Test drive Jeep Grand Cherokee 2003 - 2005 SUV

The burden of the leader

Among the mother -in -law of the serpentine, a straight area finally arose, and despite the continuous markup, I decided to overtake the pretty boring freight scooter. Ashamed? To be honest, I thought about this in the next instant when I saw a traffic police car ahead
Probably even blushed, but the Italian in blue with red stripes, looking at me fluently, continued to deal with some motorcyclist. Or maybe the overtaking of such a goose is within the framework of the rules?
The main provocateur, who pushed me into a petty (I calm myself) violation, the new jeep of Cheroki with a 3-liter turbodiesel (in Russia from 50,900 euros). The duet, I must say, is impressive. The Mercedes motor of the new generation with an aluminum block and cast -iron sleeves develops 218 liters. With. But the torque of 510 N.Ms is even more about him today, this is the best indicator in the class.

How to imagine you?
Datinging journalists with a novelty, Craig Love, responsible for the direction of all-wheel drive cars of the company, without hesitation, compared the jeep with Tuareg and BMV-X5. At the same time, of course, the legendary cross -country ability of the Cheroka tribe was emphasized. The new car has never been compared with serious SUVs ... But it was in this class that the leader’s name became a household name.
The general English name for all -wheel drives Sport Utility Vehicle is translated as a car for outdoor activities. This should be a quick ride, give pleasure to the driver, offer convenient options for transforming the salon, and remain comfortable on the long journey. All this and much more the creators of the new machine consider it its advantages. Maybe that's why they started with a story about magnificent asphalt properties?
Just do not think that the car has lost skills in the directions of such arsenal for increasing patency, like Grand Cheroki, few boasts. It is equipped with one of the two full -wheel drive systems ATRO CONDITION II (Quadra Trac II) or ATV DRIVE II (Quadra Drive II). The latter includes an electronically controlled handout (reducing gear 2.72), three high-friction differentials (interdosseous and two inter-crossbreeds) and is able to additionally block any wheel using standard brake mechanisms. And this is SUV?

Raise sails!
How do you prefer to drive long distances with climate control or just with an open hatch; Do you like to choose programs yourself or trust the machine? And what better like the shutdown of half the cylinders of a 5.7 liter gasoline engine or an adjustable diesel turbocharger?
The leg shamelessly tramples the right pedal, and diesel Cheroki with the stubbornness of the take -off Boeing dissects the air. Knowing the nature of modern diesel engines, I expect that the motor is about to shut up, but he surprisingly continues to pull the car over the horizon for a long time. No, I don’t need 200 km/h now ... Of course, the gasoline engine (also updated) with a volume of 5.7 liters shoots even better, but does it somehow harshly. Perhaps, the gearbox designated specially for it helps diesel, but the gasoline eight of Hemi responds with intense acceleration in the first third of the accelerator.
The suspension of the new Grand Cheroki holds the road better than that of the predecessor, which is not surprising. In front, it is now independent, on a-shaped levers, a couple of rods were added to the bridge from behind, and shock absorbers put only gas-filled.
The designers worked for a long time on aerodynamics, and this had its fruits. The resistance coefficient is reduced to CC \u003d 0.41 (for an all -resistant car very good). The cabin is quite quiet, so the Boston Acastic with a total capacity of 276 W is evaluated by the standard equipment of the CD-changer and audio system.

The reasons in the mud
A huge puddle in front reminded of the house. In Italy, this dirt had to be created artificially to build a dam. However, what's the matter before? Turn on the low gear and forward.
In addition to a free differential, which distributes the moment on the front and rear wheels in a ratio of 48/52, there is a friction coupling under the control of electronics, which can partially or completely block it. When the driver requires a reduced transmission, the lock mode becomes the main one and the electronics cares about the timely unlocking of the differential if the machine gets on the asphalt.
Slowly dip the front bumper into a puddle, move some stones under water and soon crawl out to the opposite shore. The bottom turned out to be solid how they want to surprise us? But the off -road plot, as it turned out, did not end there, finally reached the cracked rut. Xrrrr, a boom car will fierce the bottom and knocks on something.
The deep rut again brought into a dirty puddle, but then ... continuing to scrape with her belly, the Grand of Cheroka intended to go to the hill, try! Meter, two, three ... At some point, I thought with gloating: that's all, then the road is not for SUV. But, as if hearing a mockery, the jeep grunted the transmission and, as if nothing had happened, crawled forward. Yes, blocking all differentials is a serious thing!
At heart, you regret that classic off -road solutions give way to electronics, but must admit: the current Cheroki can rightfully call yourself legendary. Even though he does not have a front dependent suspension, a powerful frame and two extra levers sticking out of the floor.

On the 3.0 CRD diesel (with the power system of the Common Rail), a turbine with an adjustable input guide device is installed. Before you get on the working wheel, the exhaust gases pass by the rotary blades, and they reject them. This allows you to maintain the optimal angle of gases entering the turbine at different speeds. The boost unit has high efficiency in different modes, and the engine has a better characteristic.
 

 

 

Alexander Budkin
Photo by the author
 

Source: The magazine "Driving"