2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[BMWDave]

Article

2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee
At Least It?s Got a Hemi: Grand cherokee working to stay on top
AUTOWEEK
Published Date: 7/18/05
LIKES
Handsome design
Smooth ride
Great power
DISLIKES
Hard plastic interior
Poor gas mileage
Smaller cargo space
OTHERS CONSIDERED
Ford Explorer
Dodge Magnum
Hyundai Tucson

When Chrysler Corp. rolled out its first Jeep Grand Cherokee in 1992, the vehicle defined the state-of-the-SUV market with its rugged off-road looks and comfy interior accommodations. Fast forward to today and just about the entire segment has left the venerable Jeep in its dust cloud.

This third-generation model  should help remedy the situation for the big Jeep.

The Grand Cherokee is longer and wider than the previous model, giving the vehicle more interior space, though cargo capacity, curiously, has shrunk by one cubic-foot. The environment underhood changes, too, with the addition of the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 to the powertrain options.

The Grand Cherokee has undergone an attractive make-over inside, with a handsome dash design, smart layout and sharp color combinations. However, many of the materials feel cheap. And most on staff are turned off by the too-hard front seats.

Practically speaking, the rear seating in the Grand Cherokee is seriously limited as well. There is not much in the way of kneeroom or thigh support back there, and even if headroom is adequate, the seats don?t recline.

The Grand Cherokee rides smoothly, with good road isolation even over very rough pavement. The tires grumble a bit, due in large part to their knobby construction, a nod to the vehicle?s off-road intentions. But there is almost no trace of freeway hop except for some mild thumping on the worst sections.

In straight-line track tests, the Hemi-powered Grand Cherokee easily handles most comers, turning in a best 0-to-60-mph time of 6.67 seconds. That outdoes other V8-powered midsize SUVs like the 4.6-liter, 302-hp Lincoln Aviator (8.06 seconds), as well as the Dodge Durango (7.99 seconds), a fellow Hemi-powered ute. The differential gets even larger in the quarter-mile, with the Grand Cherokee?s 15.1-second, 90.8-mph time trumping the Aviator?s 16.14-second run at 87.7 mph and the Durango?s 16.01-second best at 85.4 mph.


The competition, however, catches up with the Grand Cherokee once a few turns of the wheel are thrown in. The Jeep exhibits a mild amount of understeer with the traction control off, but it lets you play with the throttle to maintain the line. Both the 4818-pound Aviator and the 5079-pound Durango manage to run through the slalom at an average speed of 39.4 mph, where the much lighter, at 4657 pounds, but more off-road-tuned Grand Cherokee can only muster 39.1 mph.

The Jeep behaved well on the skidpad, though the inside front tire tends to get pretty light. It?s not extreme, but at 0.75 g it felt like it didn?t have much grip left. Even so, the Lincoln could only pull 0.74 g, the Durango 0.68 g.

Perhaps most important to the average Grand Cherokee driver is the vehicle?s passing ability. It takes just 2.2 seconds for the Jeep to run from 20 to 40 mph, 3.7 seconds from 40 to 60, and 4.7 seconds from there to 80 mph. The Durango requires 2.6, 4.4 and 5.6 seconds, respectively, while the Aviator needs 2.8, 4.0 and 5.5 seconds. When merging onto a busy highway or maneuvering around slow-moving semis on a two-lane, that mid-range punch can make a huge difference.

All that performance, however, carries a penalty at the pump. Even with its Multi-Displacement System, which shuts off four of the cylinders during low-load cruising situations, the Grand Cherokee only realized 13.86 mpg during its stead with us. Even the big Durango managed 14.35 mpg, while the Aviator turned in 15.36 mpg.

The Grand Cherokee also manages to thump its rivals in the stopping department, eating up just 134 feet braking from 60 mph to a standstill. The Durango used up 142 feet while the Aviator needed 149 feet. Still, given that vehicles like the Lexus RX 330 stopped in 132 feet, the Chrysler Pacifica in 130 and the Nissan Murano in 127, the Grand Cherokee?s braking performance isn?t exactly stellar, but it does place it in the upper half of SUVs we?ve tested.


Owners found little to complain about beyond the cheap-feeling plastics, limited cargo space and poor gas mileage. Most are overwhelmingly happy with the vehicle?s design, inside and out, and chose the Jeep over such competition as the Ford Explorer, Subaru Tribeca, Dodge Magnum and Toyota 4Runner. Sales through the first six months of the year have outpaced last year?s, but we?ll have to wait to see how many more buyers opt for the Jeep over the competition.

[ifcar]

Good to see that I'm not the only person to be thoroughly unimpressed with the new GC.

[R33 GT-R]

They made it longer and wider, guess they want it to blend in with everything else.  I had one back in the day and it was pretty nimble and had ample power now they just want to produce another boat.

[TBR]

R33, did you have the 5.9 or 5.2? Just curious.  

[Raghavan]

The new GC is a flop.

[R33 GT-R]

R33, did you have the 5.9 or 5.2? Just curious.

5.9 and it was a great truck, I enjoyed the exhauste note immensely.  The wife didn't like me getting it all muddy but hey, good power and clay as slick as owl shit was too tempting.  Mine was pewter and I always thought it was a fine looking vehicle.

[TBR]

R33, did you have the 5.9 or 5.2? Just curious.

5.9 and it was a great truck, I enjoyed the exhauste note immensely.  The wife didn't like me getting it all muddy but hey, good power and clay as slick as owl shit was too tempting.  Mine was pewter and I always thought it was a fine looking vehicle.

Very nice, that was definitely the Cayenne Turbo of its day.  

[R33 GT-R]

Pic TBR

[R33 GT-R]

R33, did you have the 5.9 or 5.2? Just curious.

5.9 and it was a great truck, I enjoyed the exhauste note immensely.  The wife didn't like me getting it all muddy but hey, good power and clay as slick as owl shit was too tempting.  Mine was pewter and I always thought it was a fine looking vehicle.

Very nice, that was definitely the Cayenne Turbo of its day.

The thing really did growl when you abused it, we never had a problem out of it.

[Tom]

Jeep is distancing from it's roots.

[R33 GT-R]

Yep, the larger dimensions are a complete sellout for them.

[280Z Turbo]

So is ditching the awesome AMC 4.0L. I realize it's time has come, but a V6 is just not very Jeep-like.

[Raghavan]

the new GC has horrible ground clearance.

[thewizard16]

I haven't seen much to be impressed about with the Grand Cherokee. I think the straight line performance is excellent for an SUV, but it doesn't seem to be that great at anything else. And it's ugly, on top of that. For what that kind of SUV is intended to be, I think I'd rather have a 4Runner or a Pathfinder.