2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee: Riding Shotgun! (Part 1)

The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee is the bomb! It truly is! I had a test-drive in it last year during Media Day at the 2011 Chicago International Autoshow, and I had a test drive in it again for Media Day at the 2012 Chicago International Autoshow. Both times the ride was amazing. The first thing that I noticed upon entering into the Jeep Grand Cherokee was a luscious and luxuriously appointed interior. It resembled the hand-crafted work usually seen in exotic luxury cars - something british, something Italian. The first name that came to my mind was Bentley - which was induced by the somewhat tan leather that I've previously observed in Bentley automobiles. Infact, the leather is not exactly tan, but is almost like a hybrid between tan and chocolate. It is visually sensuous and exuded high quality and ultra fine handcraftsmanship. I was simply amazed - I'm sitting there thinking like, "All this in a Jeep? Wow! Jeep is taking it to a whole 'nother level with this interior design."As I looked further, more closely examining my interior surroundings, and on an alert from the driver, I realized that even the dashboard was wrapped in leather. Maybe I've been living under a rock or haven't been in an ultra high end luxury vehicle before, but I had never before heard of or seen a dashboard wrapped in leather (lol)! Now even more unique about the interior of this Jeep  Grand Cherokee is the color scheme....the sensous brown-ish tones of leather,mixed with real wood doing a nice jazz dance with black leather and chrome accents. Pure gorgeousness! It's a "music" of love! The interior designers really have a knack for an intelligent appropriation of color tones. They got this girl looking really nice! Kisses! (lol)

Now, I did aforemention that I have taken test rides in the Jeep Grand Cherokee twice. Well let me tell you folks, this truck has fantastic ride handling. It is superb and squeaky clean! As the driver put the vehicle through a tortuous and rigorous test on the indoor offroad trail, containing almost every off-road obstacle imaginable, I could hear narry a squeak in any part of the suspension. The Jeep's independent suspension is tremendously adaptive and it felt like a conqueror and handled like a champion.

In addition, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has an adjustable ride height feature, one for park (getting in and out), another for normal driving, and another for offroad driving. When in park mode, the height is automatically adjusted to 6.2 inches, in normal driving mode, the ground clearance is 8.1 inches, and for offroad driving, the suspension can be raised to 10.7 inches. This is all due to a new state-of-the-art Quadra-Lift air suspension system. Furthermore, the bottom of the vehicle is fitted with steel skid plates to protect the undercarriage from being damaged by debri when offroading. Adding to the wonderful offroading experience of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, is the fact that when Jeep did the redesign in 2011, its engineers added a whooping 5400 new welds! This increased body rigidity during offroading by 147%. Toping all this off is a standard 3.6 liter V6 engine that puts out 290 horsepower and 263 pounds of torque. You can also choose to have a 5.78 liter V8 that puts out 350 horsepower and creates 293 pounds of torque.

Now folks, what more could you ask for? Like really?! Do you think there is anything more that you could ask for? The only thing that you could do is go to your nearest Jeep dealer and ask for yours today!

Below is the video of my test ride in the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

As you can see in the article title, we have in parentheses, the words "Part 1". In Part 2, we will describe in detail, the exterior design of the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. There is something that makes its design so cute, but macho, and loveable! We want you to know what that is!

- Gebre Mesquitta

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

        From since I was a little boy, I've always admired Jeep SUVs. The primary reason maybe derived from the fact that my neighbor used to drive one. My memory goes back as far as to say that I first remember him driving a Volvo sedan. It was a nice, decent, hardy cream brown sedan. He then bought a new vehicle - a Jeep Cherokee. It was boxy-chunky, manly-looking, cute SUVand could tackle any significant almost any depth of snowfall. Man did I love that little truck. I would listen out for when my neighbor was leaving for work, and when he'd arrive after work, just to see him drive his Jeep Cherokee!  What I liked best about that Jeep was the front fascia (including the litte headlights mounted in front), the overall shape, and the wheel design.

        Later on, about three years later, I believe, my neighbor bought another vehicle and it was a Jeep again. However, this time it was a step up - a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and it was hot! This Jeep model was what officially cemented me as a fan of the Jeep brand. It was a beautiful SUV, smooth-drivin', assertive, more curvy (a sexy too). And I didn't even know what sexy meant back in those days (lol)

        Over the years, Jeep has made many modifications to its Jeep Grand Cherokee model, culminating with a final awesome model for 2011. Yes! The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is here. And it is hot!!

I will begin by mentioning that the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee was first brought to my attention by my brother. He had seen it on some site on the internet. Next, he saw it on the road. We were both in the car, and there was some SUV in front of us at the red light. I never really saw the vehicle ahead of us, but my brother recognized it first. When my brother had told me about it, it was too late. But when he tried to jiggle my mind by roughly describing it, all I could fathom out of my memory was a rear end of an utmost vivacious curvature, with the rear lights high up on its surface  (...ummm like a high waistline hahaha).

I decided to google "2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee" to find out if this was the one that I had seen. It happened to be the exact same model and it was stunning! The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is a great achievement for Jeep. Luckily, the SeraniTafari Street Team got an invite to the Chicago International Show from the Chrysler Group through Jeep Midwest, and was able to get to see up close and personal, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. What I found out at the Chicago Autoshow, was that Jeep was also offering rides in its vehicles! I was exhilarated!

The grille is a different caliber of chrome! It looks soo bright! Also, the headlamps are inset, lending attention to the area



Checkout the chrome horizontal piece between the rear lights! 2010 Ford Taurus-esque! Genius! (lol)



Checkout how the rearlights are inset, rather than flush with the surface...attention catcher!



        The ride offered by Jeep was through a mini, and brutal off-road course. Among the obstacles it consisted of were big rocks, and an 18 foot high 35 degree inclined plane. The drive over the rocks was jolting to the body, but felt easy for the SUV. The suspension was tremendously adaptive, and totally independent in the fullest sense of the word! What was also remarkable about the off-road experience was how there was not even a squeaky sound in the suspension as it traveled. It was just silence and the to-and-fro body movement of another passenger in the vehicle.

Below are pictures of the Jeep Grand Cherokee as it took on the "offroad trail' at the Chicago Autoshow.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee tackled this 18ft 35 degree incline with ease! It was a cakewalk!!

- Gebre Mesquitta