrepid]

Is it faster than a turbo porsche suv?

Just asking because i'm not sure.

Sadly, it didn't feel that fast, but thats mostly due to weight. Considering my Z feels slow from time to time my butt dyno is getting used to speed.

They could have taken some of the body roll out of it, and put the grab handles in a better position(they were on the a pillar, useless for cornering).

I was pretty sure it's faster than the Cayenne Turbo, but Im' not sure about the new 520hp Turbo S.

[SVT666]

Up until the new model of Cayenne Turbo S, the SRT8 was the fastest by 0.4 seconds over the previous Cayenne Turbo.  Keep in mind the Porsche has 100 more horsepower:

0-60mph
2008 Cayenne Turbo S (520 hp) - 4.8 seconds

2007 GC SRT8 (420 hp) - 4.8 seconds

[S204STi]

Up until the new model of Cayenne Turbo S, the SRT8 was the fastest by 0.4 seconds over the previous Cayenne Turbo.? Keep in mind the Porsche has 100 more horsepower:

0-60mph
2008 Cayenne Turbo S (520 hp) - 4.8 seconds

2007 GC SRT8 (420 hp) - 4.8 seconds

[FlatBlackCaddy]

They also have a black/really dark gunmetal SRT 300C, he told me to stop by sometime and i can take it for a spin.