jeep grand cherokee

Nephew has the 4.7 and has said he loves it. He doesnt travel much so the very thirst motor isnt a big issue. He tows a tandem trailer sometimes. (up his steep driveway) However after just 2 years he says the steering is so bad on the HWY he feels it is unsafe and requires too much concentration. At least that is his excuse for ordering a RR sport as his next 4x4. !!

The 5.7 hemi is actually more economical than the 4.7 as it uses cylinder deactivation on highway cruising, ie. it cuts out four cylinders in a cruising no load situation. The 4.7 is a very good reliable motor if you can live with its thirst, but like most Jeeps it's the other bits mainly electrics that will give you most dramas. Also make sure you're happy with the way it drives, they have a softer feel than most Japanese vehicles.
Hope this is useful to you
Jon

I had one but it was a CRD great thing, loved it. But they do have a few problems.
Suspension is to soft and bottoms out fairly easy. I changed the springs for kings very impressed.
Left foot space is not good due to tranny tunnel and a lump of steel that hangs out.
Roof a little low didn`t worry me but it does some.

No issues with reliability what so ever, service costs by jeep are high but.

G'day Jomah,

I've also looked at Jeep and have been told by friends that the new motors are made by mercedes for the past year or so and are much better than the original jeep motors and much more economical.

The clincher for me was.......if you intend travelling any distance with them or travelling into remote areas then give them a miss as parts are difficult to come by. I even heard one story of a couple having to wait 3 weeks for parts to arrive from their dealer in a remote town as most jeep parts have to come from Singapore.

I was looking at the Jeep Commander and whilst they have a terrific finish the fact that you can't readily get parts in the event of a breakdown put me off. This may not worry you but for me good service is when something happens when you least expect it and it can be fixed with a minimum of inconvenience. The dealer admitted that it could take several weeks to get parts as Jeep don't keep many parts here in Australia.

Good luck.

We have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4.7ltr and tow a 22ft Regent caravan, loaded weight about 2500kgs.We have owned it nearly 3 years and it has been a great tow vehicle.The only parts I have replaced is the gas bonnet struts.I have added a set of rear air bags,which cost $130.00 including freight from the US.We average 20.6 ltrs per 100 on all our trips from our home on the Gold Coast, including Darwin,Cairns/Port Douglas,Vic high country, country Vic and Great Ocean Road.The only draw back with the Jeeps is they only have a 78ltr fuel tank,but that still gives you at least 350 plus klms.We will probably upgrade our Jeep with the same sometime next year.
Regards Bryan.

jomah,

I'm on my second Jeep I currently have a 2007 CRD, have not had any problems with it. It is a very high performance vehicle and handles exceptionally well. It is tow rated at 3500kg ball weight is 375kg. These vehicles are luxury class and consequently have lighter shocks. I tow a 6m boat and prior to that a Penguin 13 Jayco Off Road, no issues with bottoming out but I have put Rancho RSX shocks on the rear for towing.

My previous Jeep was a 2002 Laredo 4.7 V8. I had it for 5 years and did some extensive travelling put just under 140,000k on it. Never had one problem with it. No electrical problems no steering problems nothing. I did put air bags on the rear springs and Rancho RSX shocks all round, but I probably didn't need to.

In terms of fuel consumption towing my boat which weights just under 3 tonne it averaged around 18l/100k, towing my Jayco 14l/100k. I live in the Noosa hinterland and regularly travelled to Brisbane basically 110k most of the way and it averaged 10.5l/100k consistently. Around town 12l/100k.

The engines in the V8's has always been Mercedes ever since they were introduced back in 2000 I think it was.

I always towed out of overdrive if I didn't the engine would do a bit of searching in a headwind or up slight hills as the overdrive gearing is not meant to pull loads.

The latest V8 and I think it will be the same with the 07 model has a tow switch which gets the vehicle down a lower gear for towing...also the latest 4.7 develops a bit more horsepower and torque than the V8 I had. Check www.jeep.com.au and you'll get the latest specs, if you haven't already done so. The new V8 is suppose to get better fuel consumption than the previous 4.7.

I thought the engine was excellant for towing it just loafed along and did have a sports sytem on it, the V8 rumble is a sweet sound. I do miss that sound in my CRD.

It is a V8 and if you drive it it will such fuel as will a V8 cruiser and any other vehicle with a large capacity engine.

Before I bought my first Jeep I spend quite a lot of time talking to Jeep owners whenever I had the opportunity and I can honestly say I never came across anyone who was not happy with their vehicle or it's reliability. I heard about these alleged electrical problems and it did concern me, but when I started talking to them none had ever had such a problem.