Vehicle in question is a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk 2014. This is the off-road version of the Cherokee range with a high/low range auto gearbox and modified front and rear body panel to improve approach / departure angles. This review is really initial impressions. I've had it for approx 6 weeks and it has a little under 3k on the clock.
Comfort and Urban driving.
Very Good, 8-9 out of 10. Easy to drive and good noise levels cruising around town. Reasonable visibility, the vehicle is a mid range size wise and doesn't have the high driving ...
Read moreposition of a full size off road 4wd but certainly a higher driving position than a standard sedan. The auto gearbox seemed a bit twitchy (surging kick-down) initially but with a bit more familiarity in the car my driving style has altered to suit. (I came out of a Captiva Diesel which has diesel lag measured in days so that may have contributed to the feel of the new car, I was used to having to plant my foot and wait for something to happen). The petrol 3.2 is very responsive and has plenty of pick-up when you give it a boot-full of throttle. Economy is reasonable so far, started around the 12s - 13s but as things bedded down and I got used to it I now look to get around the mid to high 10s in urban driving which isn't bad for a 3.2 litre. I haven't used the 'Sport' gearbox setting much, haven't really found the normal 'auto' setting lacking in any performance area, but then I have a lot of grey hair and being first away from the lights isn't an attraction for me any-more.
Off road
This vehicle is to get the spouse and I back into a bit of off-roading, we are not going to be crossing the Simpson any time soon but want a capability to be confident we could venture past the bitumen. First trial was a day trip through the Brindabella Ranges to the top of Mount Coree and then a trip down Gentle Annies Trail. Established trails for the most part but a bit rough in patches and certainly the Coree summit road and Annies are not tracks for normal vehicles. The vehicle handle everything without a problem. Tried the auto hill descent system on Annies for a while, seemed a bit of overkill and handling the descent in low range with manual gear selection was ample. The hill descent would come into its own on extreme drives maybe, I am unlikely to be doing those. All in all initial impressions are this car will easily handle the off road we will be asking of it. It certainly gives the impression it could go a bit further than I am prepared to go. :)
Features:
This vehicle has a lot, let me repeat, A LOT, of electronics. We got the electronics convenience package (I think that is the term) that included a raft of features I've never seem in a car before and to be honest they have taken a little bit of getting used to. Having the car nudge the steering wheel back to centre lane is disconcerting to say the least when it first happens. Like all things it just has an adjustment period for the driver. If you REALLY don't like the features most of them can be turned off but some of them are actually reasonable safety additions.
