2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.0 Turbo Review : Cara a cara con Americana

Singapore - Remember the previous Jeep Grand Cherokee?

Well, most of you wouldn’t. That is because the smallest petrol engine that Jeep could put into its previous SUV, was a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6, which meant that there were few takers here. 

The new fifth-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee on the other hand, gets a more “relevant for Singapore” 2.0-litre ‘Hurricane’ turbocharged engine, developed by Italian sister company, Alfa Romeo.

Back then, the Italian brand was part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) group. But a few short years ago, two French brands and a German one came into the picture, and now are collectively known as Stellantis.

The good news is that with more brands on-board, there is more sharing of tech.

So yeah… enough of that history lesson, and back to this bit of mid-sized Americana.

The new Jeep Grand Cherokee shares its underpinnings with both the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV from Alfa Romeo, and Maserati’s new smaller SUV, the Grecale.

Oh boy, there he goes again with another history lesson…

So since it has the underbones of things which handle well, then it should handle well right? Well… yes and sort-of.

You see, in the context of being an everyday drivable SUV, the Grand Cherokee’s suspension is tuned to be softie-softer, so that it takes on the bumps on roads better.

But while it is more plush than its Italian cousins, it still tracks surprisingly well.

Also, I have to say that it is quite an improvement around corners over its predecessor, where the latter tended to wobble quite a bit. Thank you Giorgio.

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged mill produces 268hp, and while it has a good amount of torque - 400Nm, which is impressive - you do not get all of it at low revs like how most LPT engines would perform.

The engine has to work to 3,000 rpms before maximum torque is realised, but in most driving situations, you’d find that there is enough shove, even with the needle dwelling just above 2,500 rpms.

Drive is put through its four wheels, via the familiar ZF 8HP automatic, which Jeep brands as Torqueflite.

Most ratios are well-sorted, but you do need a light foot and a long straight, before 8th engages.

Sound damping on the inside is quite close to a similar-sized luxury SUV - think BMW X5, Lexus RX and Mercedes-Benz GLE.

And while there is that typical American tendency to ply the interior with miles of plastic, this time, everything fits well, and quality is definitely a measuring tape of yards-better.

And unlike the previous car, which had a cheaply-built centre console which sank at the slightest prod, over here, it is by build, almost European-like. 

The instrument panel consists of a 10.25-inch digital display, which you can tweak to your liking.

As with the group’s American branded cars and cars like the Maserati Ghibli included, the steering wheel gets additional buttons, located below the flappy gearshift paddles, for toggling your audio.

Speaking of audio, the Grand Cherokee is equipped with a 9-speaker Alpine sound system.

This is fronted by a 10.1-inch touchscreen, and supports both Apple and Android devices wirelessly.

While there are plenty of USB A and C ports, I wished that they had included a wireless phone charger.

As with the previous Grand Cherokee, passenger space is generous.

Passengers at the rear have more-than-ample legroom.

I would dare say that with a 1,067-litre boot, you’d hardly be pressed to fold the rear seats.

Beyond how spacious the Jeep Grand Cherokee is, and how it drives, it is well-equipped (well apart from the wireless mobile phone charging dock).

It has the same lane-change and anti-collision features you’d find in most feature-heavy vehicles, including Pedestrian & Cyclist Emergency Braking.

I do have to say that the 360 Surround View Camera is very good, and perhaps the cars from the “PSA side” (Peugeot, Citroen and Opel) could take a leaf from this.

At a smidge under $370k*, the Jeep Grand Cherokee does not come cheap. But here is the takeaway…

The win here is that you pay about a third of the road tax, when compared to the previous car.

Great, especially if you need to own something mid-sized.

PHOTOS Clifford Chow (the overcooked ones) & Jeep Singapore

*accurate as I am banging this on my keyboard

2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.0 Turbo

Engine 1995, inline4 turbocharged
Power/rpm 268hp/5250rpm
Torque/rpm 400Nm/3000rpm
Transmission 8spd Torqueflite auto
0-100km/h 8.2secs
Top Speed 210km/h
Fuel Consumption 9.7l/100km (combined)