Dear Ruth,
How are you? All is well here in California. We hope you, Gerry, Melissa, and Katherine are well, too!
I hear through the grapevine that your Dodge Durango lease ends soon, and you are shopping for a new SUV. I just drove the new Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited and think it may be the perfect replacement for your trusty Dodge!
It may be hard to consider other SUVs when you’ve been happy with your last four Durangos. Don’t get me wrong, the Durango is a great SUV; you wouldn’t go wrong buying a fifth! But the Grand Cherokee L does everything Dodge does little bit—or a lot!—better.
(By the way, the “L” in “Grand Cherokee L” is important—it means the new, lengthened Grand Cherokee with three rows and seating for six rather than the regular two-row five-seater Grand Cherokee.)
I loved the new Grand Cherokee L on my test drive. A bright point was its interior, which had nice materials and an upscale design. Jeep artfully mixed together leather, faux-wood, metal, and glossy black plastic in the cabin. Jeep is trying to compete with Cadillac these days, and it shows! (I remember your Durango had a blockier dash with more rubberized plastics.)
The Grand Cherokee L’s back seats were light and airy thanks to an immense sunroof. Both kids and adults fit fine in the rear.
It can be daunting to learn new infotainment software, but Jeep and Dodge share the Uconnect infotainment system you already know and love. It’s as excellent in the Grand Cherokee L as it is in your Durango!
Happily, Jeep has resisted the current trend of putting all the controls on the infotainment screen. There are real buttons and knobs for the radio, heating, cooling, and drive modes. I also spotted buttons for first and second-row seat heaters, which your kids would appreciate on winter mornings.
Speaking of the littles, the Grand Cherokee L has a cool feature for watching the rear seats! Two video cameras look down on the second and third rows, so you can tell if Melissa is pushing Katherine or vice versa. (Though let’s be honest, Melissa always starts the fights!) Since the cameras give you a bird’s eye view, you can check that their seat belts are buckled, too.
Do you remember when you last picked me up at the airport? My family brought three bags, but the Durango’s trunk only fit our large suitcase and one of the roll-aboards. I don’t mean to complain, but riding home with the second roll-aboard under my feet wasn’t the most comfortable experience! The Grand Cherokee L’s trunk is modestly larger and would have accommodated all our luggage.
I know Gerry takes the Durango to Lowes for home project supplies. Like in the Durango, the Grand Cherokee L’s second and third-row seats fold flat to create a gigantic floor. He’d have just as much cargo space as before!
I have no doubts that you would enjoy piloting the Grand Cherokee L. I know this because it drives almost identically to your Durango GT! They both have quick steering and good body control, and feel unexpectedly agile for their size. (I’m a fan of both SUVs.)
The following may not bother you, but I didn’t love how the Grand Cherokee L felt slightly jittery on cracked roads. I think this was due to the standard suspension for the Limited trim; it just has one shock stiffness. You could consider splurging on the Summit or Overland trim to get the optional adjustable air suspension, but I don’t know if a softer ride and extra luxury amenities are worth another $10k to $15k to you.
What else? Well, the V6 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission in the Jeep are the same ones from your Dodge. As you know, the V6 makes a little less than 300 horsepower. It doesn’t sound like much oomph for a 5,112-pound SUV, but I never wanted for power. The all-wheel-drive Grand Cherokee L’s gas mileage is 18 city/25 highway. That is reasonable but not exceptional. (It is better than your Durango GT’s 14 city/22 highway.)
Overall, I think you’d find the Grand Cherokee L familiar in all the ways you want and improved in many ways you’d appreciate. I know that the $54k starting price for the all-wheel-drive Grand Cherokee L is $9k more than that of a similar Durango GT, but perhaps it’s still in the budget after Gerry’s recent promotion?
One way or the other, please send my best to Gerry and the kids. If you test drive a Grand Cherokee L, let me know if you like it!
Love,
Mike
PS: The Grand Cherokee L shares the Giorgio platform with the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio. Would this satisfy Gerry’s desire to own an Italian vehicle? J/K!
Mike's Steering Column 