The SRT Grand Cherokee is not just a definitive SUV with petrol-power, with the changing planet, it could very well be the swansong for a phoenix, the last of its kind. We experience the thrill of a big, hardcore American truck; the likes of which only Jeep can build.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
The ground trembles in its wake. Birds scatter and dot the skyline overhead. The beast has awakened, its heart pounding stronger than that of several other minions that surround it put together. It is of a different land. A different hemisphere. A land where dragons took different forms, protected the loyal and helped them break free of the dungeons that enslaved them. Years of captivity, for many people, can drain the life from them. But some dare to dream, and, when they look around, there is proof of other dreamers and the tools they create to shatter the barriers of the mundane and go forth into the unknown.
Dramatic as it may sound, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT is just that: the modern-day equivalent of a dragon. A personal dragon, should someone dare enough to try and have one as part of the family. This dragon needs no training; of course, it’s been self-taught, infused with tricks of the trade that its creators have learned since long ago, 75 years to be precise. It is the result of honed skill, where an all-conquering beast has been trained hard and given the means to blend into an ecosystem where the wild and free are caged and coerced into thinking that this existence is what is best for them. Silently, or not, it has learned to reside, waiting for a chance when it will be set free.
A near five-metre-long body, two metres wide and a conquer-all demeanour are features that only a behemoth of its credentials can successfully pull off. It’s been through it all, and its heart is growing old, but still strong, if not stronger than it ever was. It is quite a sight to behold. The name ‘Jeep’ has become synonymous with the SUV for many in India, and the sight of the logo on what is essentially a cutting-edge looking creation compared to what earlier bore the name is something that has jaws drop and eyes pop. The SRT, short for Street and Racing Technology, is thanks to the FIAT Chrysler alliance and allows the big, bad Grand Cherokee to bear this nomenclature and boost its desirability quotient even more. Let’s not forget those masked light clusters, giant wheel-arches ably filed by 20-inch alloys wrapped in 295-section Pirellis, and those reverse scoops, which, like giant nostrils on the bonnet, help the big V8 not lose its cool.
