Chrysler’s 60-year-old Jeep brand is the latest to jump on the new-age diesel bandwagon, adding a state-of-the-art diesel engines to its mid-sized Cherokee and luxury Grand Cherokee off-roader line-up.
The Cherokee’s new common-rail direct injection engine is in fact a larger, more powerful 2.8-litre version of the 2.fve-litre diesel which is already available with the Cherokee. The Grand Cherokee, despite its all-American heritage, gains a direct-injection diesel and matching five-speed automatic transmission from Mercedes-Benz – one of the benefits of the Daimler-Chrysler tie-up.
Whereas normal diesel engines harness a mechanical pump to fire fuel to individual injectors, the CRD engine uses a high-pressure pump to deliver the produce via a single fuel rail.
.For acceleration, the 2.7-litre diesel is only slightly off the pace compared to the Grand Cherokee’s standard 4.7-litre petrol, V8 – 11.2sec for the 0-100km/h – and mostly makes swift work of lugging its hefty 1925kg body around.
The Grand Cherokee’s V8 produces more power, but the diesel offers more impressive torque figures. Both produce a similar peak of around 400Nm, but the diesel achieves this at much lower revs – between 1800-2600rpm – which makes it a better proposition for off-road driving and towing.
In fact, the diesel has the best towing capacity (3360kg) in the Grand Cherokee line-up, which is good news for those wanting to pull a big boat, caravan or horse float.
The diesel’s low-down pulling power came to the fore during more challenging off-road sections. With a fine spread of torque early on, and low-range gearing, the diesel Grand Cherokee takes steep inclines in its stride. Good height clearance combined with a plush ride also allows it to sweep along rutted fire trails with ease.
The Grand Cherokee also copes well with steep declines, despite the lack of any electronic descent aids common on many of its rivals. Again, low-range combined with controlled braking allows for a safe crawl down sharper slopes.
Front and rear-side curtain airbags, as well as front airbags, are now standard, as are rain sensing front wipers.
The Grand Cherokee and Cherokee get an impressive kick from the latest direct injection diesel engines – to the point where many buyers could end up overlooking the petrol alternatives next time they visit a Jeep showroom. Find one here Find Used Opel Cars For Sale Kerry To Suit your needs
.jpg)
