RoadTest: Jeep Grand Cherokee We always thought that Jeep Grand Cherokee was a powerful sounding name, picturing images of some noble-feathered Indian chief looking across the plains.
But maybe that's not what we should be thinking: the advertising for the latest manifestation of the luxury American SUV proclaims that "the jungle has a new king".
It's a reference presumably to the well-populated SUV jungle where the predators for well-heeled customers also include the Range Rover, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Lexus RX, Porsche Cayenne and Volvo XC90.
The new series Grand Cherokee has just gone on Irish sale and we were driving it with a totally new Mercedes-sourced 3.0 litre 215 bhp diesel engine that is replacing the ageing 2.7 CRD.
It comes with a price tag of €65,000 (actually €64,999 but who's quibbling over a euro?) and significantly for the same money you can buy the bigger-engined 4.7 litre V8 petrol version with 228bhp.
Hardly surprisingly the 3.0 CRD will account for the bulk of Irish sales. For the record, there's also a monster called the SRT8, a 6.1 litre petrol version of Chrysler's fiery HemiV8 that pushes out 420bhp. It gets you from standstill to 100km/h in under five seconds and it will be in Europe later this year.
But for now, the concentration is on the 3.0 litre CRD, a luxury wagon that has to be the most faraway cry from the original Jeep of 60-plus years ago. Chrysler says that Jeep engineers have completely redesigned and re-engineered the vehicle, giving it "a new level of ingenuity".
Translated, that seems to be a longer wheelbase, wider track and stiffened construction along with a new suspension system, independent at the front and five links at the rear. It's all in the interests of better on-road performance and behaviour, an admission really that this Jeep will not be accessing dirty inaccessible places off road, unlike its humble though illustrious predecessor.
We took off west in the Grand Cherokee, to the far country of North Leitrim where vehicles of this ilk, like people, are thin on the ground. We didn't indulge in really dirty work but on the boggy and mountainous roads that stretch from Manorhamilton to the Atlantic coast, there were plenty of testing occasions for on-road competence.
The Grand Cherokee's bulk and weight were reassuring and it showed stable form through bends and corners. That said, for all its hefty power credentials, like a top speed of 200km/h, you quickly realise that it doesn't have the nimble agility of say, a GTi, or even a conventional passenger saloon.
Big luxury SUVs have a simple endearing feature for us - and a lot of drivers - which is riding high and tall with a commanding view of just what's ahead. This Jeep takes its command role seriously and it offers a splendid vista of town and country, especially for the driver and front passenger.
The interior is, of course, spacious although our six-foot-something front passenger did admit that he had head contact with the roof. As for the cabin, it's modestly opulent in appearance: items like leather trim mark it out over the everyday SUV species.
Getting comfortable wasn't a problem with electric seat adjustment. Other cosseting features that are standard include heated front seats, dual zone climate control, cruise control and a trip computer that tells you whether you are heading north or south, as well as fuel consumption.
Stowage for odds and ends is good, what with an overhead console, map pockets in all the door panels and four of the ubiquitous cup holders.
For the bigger bric-a-brac, the boot offers a reasonably generous 978 litres and this can be extended to 1,909 litres by folding the rear seats. We were surprised that the boot floor was quite high, requiring more muscle power for loading heavier items.
Back to the driving. The Grand Cherokee is well served by its new power train and it's for us probably the vehicle's most outstanding feature. Even on start-up, there's virtually no diesel clatter, just a muffled well-bred sort of burble. On the open road it becomes totally indistinguishable from petrol power and at the 120km/h motorway limit, this big American is happy, contented and smooth in its consumption of the kilometres. What a pity that the big American cousins aren't able to savour its diesel technology, although the word from the Detroit auto show is that that situation may change.
The luxury tag of the Grand Cherokee is emphasised too by the five-speed automatic gearbox that still manages to exploit the diesel unit's torquey nature. Then there's the off-road credentials presented as Quadra-Drive II and described as "a state-of-the-art active full-time four-wheel-drive system".
Front and rear electronic limited slip differentials continually transfer torque across the axles and have the ability to transmit power to the wheel with the most traction. We all know that it's a system that will be rarely put to the test. Grand Cherokees are posh and not likely to be doing dirty work. Still, it's the fact that they can fight their way through the snow or the ice or the mud that makes their ownership that bit more desirable. A winter storm would provide the rare opportunity to show off!
As for fuel consumption, our trip to North Leitrim gave us a return of just over 10 litres per 100 kilometres. That just happens to be the official combined figure, the others being 8.6 and 13.1 L/100km for the extra urban cycles.
Big luxury SUVs like the Grand Cherokee proliferate these days in urban environments, and no doubt they make an impressive statement of affluence. But there are drawbacks, notably in parking.
Positioning the vehicle in most high-rise car parks can be difficult, particularly as there's a limited steering lock. We occupied a high-rise space with great difficulty: the problem was we were sandwiched between two other monsters, a Range Rover and a Mitsubishi Pajero.
As we mentioned, the sheer size and bulk of the Grand Cherokee (and its competitors) must seem reassuringly safe.
With a four-wheel anti-lock braking system, ESP, four airbags and an advanced four-wheel-drive system that will keep the vehicle under control even if only one wheel is in contact with the ground, it should be a safe place to inhabit. Grand Cherokee is now into its fourth generation and the Irish importers here, CJ Ireland Concessionaires, expect that around 200 will be sold this year.
At €65,000, it would appear to have a price advantage over most of the other prestige competitors. It is similarly priced with two of these: the Volvo VC90 and the Lexus RX.
Grand Cherokee would lure us to the mountains of North America or even the badlands and boreens of North Leitrim. It's a fine, handsome, well-built package that drives with style and cries out to be tested in its natural habitat, far from city streets and maddening crowds. Those streets, sadly, are where we are most likely to see it.