I just found this report on the GC in England and if you scroll down to the bottom you will see the mpg's listed. Also look at the 0>60 time and top speed. It ain't a slow poke.
Saturday April 8 (First written on 2006-04-03)
Jeeps Grand Cherokee Makes Most Sense With A 3.0-litre CRD Diesel Engine Under The Bonnet. Jonathan Crouch Checks It Out.
Heres the deal. For a couple of thousand less than a reasonably specified Land Rover Discovery diesel, you can get a car with similar brand equity, more equipment, comparable off road ability and much more power. Step forward, Jeeps Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD.
Not long ago, this would have been a mis-match. The old 161bhp 2.7-litre diesel Grand Cherokee was a wheezy old thing with crude mechanicals. This 218bhp 3.0-litre car is very different and not for nothing will it take a likely 80% of all future sales of this model. Prices start at £26,490 or £33,535 for the plusher Overland model. To save you checking the price lists, even that is over £3,000 less than a mid-range 190bhp Discovery 2.7V6 SE.
Sixty from rest takes 9.0 seconds (3.5 seconds quicker than the Disco) on the way to a top speed of 124mph (15mph quicker). Only when it comes to fuel economy does the Land Rover product make up some lost ground, on average, returning around 3 miles more for every tank.
Given the up-front price differential however, you can forgive the Jeep a little on this score. Forgive the endless comparisons with the Solihull product but Land Rover and Jeep really are the class of the field in the £30,000 sector of the current luxury 4x4 market. We recently marked out the Discovery as our 4x4 of the Year but that was based on its off road ability an area the Jeep doesnt quite match but gets close enough for the difference not to matter.
"If youre buying a luxury 4x4 at this price point, its a car you cant afford to ignore."
Many buyers of this third generation Grand will be stepping into the car straight from a MK2 model. Theyll notice a huge difference. The old recirculating ball steering system has been replaced by a rack and pinion set-up and the difference is night and day. Where the old car required constant corrections to keep on the straight and narrow, the latest feels resolutely car-like, with decent feedback.
Its still not what youd describe as sporty, but it at least feels as if its now attached to a car rather than a boat. Hand in hand with the changes to the steering has gone a root and branch revision of the suspension system. Independent front suspension has helped the on-road ride and also pays dividends off-road, increasing wheel articulation and ensuring that the tyres sit squarely on the ground when the suspension is extended. Improved safety systems also feature, with stability control being fitted for the first time.
This works in concert with the electronic rollover mitigation system that anticipates critical situations for the vehicle that may lead to a rollover scenario, nipping at the brakes and reducing engine torque to keep this high-sided 4x4 dirty side down. On the road, the Grand Cherokees common-rail diesel engine fires up with encouraging civility and only becomes vocal when fully extended. The midrange torque is predictably excellent, peaking at 376lb ft, making towing heavy loads no problem at all. It also makes crawling through tricky off road sections at little more than idle simplicity itself.
The same unit is used in the latest Mercedes M-class but of course, youll pay a lot more for it under the bonnet of a car bearing the three-pointed star. This Jeep is capable off road as well as on it. A trick Quadra-Trac II all-wheel drive system uses three limited-slip differentials to direct drive in tricky off road situations. In fact, this vehicle can extricate itself from said sticky situation when only one front wheel has traction.
The underside of the car is clean, Jeep tucking the exhaust and centre and front differentials well out of harms way, even utilising the rear crash protection beams as skid sections. The front air dam is even readily removable for tough off road duty. And the visual improvements to the MK3 Grand Cherokee? Well, at first glance, it doesnt look a great deal different to the Mk2 Grand, but park the two cars back to back and the changes are obvious. The waistline of the latest car is a good deal higher, giving the car a wedgier, tauter look.
The headlamps are more rounded to conform with Jeeps family look. With 90mm extra in the wheelbase, this car also caters for its passengers a good deal better than its surprisingly bijou predecessor. A stiffer chassis, better aerodynamics and a proportionally longer bonnet also point to the latest Grand Cherokees modernity. Equipment? Everything youd expect is in place: a 6-speaker CD Hi-Fi, front foglamps, air-conditioning, electric everything, power folding and heated mirrors, an independently opening rear tailgate glass and a reversible cargo tray in the estate compartment for those muddy boot moments. Trim levels run from Predator through Limited to the plush Overland range-topper. All Grand Cherokee models are covered by the comprehensive Jeep warranty scheme, which provides a three-year/60,000 mile mechanical warranty, seven-year anti-corrosion warranty and 12 months European roadside assistance. Though the latest Grand Cherokee may not look that different from the old car, it certainly is especially in the 3.0 CRD form tested here. If youre buying a luxury 4x4 at this price point, its a car you cant afford to ignore.
NEED TO KNOW
CAR: Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD range
PRICES: £26,490-£33,535 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 13-14
CO2 EMISSIONS: 270g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 9.0s / Max Speed 124mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 21.6/ (extra urban) 32.8/ (combined) 27.7mpg If those are Imperial then they convert to 18/27/23 US MPG's
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4755/2251/1742
Our friends '05 GC V6 will only get 21 mpg cruising at 60 mph on level 4 lane highway with overall average (conservative driver) of 18 mpg after 30,000 miles of driving and he thinks city only driving would be about 15 mpg but since they live out in the county their driving is more what we call combined driving.
_________________ 91 MB 300D 2.5L Turbo. Her's
05 MB E320 CDI. Mine
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