Car and Driver: 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Quick-Take Review: Lunk in a Tux

Overview: Yet another example of how much the Jeep brand has diversified from the spindly, knobby-tired WWII replacement for the cavalry horse is this pumped-up version of the Grand Cherokee. Now five years into its second-generation design, this fat-tired “Street and Racing” SUV with nearly 500 horsepower resides atop the Jeep food chain. At a base price of $66,690, the Grand Cherokee SRT is the most expensive domestic FCA product short of the stray Viper or the insanely optioned heavy-duty Ram pickup. It runs with some fast company—the BMW X6M, Mercedes-AMG GLE63 and GLE63 S coupe, Porsche Cayenne Turbo, and Land Rover Range Rover Sport Supercharged. All those luxury-brand competitors are at least $35,000 more spendy, with some commanding more than double the money. The Cherokee checks all the comfort and convenience, infotainment, and safety-feature boxes on the Jeep menu, along with bringing standard Bilstein adaptive dampers, selectable driving modes, on-demand all-wheel drive, Brembo brakes, and available humongous Pirelli P Zeros to the party. Not to mention that ever-present thunder from under the hood, home to a 475-horsepower 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 with a potent exhaust note. The Grand Cherokee SRT is quicker, faster, and grippier than it looks or feels. If there is such a thing as a value-priced mid-size luxury performance SUV, this 2.5-ton Jeep is exhibit A. READ MORE ››

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