Det News
If you’re going to guzzle gas, the 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of the best ways to do it.
This is not just a dreaded SUV, a dinosaur in the making, it’s one of the fastest ones ever built, a velociraptor in sheet metal.
Gloriously fast, this SUV sucks down more gas than even the EPA thinks: 11 miles per gallon city and 14 mpg highway. Those are under the best conditions. During my test drive of this SRT8, I probably used a gallon just to start it and listen to the specially tuned 6.1-liter Hemi roar at the touch of my toe.
Poppy cock: This SUV is glacier cool—and even if every person in the world drove one with as much lead-footed glee as me, Michigan would not be one degree warmer in January.
We all read the news and know how SUVs have been ostracized, fast cars have been marginalized and V-8s have been assigned permanent locations in museums. This Jeep Grand Cherokee fights all of those stereotypes.
The all-wheel drive system, racing suspension, Brembo brakes and lowered body help provide the madness to this machine. It flies around corners with a growl and leaves you wanting for more speed.
At 70 mph, it can hit 80 in a heart beat. (It can go from 0 to 60 mph in under five seconds.) The all-wheel drive system lets it rip around corners and keeps it planted on the ground.
And if you want to measure all of those racing stats, the 2009 model includes a performance package display that reads out your 0-60 time, lateral and longitudinal g-force, 1/8 mile and ¼ mile acceleration as well as braking distance.
Performance is king for the SRT8 team and what they did to the Jeep Grand Cherokee is amazing. Lowering its body 1 inch created a more stable and more aerodynamic body. It also gave it a look that no other SUV has. The 20-inch high performance low profile tires, the aluminum wheels, the dark back windows all add to its demeanor. The only thing I don’t quite understand is the way the exhaust comes out the back in the center. No towing for this vehicle, just performance.
And it performs like a champ on par with the likes of the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5—without all of those luxury items getting in the way.
SUVs may be going the way of the stegosaurus and woolly mammoth. That die has been cast. Like the dinosaurs that currently fuel today’s machines, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is helping them leave with a bang.
