RE: Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 revised

RE: Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 revised

Monday 14th January 2013

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 revised

Is there a motor show going on in America perchance? Sure is!



We’re not usually fans of hefty performance SUVs here at PH Towers, but the SRT8 floats our boat in a way that no others can. Its blend of mean, chunky styling, a  mildly unhinged all-American V8 and a relatively low price mean it’s somehow far more appealing to us than, say, an X5 M or a GL63. Yes, it’s a lumpen thing that corners like a tower block, but like an old, slightly whiffy Labrador, its crudeness lends it a charm that can’t be explained.

In its natural habitat on a track. Er... hang on...
In its natural habitat on a track. Er... hang on...
News from Detroit of a raft of updates to the current model, then, caught our eye; it seems the SRT8 has been made even more bonkers than it already was. The headline addition to this most muscle-car-ish of SUVs is launch control. Yes, launch control. On an SUV. Well, we suppose it’ll help on those all-too-frequent occasions when you’re racing pro-street Camaros between the lights. Just the thing for a rainy night in Altrincham, then.

OK, so it doesn’t work all too well in the UK, and any justification for buying one will be based on decidedly shaky man maths, but just look at it. It’s huge, ridiculous, and fantastic. From the Eastwood-esque squint at the front to the hilariously oversized exhausts out back, it’s seriously mean. And under the skin, it’s unashamedly old-school in its makeup: a 6.4-litre Hemi V8 provides 470hp and 465lb ft – the same as the pre-facelift model – but it’s now matched to the excellent ZF eight-speed gearbox.

Buttons: the SRT8 has them.
Buttons: the SRT8 has them.
The new SRT8 also gets a tweaked four-wheel-drive system that throws more torque to the rear wheels when it’s set to Track Mode – all the better for lurid powerslidey fun times. That’ll mean it’ll hit 60 in a frankly astonishing sub-five seconds, before it runs out of aerodynamics at somewhere just north of 160mph. Utterly bonkers, we’re sure you’ll agree – but admirable in its own way.

Author
Discussion

leghorn

Original Poster:

48 posts

167 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Launch control & Track Mode!!!

pSyCoSiS

3,581 posts

204 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Monster.

Wait to buy one on 3 yeas time where it will prob be a third of the original sale price!

Carnnoisseur

531 posts

153 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
The exterior revisions, although slight, seem to make all the difference at first glance. Not my cup of tea, but love the capability of this car!

kambites

67,460 posts

220 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Mildly amusing vehicle, but I can't really see any appeal in the UK.

Stu R

21,410 posts

214 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Amazing things, especially given how close to the German mega-SUV's it gets with such a difference in price. Looks pretty neat too.

That being said, and casting aside the massive price difference, I'd still rather have an X5M - ugly as they are the performance is mind blowing and it makes the ML63 feel positively behind the curve, both in terms of how well it gets around a bend, and powers out of it.
For the money though (in the US, at least), the Jeep is a cracking bit of kit and looks to be getting even better.

Edited by Stu R on Monday 14th January 13:58

NDNDNDND

2,000 posts

182 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
If this vast, stupid, badly made, automatic SUV floats Pistonheads' boat, then I think I'd better leave...

Fire99

9,844 posts

228 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
leghorn said:
Launch control & Track Mode!!!
I do have a soft spot for Jeeps and the bonkers SRT's but honestly, if you're really considering going around a track, buy a car not a house. biggrin

kambites

67,460 posts

220 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
I'd be interested to know how long the tyres last on a track. hehe

tr7v8

7,185 posts

227 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Umm want!

Fire99

9,844 posts

228 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
kambites said:
I'd be interested to know how long the tyres last on a track. hehe
3..2...1... And you're back in the tyre shop. hehe

After_Shock

8,751 posts

219 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
NDNDNDND said:
If this vast, stupid, badly made, automatic SUV floats Pistonheads' boat, then I think I'd better leave...
Seen one in the metal then? Thought not.

They are actually very very well put together now. Stupid? Well kind of, sounds mental, goes mental and as much of a PH 4x4 as you can get in the mainstream really.

Deranged Granny

2,313 posts

167 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
I have loved these ever since I saw this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...

Fastra

4,277 posts

208 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
WOW!
Very, very similar to.....





Stu R

21,410 posts

214 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Deranged Granny said:
I have loved these ever since I saw this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...
Whipples make everything better. Bet he only lifted because it ran out of petrol hehe

Check out some of the ones Hennessey and RDP Motorsport have done, some truly nutty SRT Jeeps out there with twin turbo conversions etc yes

AdeV

621 posts

283 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Fugly exterior.
Fugly interior.

Superb engine, I want one smile

Stig

11,817 posts

283 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
NDNDNDND said:
If this vast, stupid, badly made, automatic SUV floats Pistonheads' boat, then I think I'd better leave...
Don't let the door smack you on the way out then.

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Pointless really...but it will sell in the US as they like things like this.

Stig

11,817 posts

283 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Fastra said:
WOW!
Very, very similar to.....


If by 'very, very similar' you mean they're both red - then yes.

Other than that - worlds apart.

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Stig said:
Fastra said:
WOW!
Very, very similar to.....


If by 'very, very similar' you mean they're both red - then yes.

Other than that - worlds apart.
What Stig said.
Literally worlds apart yes

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
At least it will/should pass the Moose test now.....
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/09/watch-a-jeep-gr...