2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 First Drive Review
2013 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE SRT8 REVIEW
Vehicle style: High performance SUV
Price: $76,000 (plus on-roads)
Engine: 6.4 litre petrol V8 | Power/Torque: 344kW/624Nm
Fuel Use claimed: 14.1 l/100km | tested: 21.0 l/100km
With a monstrous 6.4 litre V8 and steroid-infused bodywork, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is as unapologetically American as you’ll find.
It's built like a quarterback, laughs at political correctness and drinks like a sailor on shore leave. It's an extrovert, and it's blisteringly quick for a full-size SUV.
And, finally, it's on sale in Australia.
We spent a day behind the wheel of Jeep's newest performance flagship, putting it to the test on both public roads and a private test track. In both environments, it absolutely blew us away.
For a car this large to accelerate, turn and stop with such rapidity is nothing short of amazing. The fact a vehicle with such performance retails for $76,000 is even more astounding.
THE INTERIOR
It's familiar territory inside the Grand Cherokee SRT8. The steering wheel, heavily-bolstered front seats and carbon-fibre trim are unique to the SRT8, but all other interior fittings are shared with the 'regular' Grand Cherokee range.
That means plastic quality is less than stellar and there's still the issue of the foot-operated parking brake intruding on legroom, but the SRT8-specific sports seats do add a great deal to overall comfort levels.
The steering wheel is an improvement on the standard item too, although the wheel-mounted shift paddles are placed too close to the rim for our liking and the silver-painted section at the bottom of the wheel feels cheap.
But while quality may be so-so, the SRT8 excels in terms of how much gadgetry it offers.
It's fully loaded, and advanced features like radar-assisted cruise control, a blind spot monitor, bi-xenon headlamps and a power-adjustable steering column are all standard.
Adding to that, there's sat-nav, dual-zone climate control, a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, heated outer rear seats, a powered tailgate and a nine-speaker stereo system with 40GB hard drive, USB input and Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity.
One of the Grand Cherokee SRT8's cooler party tricks is the Performance Pages sub-menu in the trip computer. Here, drivers can time themselves in 0-100km/h sprints, 100-0km/h braking tests, quarter-mile runs and eighth-mile runs.
Not only that, but it can also display lateral and longitudinal G forces. All of these functions are basically useless out on the street, but their cool factor is undeniable.
Disappointingly though, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 only displays this data in the tiny MFD between the tacho and speedometer.
The Chrysler 300 SRT8 is able to display the same information (plus read-outs from various other on-board sensors) in a slick colour screen within its larger touchscreen display.
ON THE ROAD
Thumb the starter button and the engine ignites with a deep gruff bark, settling to a throbby idle.
Tickle the accelerator, and it moves keenly forward. The SRT8 may weigh just under 2.4 tonne, but with 344kW and 624Nm from its naturally-aspirated 6.4 litre V8, it's got the muscle to match its metal.
Around town, it's relaxed. Revs don't need to rise any higher than 2400rpm to make good progress, and the five-speed automatic slurs smoothly up and down the gears.
But who cares. The SRT8 is all about performance, and it delivers.
Firewall the accelerator and the big SUV leaps forward like a sprinter, piling on speed in an almost relentless surge of acceleration.
Jeep claims it will hit triple-digit speeds in less than five seconds, but after a couple of timed runs the best we could do was 5.3 seconds to 100km/h. No cigar, but still a mightily impressive time for such a monstrously big car.
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