Looks like heaven, goes like hell

In my opinion the all new face-lifted range of Jeep Grand Cherokees are some of the best value for money SUVs available in our market today. They are packed to the roof with standard equipment and feature some really great styling, especially the new Jeep SRT8. What is a Jeep SRT8 you ask?  In a word or two, it’s bad-ass, that’s what!

The new SRT8 Grand Cherokee is hurtled along by 6.4-litres of Hemi V8, this sinister SUV brags about output numbers like 344kW and 624Nm and the ability to outrun many sports cars with zero to 100km/h dispatched in just five seconds (the on board sprint timer reported a 4.8sec at one stage) and a top speed of 255km/h.

The SRT8 is not the only big bad SUV around town. The Range Rover Sport, BMW X5M and the Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG have long been the rulers here but the overall winning factor about the Jeep is that it cost much less than its cheapest competitor and the only thing on the options list is a tow-bar.

What’s more is if you do decide to hit the rough stuff the Jeep is more than capable. Look, it’s not a Wrangler but It’s still a Jeep and still has four wheel drive functionality. However I wouldn’t recommend that seeing as this Jeep has been fitted with some serious Pirelli rubber and damaging one of those could be costly.

I was fortunate enough to put the SRT8 through its paces at the highly challenging Kyalami race track where we were given the chance to fully experience the Jeeps racing abilities. To keep things as tidy as possible in the corners, the Jeep has an SRT-tuned adaptive damping suspension system with an electronic limited slip diff and stability control. Drivers can choose between five modes, including function for slippery conditions and for racetrack driving.

The brakes are normally the first to throw in the towel on a race track but thankfully the big heavy Jeep comes standard with mammoth sized Brembo brakes which, very impressively, took hours of torture.

The Jeep also comes with a full bore American rock anthem sound track. Its deep and throaty, it’s loud. While at Kyalami it was easy to hear where the Jeeps were as they echoed around the track.

Obviously you’re not expecting much in the way of fuel economy when you take home a beast like this, but Jeep has at least tried to mitigate the fuel-guzzling drawback with a system that allows the engine to run on just four cylinders under calmer driving conditions. I took this big beast on a road trip to KwaZulu-Natal and I managed 15l/100km over a combined distance of 1200km, which is not bad at all. The Jeep has also caught up to the Germans with regards to the gearbox. The new Jeep features the widely used 8-speed ZF gearbox that can be found in many other high end cars. This helps with economy as well as power delivery when needed. The changes are smooth and subtle which is a huge improvement on the previous 5-speed box that was used.

Inside you’ll find a racy cockpit complete with suede-leather bucket seats, various carbon fibre decorations and luxuries like adaptive cruise control, satnav, park-assist, electrically-adjustable seats and, wait for it, an 825-watt Harman Kardon sound system. The Jeep SRT8 is packed with so many features which enhance the drivers comfort as well as safety. Active headlights scan the road ahead allowing for better visibility, they also feature an auto bright and dim function. The infotainment system is easy to use and the centre mounted big screen displays all the necessary information.

Overall I think that Jeep has hit the nail on the head here with the SRT8, it is pure American cubic inch power with sinister looks and a thunderous sound track.