We weren’t going to stick to the tarmac; that was for sure, that meant a quick detour. However, getting there proved that it isn’t all about mud and slush. It can cruise on the highways just as well as it gets down and dirty in the Earth’s playground. Apart from noticeable turbo-lag when you prod the accelerator at any revs, there isn’t much to complain about. The engine is very refined and the sound deadening is fantastic. The soft suspension swallows bumps and potholes and keeps the car balanced extremely well; much better than I first expected. Even taking the corners at speed was not as nerve-wracking as it is in some other equally large cars with lesser suspension set-ups and electronic aids. The Grand Cherokee steps up the game and carries on forward undeterred by anything the road may throw at it. Furthermore, with the eight-speed automatic handling the power, it can get up to 100 km/h in just nine seconds and then cruise at 120 km/h in top gear at just 2,000 RPM. Fuel efficiency on the highway goes up to 11 km/l. Dropping the anchors then was equally surprising. It comes to a dead stop from 100 km/h in less than three seconds.
Obviously, a 2.4-tonne behemoth needs some serious oomph to get a move on and the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 brings just that. A peak 243 PS and 570 Nm is on tap, the latter from 2,000 RPM. I was giving thanks to electricity for making it go through the complex driveline, including a two-speed transfer case, and electronic rear LSD. Simplified by everything current, it’s such a pleasurable experience.
The ground turned a dull shade of summer dying grass, then a coastal mud red. Brake. Shift to ‘N’, select ‘4×4 Low’, and rotate knob to ‘Rock’. Off we go. The drive ratio was now altered to 2.72:1 and it would now get over obstacles that made getting over other stuff seem like a hop, skip and jump in the park. The 265-section tyres dig in, fling up the dirt, then dig in some more and rush the big Cherokee forward and upward. At that point, it’s almost like finding an Invincibility rune. Every time I shifted from reverse to drive, the de-clunk and re-clunk of the transfer box sounded like heavy-metal Morse code, telling of its abilities. Be it mud, water, slush or simply loose sand, there was nothing that managed to hold back the Grand Cherokee.
Such was the confidence that once the rocks were dealt with, I found the courage to shift out of ‘Rock’ and ‘4×4 Low’ and move to ‘Mud’. The roar of the mighty diesel heart was accompanied by the blurring of scenery, most of which was a variety of boulder sizes going past, real fast, and then the bounce, the actual spring action of the suspension kept me cosseted and smiling even with the front end reaching for the sky then crashing down to Earth a split-second later. Ability many may have, but this Jeep has character and its genes are definitely muddy. No questions there. It’s happy to do whatever you want it to do. And there are few cars that actually co-operate when you have some wild fantasies to turn into reality.
All of this will come at a price. Yes. But as of now, that price is not known. This is the higher of the two diesel models on offer and while we expect a base price of Rs 65-70 lakh, the Summit 4×4 EcoDiesel could easily breach the Rs 80-lakh mark when it arrives later this month. Have you been checking out some German plus-size models? You may want to step back and catch the big picture. Jeep thrills are now on offer.
