Jeep, a marque very familiar to Indians for generations, is poised for a re-entry. We drove both the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler in Austin, Texas, recently THE WELL-KNOWN Jeep brand is all set to reenter India after more than
60 years, this time with FIAT.
The brand was so strong in India that all off-road vehicles were referred to as ‘Jeeps’ regardless of the actual manufacturer. Even today the best-selling Indian SUV, Mahindra Bolero, is an offshoot of the
Willys Jeep.
Last month we were in Austin, Texas, to drive some of the Jeep models due to be launched in India. The company proposes to start its Indian operations with the launch of the Grand Cherokee and the classic Wrangler in both the short wheelbase, two doors and long wheelbase, four doors versions.
The Grand Cherokee possesses considerable road presence thanks to its bold and muscular stance. Its upper grille is shorter than its predecessor’s and the slimmer headlamps with LED daytime running lights along with the low front fascia and the slightly elevated fog-lights are now more pronounced in the front end design. The Grand Cherokee retains Jeep’s seven-slot grille and the trapezoidal wheelarches. The rear end goes well with the muscular front, giving the big SUV good proportions. The large LED tail-lamps complement the LED lights at the front.
The quality of the interior and equipment is on a par with the best from Europe and there is plenty of space for the driver and the passengers. The NVH level inside the cabin is very good, for it keeps out all the road and wind noise.
Our drive from Austin to the offroad course consisted of a little over 160 kilometres through the countryside that included highways and a few narrow county roads. It is always difficult to gauge the ride quality of a new vehicle when you drive in Europe or the US, since most roads there have surfaces like a billiards table. The county roads
were somewhat like the roads back home and the ride quality of the big SUV was quite exceptional on this rough and undulating surface.
The 2014 Grand Cherokee slated to come to India will have only one engine option: the three-litre Eco Diesel. This diesel motor produces an impressive 243 PS at 3,600 revolutions per minute and hefty 569 Nm of torque at 2,000 RPM. The engine is mated to an eight-speed gearbox and this combination gives the Cherokee excellent all-round driveability. The off-road capability of this SUV is something else. A part of our off-road course was a granite rock-face with an incline of about 45 degrees and all we had to do was select the low mode and the Cherokee climbed without so much as batting an eyelid, thanks to the massive torque on tap.
The Cherokee will be a good alternative to the German and English SUVs available in India at the moment as it looks different and has good off-roading capability to boot.
We also got the opportunity to drive the V8 6.4-litre engine (producing 476 PS) sports version of the Cherokee SRT (street race technology) on the Austin F1 circuit. The performance figures claimed by Jeep for the STR – zero to 100
km/h in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h – are very impressive for an SUV.
Normally, one does not associate driving SUVs on a racetrack. After a couple of sighting laps with the instructor it was time to get behind the wheel of the SRT and put in some hot laps. Before exiting the pit-lane I selected the ‘Sport’ mode and put the gear-shift in manual. The SRT was quite good on the circuit and clocked 200 km/h on the back straight.
The Jeep Wrangler is the other model due to come to India and we were able to do a short off-road drive in the two-door, short-wheelbase model. It reminded one of the old Willys Jeep that was sold in India. The Wrangler has the old-world charm with all the modern kit. The Wrangler is a very capable off-roader and a great lifestyle SUV.
NEED TO KNOW
JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
PRICE Rs 24.04 lakh (In USA) | ENGINE 3.6 litre V6
TRANSMISSION Five-speed automatic, all-wheel drive | EXPECTED LAUNCH End of 2013
Story: Aspi Bhathena
Photography: Aspi Bhathena & Jeep
