Test drive Jeep Grand Cherokee 2003 - 2005 SUV

Real jeep

Competitions are aggravated in the market of medium-sized luxury inventory. In Russia, the third -generation Jeep Grand Grand Cherokee has begun. The minimum cost of the new item is 50,900 euros.

The first generation Grand was resembled a sort of village Vanka, who does not understand art, but if anything can be cut. It is easy to guess why the SUV was so popular with short -haired guys.

Today other properties come to the fore. For the buyer, not brutality has become more important, but security, efficiency and comfort.

The new Jeep looks modern, but not revolutionary. In the stream, only the owners of the SUVs of competing companies pay attention to him. For the main part of our fellow citizens, Grand seems to be another big jeep. This is understandable, because America remains the main market, where buyers are conservatively related to design. The manufacturer, for sure, wanted to make the appearance of the SUV more dynamic and aggressive. To do this, they raised the window line, and the area of \u200b\u200bglazing, on the contrary, was reduced. It turned out a kind of pretty armored car. It remains to paint in protective color, hang a machine gun and go to war. In other words, one hundred percent male car. At the request of the workers, the proprietary features of Jeep are preserved: a grille of a radiator with seven grooves and round headlights.

As usual, the body has increased in size compared to its predecessor. The new Grand is 145 mm longer and 89 wider. The track has become more than 64 mm. At the same time, the hardness of the twisting body increased by 60%. All this, according to the developers, was supposed to increase the interior and improve handling.

Yes, inside Cherokee, without a doubt, it has become more spacious. The ergonomics of the dashboard is well thought out. Climate control handles are easy to control even in pitch darkness. A powerful symmetrical central console with wooden decoration gives solidity. But the indestructible love of Americans for cheap plastic spoils the impression. I do not believe that a person, buying a car for $ 65 thousand, does not pay attention to the quality of materials.

Otherwise, European values \u200b\u200bprevail: the Mercedes lever of a 5-speed gearbox with the possibility of manual switching, a chair with a good body fixation during maneuvers. A driver's seat with servo drives can save several landing settings in his memory, and when leaving for convenience, he drives back. In the Limited Complete, an audio system of Boston Acoustics with an amplifier with a capacity of 276 W and a six-disks CD is installed normally. Later, it will be possible to order a navigation system with a 5.8-inch screen and voice control.

The main weapon in the struggle for buyers is a new family of engines and transmission. Two gasoline and one diesel engine are offered to choose from, which has not yet been supplied to Russia. And it’s a pity, because this is a completely new power unit 3.0 CRD, which replaced the old 2.7 CRD. Thanks to an increased working volume and the new injection system, the motor has become 33% more powerful (218 hp). A torque has grown by 28% (510 nm).

For Russian buyers, the main news is that a huge 5.7-liter Hemi V8 with a capacity of 326 hp is installed on the new Grand Cherokee. (torque 500 nm). This motor has a system of disconnection of part of the cylinder MDS (Multi-Displaceement System). For example, when moving at one speed or slight acceleration, the system selectively turns off four cylinders, which saves up to 20% of the fuel. If you need to accelerate, then for inconspicuous 40 milliseconds MDS will connect all the cylinders, and 326 horses will be at your disposal. In addition to this motor, a well-known 4.7-liter V8 PowerTech with a capacity of 230 hp is proposed.

When you press the Jeep gas, equipped with the most powerful engine, after a short thought rushes forward. If you press the pedal completely, then after 7.4 seconds of the speedometer arrow will cross the mark of 100 km/h. The maximum speed of a two -ton SUV is 208 km/h.

In the city stream, Grand Cherokee is surprisingly vague. High landing allows you to easily predict overtaking, and a huge supply of power adds confidence. True, in traffic jams huge power and a thoughtful automatic machine can create inconvenience for an inexperienced driver.

After checking on the streets tight for a real Indian, we break out of the city. This is where you can evaluate the advantages of suspension and steering. Thanks to the use of a new front suspension on two A-shaped levers of the unequal length of the rolls, they decreased significantly. It is now much easier to pass high -speed turns, and management has become clearer and safer. The new steering gear-rack was replaced by a long-outstanding mechanism of the ball of the ball nut, and the steering wheel became much more acute. To turn the wheels from one extreme position to another, only 2.8 turns are required.

