2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee Utah

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For 2010 the Grand Cherokee is now available in Laredo, Limited and SRT8 trims only. The Overland trim has been discontinued. The Jeep Grand Cherokee is an icon among sport utility vehicles and this latest-generation version is far better than older models. It looks wonderful. It's powerful and quiet at the same time. It offers good space efficiency and comes loaded with standard and optional features. The Grand Cherokee is a great choice for those who want to tow, go off-road, or both. And if fuel economy is your goal, the available diesel has it without sacrificing power. The Grand Cherokee offers a nicer ride and better cornering than any other Jeep in history.

Driving the 2010 Grand Cherokee

Grand Cherokee was last redesigned for the 2005 model year. The current Grand Cherokee offers better handling than that of pre-2005 models, leaning less in corners. It rides better on all surfaces and its turning radius is tighter. Four-wheel-drive models have hill-start assist and hill-descent control. Hill-start assist holds the brakes on a hill to allow smooth launches. Hill-descent control uses the ABS to control the rate of speed when driving down steep hills. The Laredo and Limited come standard with Chrysler's 3.7-liter V6, borrowed from its sister trucks, the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Ram, with its own five-speed overdrive automatic transmission. The 5.7-liter Hemi V8 is also a thoroughly modern engine, featuring twin spark plugs, direct ignition, and electronic throttle control, though it is a pushrod-overhead-valve design.

'10 Jeep Grand Cherokee Design

While conventional SUVs, such as the Dodge Durango, are built on a separate frame like a truck, the Grand Cherokee uses an unusual construction scheme Jeep calls Uniframe, a close marriage of a welded steel unit-body and underlying front and rear frame modules. This is an extremely sturdy and rigid concept developed back in Jeep's days with unit-body pioneer American Motors. The Grand Cherokee has earned a five-star safety rating in both front and side impact tests from the federal government. Limited models present a flashier appearance than Laredos, with a chromed grille, bright inserts in the bumpers, and accent-color bodyside molding. The SRT8 has a monochrome look all its own, relieved by bright trim at the belt level and bodyside and accented by enormous five-spoke, 20-inch forged aluminum wheels. Functional air ducts in its more buff front bumper fascia improve brake cooling. The rear bumper is cut out to accommodate dual four-inch exhaust tips, and the extended side sills are claimed to enhance downforce. SRT8 is available only in Bright Silver, Brilliant Black or Inferno Red.

Inside the 2010 Grand Cherokee

The instrument panel on all models is a cohesive design with a nice combination of shiny plated parts, matte-finish parts, and a first-rate layout. In all Grand Cherokees, the two-tone, dark-over-light theme set by the instrument panel flows into the door trim. The cargo area is quite useful. It features a reversible load floor panel that flips over on itself to create a shallow container, for more versatility in the rear storage compartment. The second-row seats fold down for a total of 67.4 cubic feet of cargo space. The SRT8 goes for the high-tech racer look with deeply contoured sport seats, and lots of faux carbon fiber and aluminum trim. Unique blue-accented gauges include a 180-mph speedometer plus oil pressure and oil temperature readouts in the center stack. The sport seats offer lots of support, with deep side bolsters, but drivers with larger frames may find them too narrow. 

Jeep Grand Cherokee Lineup

The Grand Cherokee Laredo comes with a 210-hp, 3.7-liter V6 and a five-speed automatic transmission. Air conditioning is standard, along with cloth upholstery, cruise control, power windows, power heated mirrors, power locks with remote keyless entry, eight-way power driver's seat with lumbar adjustment, tilt/telescoping steering wheel with audio controls, AM/FM/CD audio with auxiliary input jack, Sirius satellite radio, driver information center, 60/40 split folding rear seat, engine immobilizer, water-resistant storage compartment, roof rack and P245/65R17 tires with alloy wheels. Leather seats are available in an option package with much of the equipment from the Limited model.

Grand Cherokee Limited comes with leather upholstery; heated first- and second-row seats; rear obstacle detection; rear backup camera; dual-zone automatic climate control; sunroof; Boston Acoustics six-speaker, 276-watt AM/FM/CD stereo with MP3 capability; power adjustable pedals; four-way power passenger seat; leather-wrapped steering wheel; memory function for the seats, pedals and mirrors; automatic, self-dimming headlamps; rain-sensing automatic wipers; auto-dimming exterior and rearview mirrors; HomeLink universal garage door opener; an upgraded tire-pressure monitor that displays the status of individual tires; fog lights; remote engine starting; and a 115-volt power outlet. The Limited also comes with Jeep's UConnect GPS and UConnect Phone. UConnect GPS includes a navigation system with voice recognition and real-time traffic, a 6.5-inch touch-screen, an iPod adapter and a 30-gigabyte hard drive to hold music and picture files, as well as navigation map information. UConnect Phone provides a wireless cell phone link.

Grand Cherokee SRT8 comes with a 6.1-liter Hemi rated at 420 horsepower, a lowered suspension, performance brakes, its own electronic all-wheel-drive system, and P244/45R20 front and P285/40R20 rear run-flat tires. Distinctive bumper fascias and 20-inch wheels make SRT8 instantly identifiable. Inside, the SRT8 adds to Laredo trim with leather and suede sport seats, special trim, a four-way power front passenger seat, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a Boston Acoustics sound system with six-disc CD changer, and a universal garage door opener. Also standard are auto-dimming rearview and exterior mirrors and automatic headlights.

Conclusions

Safety features that come on all models include front air bags with four levels of deployment, head-protecting side curtain air bags with rollover deployment, LATCH-style car-seat anchors in the rear seats, traction control, an electronic stability program (ESP) with roll mitigation, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes (ABS) with brake assist, and a tire-pressure monitor. Also available are rear obstacle detection, a rear backup camera, hill descent control, hill start assist, and trailer sway control. The Jeep Grand Cherokee offers superior off-road capability comparable to that of the upscale Land Rover LR3. This makes the Grand Cherokee a fine choice for families who venture off-road or vacation in the mountains or other remote areas. Visit the official Jeep Grand Cherokee website for the latest updates on this model.

Some information for this review was obtained from NewCarTestDrive.com