1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Sport Utility Vehicle Review & Performance

a 4.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine and four-speed automatic transmission.

It builds from there to the 5.2-liter V8 Limited and Orvis models. Along

the way, the Grand Cherokee offers more drivetrain variations than any

other sport-utility on the market. While no manual transmission is available,

there are two drive systems available for either the six or the V8.

Once you opt for four-wheel drive, you must then choose among the systems.

These include Selec-Trac, with a fixed torque split between front and rear,

and Quadra-Trac, which normally puts all the torque to the rear axle but

can automatically vary torque fore and aft at any proportion between zero

and 100%, assuring that the power always goes to the tires that have the

traction.

And, for those who want the power and the space without the complexity

of a heavy 4WD system, in 1997 the basic 2WD model is available for the

first time with the 5.2-liter V8 engine option.

The Grand Cherokee Limited comes with a large load of standard equipment--as

well it should for a starting price of $31,885--including air conditioning,

power steering, power brakes, power mirrors, power locks, 10-way power

seats with power recline and lumbar systems, tinted glass, a remote locking/security

system, leather trim, tilt steering, cruise control, aluminum wheels, premium

AM/FM/cassette audio, fog lamps, a roof rack, and a pair of consoles, one

overhead, one between the front seats.

The Limited package ($1290) adds heated seats, a power sunroof, and

an upgraded sound system with three-band graphic equalizer. Our tester

also had the trailer towing group ($242), the Up Country suspension ($390)--which

raises the ride one full inch and comes with tow hooks, skid plates, stiffer

springs and shocks, P225/70R-16 tires and a conventional spare. The optional

5.2-liter V8 engine was an additional $877 (though you can get a Limited

with a six-cylinder engine), and the traction-lock rear differential added

$285.

out and easy to deal with, though the instrument panel seems to be running

out of space to put the various switches and controls for all the power

options it packs. The typical Jeep white-on-black instruments, with color

accents, are easy to scan and very good at night.

The leather seats are very comfortable for long rides, and have a wide

range of power adjustments, with a two-driver memory feature for the seats,

radio stations and mirrors. The clear instrument covers and some of the

plastic elements used inside are a bit too shiny for our tastes, shiny

equating with, less than grand, appearance in this context.

If the Grand Cherokee has a handicap it is lack of interior space for

people and cargo compared to most of its direct competition. While the

interior is nicely done, the Grand Cherokee is built on a narrow Jeep unitbody

platform and that narrowness dictates and governs how much space there

is for shoulders, hips, heads and legs, and, behind the second seat, how

much cubic capacity awaits the family-size cargo loads.

The other compact sport-utilities that have come into the market after

the Grand Cherokee have pretty much exploited this weakness with larger

interior layouts and more useable cubic capacity in the cargo area.

Having said that, the Grand Cherokee, which is done up in soft cushy

leather and simulated woodgrain, offers quite a pleasant environment for

four people and their collective stuff, or two adults and three kids. We

wouldn't stretch it to five adults, at least not for any long rides. The

interior simply isn't roomy enough for five real people.

But the ride is quiet and comfortable, more comfortable than any other

Jeep, as well as most of its competitors. There's extra sound insulation

built in to keep noise down, and the materials used on the Limited version

are very posh indeed.

at the top of your list, because its optional V8 makes 220 horsepower and

generates 300 pound-feet of torque, both class-leading numbers. The V8

in our test truck was a genuine tiger, ripping across intersections, pulling

snowy grades and performing highway passing maneuvers with ease and quickness

we weren't expecting. It is also rated to pull a 6500-pound trailer.

And if you don't need as much grunt as all that, we can recommend the

4.0-liter inline-six as one of the great SUV engines, with 185 hp and 220

lbs.-ft. of torque for hauling up to 5000 pounds of trailer, with an improvement

in mpg rating from 13/17 city/highway for the V8 to 15/20 for the six,

quite a lot in percentage terms.

We have been off-road many times with the 4.0 in the Grand and other

Jeep models, and it never let us down.

While the shift is on to rack-and-pinion steering in the sport-utility

world, the Grand Cherokee still uses recirculating-ball steering, and it

is a bit mushy and indefinite compared to other systems, though entirely

acceptable. It works with leading-arm coil-spring front suspension and

trailing arm coil-spring rear suspension and gas shocks all around to keep

the Grand Cherokee on the straight and narrow.

Ride quality is very good, all things considered, and ride control is

taut, with not too much body roll in fast corners. When it comes to all-around

handling, the Grand Cherokee is one of the most nimble performers in its

class.

We noticed while underway that the big outside mirrors and windshield

pillars seem to generate quite a bit of wind noise at freeway speeds, which

was doubly intrusive because the powertrain noise and chassis noise were

both so well subdued by tuning and isolation. We thought at first we hadn't

closed the left front door all the way, but the noise persisted at speeds

above 50 mph.