Due to the use of two-layer metal with noise-absorbing elements in the cabin, silence at a speed of 120140 km/h is preserved. The voice of the motor breaks out only with intensive acceleration in kikdown mode. The box goes through the transmission very smoothly, without jerking. But predicting switching is not easy. You go out to overtake, press the pedal into the floor, and nothing happens, the delay for such cases for the first time on Grand Cherokee has the possibility of manual switching. To change the transmission, you must directly from the Drive position with the lever to the right or to the left. Mercedes engineers believe that such a switching scheme is more organic for humans than back and forth.

The brakes of the new Grand Cherokee work perfectly. On the go, the sensation of speed is conceived, and before the turn it often had to be slowed down so sharply that ABS turned on. With emergency braking, the car did not stop obeying the driver, even in the case of various coating under the left and right wheels.

In general, the suspension works well with the irregularities of our roads. But with the passage of bedridden police and large pits in the front suspension, transferred to the steering wheel, do not allow to relax. On the new model, the unsubstantiated masses are reduced by 45.5 kg, but their level is still large. This is a retribution for reliability and cross -country ability.

We are waiting for the Off-Road Polygon specially built for the debutant, which will allow us to experience the latest Quadra-Drive 2. In the previous version, the reducing series of transmission was turned on in a floor lever. Here it is necessary to pull a small chrome lever. After three seconds, servo drives will turn on the reduced one, and the electronics will turn off the anti -wings system.

The QUADRA-DRIVE 2 all-wheel drive system is fully automated and has three electronic-controlled differentials of high friction (Electronic Limited Slip Differentials Elsd). The highlight of the system is that automation instantly redistributes the torque of the engine to wheels that have the best adhesion to the surface. The center differential with a friction coupling can continuously change the degree of blocking from free to completely blocked.

On off -road, you need to handle the gas pedal very carefully. The high torque instantly breaks all four wheels into a slip. With diagonal hanging, the car, raising the front and at the same time the rear wheel, calmly moves forward. The body hardness increased by 60% allows you to freely open the doors, even if the diagonal wheels hang in the air.

Most modern SUVs are designed to be calculated on drivers who do not have special off -road driving skills. The new Grand also completely takes control of the transmission management, which allows you to feel like a conqueror of any obstacles even to a beginner. The only disadvantage is not a very high clearance and lack of air suspension, which is long offered by competitors, for example, in Land Rover models.

Nevertheless, the third -generation Grand Cherokee did not save before serious obstacles. Statistics assure that 98% of SUV owners never move from asphalt. But in our case, the car itself provokes the owner to off-robes. Jeep has been and remains an excellent all -terrain vehicle, which has become much better in terms of comfort and handling. A real Indian is always everywhere ...

Now about prices. The basic Grand Cherokee with a 4.7 engine is offered for 50,900 euros. SUV with an engine 5.7 for 58,300 euros. Dealers believe that thanks to the appearance of a new car, they will be able to return the shocked positions of a real American jeep.

Technical characteristics Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 5.7

The body is bearing
Equipped mass, kg 2209
Full mass, kg 2620
Dimensions, mm:
- length 4750
- Width 1870
- Height 1740
Base, mm 2780
Trunk volume, l 978/1909
Maximum speed, km/h 208
Acceleration time to 100 km/h, from 7.4
Control consumption of fuel, l/100 km:
- City cycle 21.3
- Zagorod 12
- Mixed 15.4
Fuel tank volume, l 77.7
Engine:
- Type V8
- working volume, cm3 5654
- Power, L.S. at MIN-1 326/5000
- torque, NM at min-1 500/4000
Automatic transmission, 5-speed
Tire size 245/65R17
Wheel suspension (front/rear) independent/dependent
Brakes (front and rear) disk
Steering with a hydraulic wrap
Price, euros from 58 300

Text: Sergey Krestov
 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [07/2005]