Overview of the Jeep Grandcherokee
US 4WD brand Jeep built a bigger (and more upmarket) brother to its popular Cherokee model in 1993, though it took another three years for the Grand Cherokee to reach Australia. A big hit globally, the Grand Cherokee offers superb off-road performance via a range of all-wheel-drive systems. Jeep has also created more road-focused variants for the current-generation model (released in 2011 and sharing components with the Mercedes-Benz ML) - including V8-powered SRT and Trackhawk high-performance variants.
JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE GENERATIONS (SINCE 1999)
1999-2005
2005-2011
2011 onwards
RUNNING COSTS
Fuel Consumption (2011 on)
3.0L V6 turbo diesel: 7.5 litres per 100km
3.6L V6: 9.9 to 10.4 litres per 100km
5.7L V8: 13.0 litres per 100km
6.4L V8: 14.0 litres per 100km
6.2L supercharged V8: 16.8 litres per 100km
= Highly economical.
= Good economy.
= Average fuel use.
= Heavy consumption.
Servicing
Every 20,000km or 12 months, whichever is sooner, for diesel models - with each service currently costs between $665 and $1195. For petrol models, servicing is every 12,000km or 12 months, whichever is sooner - with each service currently costs between $595 and $2175 depending on engine. Jeep Grand Cherokee parts and accessoriescan be found on Gumtree.
SIMILAR MODELS TO JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
Ford Everest
Land Rover Discovery
Toyota Prado
Volkswagen Touareg
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR: JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE (2011 ON)
Check V6 petrol versions for problems with the cylinder heads that can mean head replacement.
Strangely, it only seemed to be the left-hand head that gave trouble.
The first sign is a check-engine light and a misfire on any one of the left-hand cylinders, but it's only pre-2013 models that were affected.
If in doubt, have a workshop conduct a leak-down test on the left bank.
Jeep dealers were also carrying out reprogramming of the control module for the automatic transmission to cure complaints of harsh shifting. A dealer will know which vehicles have had the re-flash.
Check everything electrical from the power tailgate to the remote central locking to make sure it all works as it should.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee was also the subject of a huge number of recalls (more than we have space to list here). A visit to a Jeep dealer will identify which fixes a particular car needed and whether they've been carried out or not.
