The Most Rugged And The Most Luxurious Grand Cherokees
Following a bout of premature public exposure, Jeep has finally pulled the wraps off its newest Grand Cherokees at the 2016 New York Auto Show. Called the Trailhawk and Summit, both new models are due to land in Australian showrooms by the end of this year.
Jeep is tackling this renewed big SUV assault from two opposite sides of the valley. The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, which we’ve seen a couple of times before, is meant to be the most adept off-roader while the Summit is described as the most luxurious vehicle in its segment.
Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
The Trailhawk comes with an array of features to help it conquer the great outdoors, including Jeep’s Quadra-Drive II 4x4 system with rear Electronic Limited Slip Differential that’s equipped as standard across all its engine options, which is then paired to the Quadra-Lift air suspension and Hill Ascent Control.
The new some exterior bits have real-world purpose, such as the anti-glare hood decal and front fascia which has intergrated tow hooks (also on the car’s rear). All Trailhawks come with a set of Goodyear Adventure off-road tyres which come with Kevlar-reinforced innards, wrapped around either 18 or 20-inch wheels which we suspect isn’t the best choice for tackling some unforgiving terrain.
The Trailhawk’s interior has leather and suede sports seats with red stitching and there’s a gun-metal finish on all painted interior surfaces peppered with piano black accents.
The 8.4-inch touch screen dominates the centre console, allowing the driver to interface with the Uconnect system which now includes displays to show wheel articulation and other off-road-specific parameters such as suspension height and different terrain modes.
The Trailhawk will come in seven exterior color options: Redline Red, Billet Silver, Bright White, Rhino, Granite Crystal, Velvet Red and Diamond Black Crystal.
Grand Cherokee Summit
Aiming to be the most luxurious Grand Cherokee, the Summit comes with, first of all, a more grown-up front fascia, replete with chrome grille surrounds and LED fog lamps.
The Summit rides on 20-inch polished aluminium wheels and has an overall more sophiticated look that’s distinguised in a way that it wouldn’t be upstaged at all when parked next to, say, a Range Rover Autobiography or Volvo XC90 Inscription.
Jeep’s Quadra-Drive II 4x4 system makes an appearance on the Summit as well as standard kit, so does the electronic limited slip differential and comfort-tuned Quadra-Lift air suspension with Selec-Speed Control.
Inside, the Summit has a steering wheel wrapped in Laguna leather and owners get their pick of four leather upholstery colour options including Ski Gray, Black, Dark Sienna Brown and Indigo. There are Berber capets while dashboard itself is wrapped in Nappa leather, and so is the centre console, door panels.
Occupants will get to be experience audio from a 19-speaker Harman/Kardon speaker system with three subwoofers and an 825W amplifier. For safety and other conveniences, the Summit packs Blind Spot Detection, Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning amd Perdenpicular Park Assist – the latter two of which are a first for Jeep.
The Grand Cherokee Summit will come in Light Brown Stone, True Blue, Bright White, Ivory Pearl, Granite Crystal, Velvet Red, Diamond Black Crystal and Luxury Brown exterior paint options.
