Review: 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited – Part 2
Under the hood of the Jeep Cherokee Limited is a 3.2L Pentastar V6 that puts out 271 HP and 239 pound feet of torque. It’s mated to a 9 speed transmission. That’s not a misprint. This gearbox has 9 cogs in it. Now you’re likely asking why would Jeep put 9 cogs in a transmission? The extra gears are supposed to improve both acceleration and fuel economy. The engine and transmission drive all 4 wheels via Jeep’s Active Drive II 4×4 system. Active Drive II 4×4 comes with low-range gearing which is great for rock crawling and has a neutral mode for flat towing behind an RV. It offers Snow, Mud/Sand and Sport modes, the latter delivering more power to the rear axle for a sportier on-road feel. You also get hill decent control and an off road suspension as part of the package too.
So, how does this combination work? There is lots power and torque available, but there were times where I put my foot down on the highway to pass a truck and it took a second to accelerate. It didn’t happen all the time, But it did happen frequently enough that I decided to mention it. I’m guessing that it is due to the fact that the transmission has to drop a few cogs so that the Jeep can accelerate. Though I will note that putting the vehicle into sport mode helps with this. I would recommend that you plan your passing activities when you’re on the highway so that you’re not caught out by the second or two of hesitation should it appear. Beyond that, I really do not have any complaints about the engine or the transmission. In terms of the latter, it for the most part shifts smoothly and there’s no “shift shock” which is that slight lurch that your vehicle makes when your transmission shifts gears when accelerating. You can easily use the accelerator to crawl through stop and go traffic and on the open road you can deliver the right amount of power to get the speed you want. The brakes are easy to modulate and bring you to a stop smoothly. In terms of fuel economy, I’m averaging 11.8 L/100 KM on 89 octane gas in mostly city and some highway driving. That’s pretty good considering that this is a SUV that isn’t light. Plus my daily driver which has two less cylinders and 120 less HP gets about the same fuel economy in the same conditions. Other than tire noise things are quiet inside the cabin unless you put your foot down. The ride is smooth and steady, floating over big bumps but taking the edge off the sharper ones. It handles curves as better than most SUVs in this class with minimal body roll. Though if you push it too hard in a curve, you’ll be reminded that it’s an SUV due to the high center of gravity.
Now let’s head off road. To test its off road capabilities, I headed to a gravel road in Belfountain which is north west of Toronto that has very steep uphills, downhills and sharp turns. It’s usually frequented by the pickup trucks and SUVs that are owned by the farmers in the area. The rough winter that we had really made this road rougher than normal. In the past, it was a challenge to drive this road. But now I feel that vehicles designed for off road use are the only vehicles that can handle this road because it has become so rough. Also having previous experience driving off road (I took a off road driving course that was run by Land Rover) helps as well as you can make a mess of a vehicle if you don’t know what you’re doing off road. Having said all of this, the Cherokee was able to deal with this road exceptionally well. Ruts, uneven terrain, and loose gravel did nothing to upset the Cherokee. One thing that was really handy was hill decent control which made going down really steep hills way less stressful. If you need to drive off road as well as on road, this Jeep is for you.
The next part of the review will look at the interior which is a very interesting one. Stay tuned for that.
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