Jeep has continued to amaze its followers with newer and newer changes in the model line. In all honesty I don’t know what to think about the latest Grand Cherokee styling. The first generation was ground breaking for its time, though I really did not like the spare tire eating up the space in the cargo section. The second generation Grand is steal appealing to me the most, for the looks, and you can find one now days for fairly cheap. The third Cherokee with its rather angular lines, did not win my heart, but was still rather acceptable, and now the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee leaves me with amazement.
Let’s put it plain and simple, it doesn’t resemble the heritage of the Cherokee or Wagoner, it looks as if it had been drawn from a scratch. The rear view can be mistaken for a BMW X5 and the overall silhouette looks very much like an Audi Q7. It is quite obvious that jeep wants to build a gap between its trusted off-roaders like the Wrangler and the luxury class Commander and the new Grand Cherokee, while still having small size SUV’s like compass or Cherokee. And now with upcoming introduction of the supercharged Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 it becomes obvious that Jeep want to rival the entire Range Rover Sport family.
An in deed it perfectly fits the new era of high performance SUVs for Jeep, with its 465 hp and 465 lb-ft. of torque. In deed the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is clearly the most powerful Jeep ever made. Jeep claims that it will be capable of going to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds with the top speed limited to 155 mph.
The power train that produces all this is an all-new 6.4-liter HEMI V8, further development of the 6.1-liter. Jeep claims that its engineers put a lot of effort making 90% of the engine’s peak torque enclosed between 2,800 and 6,000 rpm.
Jeep is concerned about the fuel consumption, so a valve exhaust system cuts out four cylinders, which helps increase fuel economy by 13% on the highway. It also comes equipped with a large gas tank, and the SRT8 should be able to cover a 450 mile range.
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