Jeep SRT Blog: The most
pointless vehicle?
By Zachary Filtz
Saturday, November 29,
2014
Have you
ever wondered what the most pointless car is on the market not right now on U.S.
soil? No, Mercedes-Benz, does not build it. It is not the CLS-class AMG, nor is
it the station wagon-like Benz E63 AMG Wagon. The Wagon can get honorable
mention. Chrysler-Fiat Corporation currently makes it. What is it? It is the
hot rod-like Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT.
The
Grand Cherokee has long offered available additional power, but only since the
previous gen did it start offering the famous “Hemi” moniker, and only since
2012 has it offered this large, heavy 6.4-liter good-old iron block monster.
Let’s crunch the numbers. The SRT G-Cherokee serves up an impressive 470
horsepower (tying the Chrysler 300 SRT and about tying the also-large Dodge
Charger SRT), 465 pound-feet of torque, and is about good for a 0-60 rush of
just under 5.0 seconds, at least with the outgoing, if dated, 5-speed automatic
transmission, which dates to the era when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Why is this unnecessary, may the reader ask? How many
SUVs can you think of that that have almost more power and torque than a V-8
Camaro? It gets worse. There is not much practicality, as the 4WD system is
really tuned to operate like an all-wheel-drive system, making it less friendly
through the mud like the regular GC is, and more suited to a drag strip, or
airport runway. In other words, an SUV that does not do what SUVs are known
for. With the Jeep name, one thinks of a car that does what the billy-goat
does, climb mountains, run through the mud and descend steep hills. Not so with
the SRT GC. It is tuned to turn like a car, with its big wheels and tires, but
it does like to steer well. How well can a 5300-pound sport utility turn?
I create this idea that it is pointless with this. If you
want an SUV with power, then there are other options. BMW sells a few V-8 options
with its X5 sport utility, I believe Mercedes still offers a V-8 with the
ML-class, and Audi only offers smaller engines for its sport utilities. So, if a
customer wants power, why not consider those, or something like a Charger
sedan? Perhaps with the Hemi, or the Challenger in some off-the-wall color, or
something similar. Is there really a market for Grand Cherokee SRT to continue?
It also is not very new. It has been sold on our shores
for the last eight years, skipping a year before it got redesigned, and then
started to be available again. It started off as a mid-size GC with what
appeared to be a cheap body kit, huge, shiny-looking wheels, and still a tuned
V-8 that would top 140. It was as fast a Ford Mustang in a straight line. But
not like Mustang buyers would care. What has changed since then? Nothing, it is
the same formula, save for the $70,000 sticker price. A person could buy two
Camaros for that price, and probably have more fun than something like this.
With Chrysler’s recent mistake by trying to make the SRT
name its own brand, as well as refusing to offer individual SRT dealer, the
brand will now fold back under the Dodge group. This was to include the Charger
and Challenger cars. This means that Grand Cherokee SRT was to be sold at Jeep
dealers again rather than Chrysler-Dodge-SRT dealers, and what appears to be
the end of the 300 SRT sedan, which was the first of the still-in-production
Chrysler cars to be available with the SRT tuning treatment. In other words,
the fate of the Grand Cherokee SRT is uncertain. If you are looking to buy a
heavy SUV that goes fast in a straight line and a high sticker price, then the
Jeep SRT just might be your ride.
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