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Chrysler Australia's Jerry Stamoulis believes the new Cherokee reflects the future of Jeep product interiors and powertrain technology.
The most important new Jeep in a generation has been unveiled in the USA and is headed to Australia early in 2011.
The all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee comes with the promise of much better quality and refinement, as well as setting the signpost for Chrysler under its new Fiat ownership. Chrysler has deliberately chosen its flagship - and the best seller for the brand in Australia - to do the job. And there are surprises. Like the Mercedes-Benz ML mechanical packager under the Jeep bodywork, which came during the previous ownership of the iconic American brand.
"This vehicle will show people exactly where the Jeep brand is headed. And it's also about the future of our product interiors and powertrain technology," says Jerry Stamoulis of Chrysler Jeep Australia.
"It is, without a doubt, the most important launch since the new ownership. It's probably the most important since the Wrangler in 2007."
Jeep has already shown its commitment to the car with a $31,000 starting price in the USA, where it is using a rear-drive model as a price leader. It also comes with an all-new Pentastar V6 engine with fuel economy of 10.2L/100km, and 216 kiloWatts from 3.6 litres. The cruising range is a claimed 805 kilometres for the petrol V6 and the cabin has 17 per cent more cargo volume as well as improved passenger space.
But it's the little things - like plastics in the cabin, panel fits, paint quality and the operation of the switchgear - which will show if Chrysler can make good on its promises for the future. "Wait and see, but it all looks good," Stamoulis says.
On the safety front, the Grand Cherokee gets six airbags as standard, as well as active head restraints, ESP stability control and anti-skid brakes. There will also be blind-spot monitoring and a system to warn about vehicles and people behind the vehicle. Off-road ability is a given for the Grand Cherokee, even though the brand has been led into a more urban focus in recent years, but the final tweaking and prices will not be decided for several months.
"The speficiation in the USA is very different to what w'ere taking, and we're still negotiating. It will be very competitive against what we're currently selling and we're negotating with the factory to get the best possible price," Stamoulis says. "We won't be taking the rear-wheel drive car, we will stick with the 4x4 only. But buyers can expect a lot more equipment than the base cars in the USA."
The Australian operation knows the importance of the car, which is set for sales in January 2011. "We would like to see it doing well, but the market will decide," Stamoulis says. "It's our number one performing Jeep vehicle. We've sold more than Wrangler, which is currently at 16,700 since 1996."
