I got this from the Emerald Aisle for a weekend trip to Rhode Island. It is a Standard SUV class.
Fuel Economy: Approx 21 MPG (not impressive despite this being a plug in hybrid and running on only its electronic motor sometimes)
Overall:
I quite like this SUV (except for the fuel bill). Overall, this was a really comfortable SUV where you feel really isolated and insulated from the road. You also sit high up from the ground the seats are pretty comfortable. The tech on this car is also near first-rate as it has just about all the usual tech you expect (including adaptive cruise control). However, it did not have as much tech as the Palaside.
I rented the Palaside the next week. Between the two of them, the Palaside is for sure the easier car to drive at low speeds with the lighter steering and does not feel as big to drive as the Jeep. However, the Jeep feels a big more upscale and premium to drive on the highway as it feels a bit more insulated from the road and has a heavier steering. The Palaside has significantly more tech than the Jeep. Overall, both of these SUVs are excellent rental cars for a nice road trip and are comparable to renting a BMW, Mercedes, and Audi etc.
Driving Feel:
This car is big, and feels big to drive. At low speeds, you really feel the size of this SUV as the steering is really heavy compared to the Palaside. As a result, it does make low speed manuvering in tight car parks a challenge compared to the Palaside. It was also a challenge to navigate around the tight NYC streets when cars just park in the middle of the road. However, on the Interstate, you don't really feel the size and come to appreciate the heavy steering.
Despite the size, the car handles really well and grips very well to the road, and this grip sensation is likely aided by the heavy steering and I feel that this SUV seems to be RWD biased sometimes.
The acceleration was really smooth and decently fast as the electronic motor does help with providing instant torque. The brakes felt weak and did not inspire confidence in the driver.
Fuel Economy: I didn't charge this SUV (and I didn't see the charging cables provided), and as a result I don't think I benefited from the fuel economy gains a plug in hybrid should deliver. I averaged around 21 MPG mainly on the Interstate 95 without traffic. According to the trip computer, sometimes the car was averaging closer to 40-50MPG when it runs on its hybrid battery pack, but there is no getting out of the fact that this is a large and heavy SUV that inevitably requires burning a lot of gas if you don't charge the SUV. To put it in context, I got roughly the same fuel economy on the Palaside's 3.6L V6 engine on what was almost an identical route (from NYC to Rhode Island).
Interior:
The last time I rented a Jeep was a 2021 Compass, and I was appalled at how poor the interior was (both quality and looks). The Grand Cherokee interior overall looks a lot better and feels more like a luxury car with Jeep's redesigned cabin interior. However, there were definitely some fit and finishes that felt cheap and seemed like they are starting to fall apart after a few months. Judging by the interior quality, I probably would have no complaints with renting one as its a comfortable SUV for a road trip, but I probably won't own one given the interior quality.
This car also came with Alpine Audio.
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Standard SUV - same as the Ford Edge and Palaside. I dont think these three cars should be in the same class...
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Redesigned Jeep car key - so much more upscale than the old FCA key fob design
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Night view
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Night view
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Night view
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Looks decently well but it just feels like the front is missing something - maybe a larger grill would help or maybe having front plates will change it
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This car is big. As you can see, it struggles to fit into narrower parking spots on the street.
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Engine
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Nice interior
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Interior with all the screens off - notice the finger prints on the glossy screen
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Rear heated seats
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Center console
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The new Jeep steering wheel design is a huge step up from the previous generation
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Airy cabin
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Rear seat room
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Ample cargo capacity since there's no second row. The scratches make me sad - this rental car was built in Feb 2024 and I rented this in April 2024 so it was probably just a month old and there were already scratches at the back.
