This week we are reviewing the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Our vehicle was assembled at the Detroit plant in Michigan and has an MSRP of 135960.00 CAD.
Fun Factor: 10
Can it Family: 9
Fuel-Friendly: 1
HWY-warrior: 9
Karaoke-Friendly: 7
Baby-Friendly: 7
City Cruising: 3
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk pushes the boundaries of imagination; Jeep created here a family track-oriented SUV with 707hp and 645 lb-ft of torque coming from a 6.2L supercharged V8. It must be the wackiest vehicle we've tested with the family. The moment you floor the acceleration pedal, the whining sound from the supercharger pushes you forward like a rocket, and all you hear is that thunder sounding exhaust wave reflecting on the vehicle left behind. The acceleration is just that ludicrous, even beating the Lamborghini Urus' by a tenth of a second to 60mph. The astonishing acceleration to 60mph takes 3.5 seconds. Our passengers were not affected by motion sickness from the fulgurating accelerations, something they usually experience in other vehicles with similar acceleration figures. The ride is comfortable; however, around corners, it cannot hide its weight. Braking is efficient for this mastodon; the massive Brembo breaks are a good help and differentiate this Grand Cherokee from the others.
Can it family? It sure can and with styles! 2 screens for the rear passengers, including headphones so kids can watch their favourite cartoons (instant winner in our house). The rear seats are well-bolstered and can accommodate up to 3 adults. Our 3 kids had enough space to stay in their bubble and loved the burgundy seat belts adding that little touch that reminds everyone that they're not sitting in a standard Grand Cherokee. The front seating is very sofa-like. It's almost a match in heaven; you've got supercar performance combined with comfortable seating, something that rarely occurs. Trunk space will accommodate large strollers with ease; the only downside is that the vehicle's stance is high, and the bumper is quite massive, making it more challenging for smaller adults to get things inside the trunk.
Fuel economy and Trackhawk don't fit into the same sentence. The average fuel economy we observed was 19.6L/100km, and yes, we drove the vehicle enthusiastically; it's hard not too when you've got so much power on tap. The city fuel economy was 23.9L/100km and probably lowered the vehicle's average in our 500km test run. While on the HWY at a constant speed, it is possible to reach as low as 11.9L/100km due to the Multi-Displacement System that shuts off 4 cylinders to improve fuel economy, naturally, that's if you're capable of keeping to the speed limit. Jeep announces fuel consumption as 20.9L/100km in the city, 13.8L/100km on the HWY and a combined rating of 17.7L/100km the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.
The Trackhawk is almost synonymous with what a modern family muscle represents in a market where there is an SUV for everyone's desire. On the HWY, the beast can be easily tamed and has no trouble being a HWY cruiser. On longer drives or in traffic, the adaptive cruise control manages quite well.
The 19 speakers Harmon/Kardon sound system is a highlight and compliments the V8 rumble of the Trackhawk. The Uconnect infotainment is one of our favourite systems because it's so easy to use. It runs quite smoothly; our only critic, it was slower in this vehicle. The loading time for the performance pages took longer to load than in different models we've tried. Physical buttons are nicely laid out and compliment the Uconnect system to make it user friendly. We also enjoyed that we could select the driving modes directly on the central console, something that was missing in the Dodge Durango SRT we tested earlier this year.
The installation of car seats is a little tricky in the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. The door opening is wide, and the rear bench's height is comfortably positioned, making it quite easy to get the car seat inside the vehicle. What was tricky was getting the car seat installed using the ISOFIX ports. They're hidden underneath the leather seats; we had to try a couple of times before latching them successfully and almost needed a 2nd person to get the car seats safely attached. Entry and exiting for our toddler were easy from a sidewalk, and the door handle is nicely positioned to hold it, only the weight of the door may require help from an adult. The seatbelts are also easily accessible; only the belt buckles are hidden between the seats, making it hard for children to buckle themselves.
Driving the Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk in the city is definitely an attention seeker with its winding supercharger sound. However, its fuel consumption at almost 24L/100km in real-life scenarios will be more spectacular on your wallet. Parking was easier than we expected for this massive machine; we were only puzzled by the rear camera's quality for this 135 thousand dollars vehicle; it should have been upgraded. While it's acceptable in a base Grand Cherokee, it doesn't have its place in the Trackhawk version.
Why would we buy the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, or what we liked about it? What's not to like from a 707hp supercharged engine! The subtle exterior enhancements over other Grand Cherokee's making it one of the best sleeper cars on the market, that additional stealth is needed to keep your driver's license. It can be a daily driver on long HWY drives. It's a comfortable ride, and finally, the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk isn't cheap, but it sure is a good bargain when you look at other fast SUV's
Why would we not buy the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk or what we did not like about it? The fuel economy, however, if you're looking at one of these, it might not be your first concern. A start/stop technology would be fitted for city driving to reduce its fuel economy.
Jeep has lent us this vehicle one week as a press vehicle. We have no affiliation with FCA Canada. The above is a recollection of our personal opinion of the car referred above.
