Ever since we mapped out our plans for the apocalypse earlier this year by driving a Toyota Land Cruiser, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, and Mercedes-Benz G550 to Moab, I’ve been thinking a lot about overland vehicles. Overland vehicles, in short, are four-wheel-drive SUVs, pickups, and vans designed to take you to remote reaches of the globe and back in one piece. For many, the vehicle of choice for overland travel is the Land Cruiser because it’s big, comfortable, and incredibly capable off-road. Unfortunately, it’s pretty expensive, too, at $85,000. Turns out most vehicles you’d actually want to take on a long-distance overland expedition are pretty pricey. Well, they were, at least. For less than 50 grand, Jeep will sell you a new 2017 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, which could be the first overland-capable vehicle affordable to the masses.
Although not new to the Grand Cherokee lineup, the 2017 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk is the first iteration to actually have earned the Trailhawk name and Trail Rated badge on its left front fender. Unlike the last version of the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk (a badge-and-sticker job available in 2013) the new Grand Cherokee Trailhawk is the product of Jeep’s off-road know-how, resulting in an incredibly capable off-roader at a relatively budget-friendly price of $43,990.
The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk is well-equipped for off-road adventure; standard features include a Jeep’s Quadra-Drive II four-wheel-drive system with a two-speed transfer case, an electronic rear limited-slip differential, and a specially tuned Quadra-Lift air suspension. The Trailhawk’s air suspension, an untraditional choice for rock crawling, was tuned to offer up improved articulation and suspension travel compared to standard versions of the air suspension, although it doesn’t improve beyond the Grand Cherokee’s 29.8-degree approach (36.1 with the lower air dam removed), 27.1-degree departure, and 22.8-degree breakover angles. Ground clearance does improve all of 0.4 inch with the air suspension in its highest setting, thanks to 18-inch wheels wrapped in a beefy set of Goodyear All-Terrain Adventure tires.
Other additions to the 2017 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk include the requisite skidplates, red tow hooks, and a black “anti-glare” hood decal. Steel rock rails aren’t standard; they’re a $900 option well worth getting.
Over a day in Malibu, I had a chance to sample one of the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk’s three engine options, the standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6, which makes 295 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. Jeep also offers up its 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, which produces 360 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque, and its 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6, which makes 240 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque in the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. The latter is a particularly intriguing option for the Trailhawk, considering the diesel’s torque and fuel economy should make the Grand Cherokee even more capable off-road.
Still, buyers opting for the Pentastar V-6 aren’t missing out on much. The V-6 paired with an eight-speed automatic (standard on all Grand Cherokees) offers up plenty of grunt on-road despite the extra rotational mass of the knobby off-road tires. Steering remains light and linear, although the tires do mask a bit of the road feel you’d get with summer or even all-season rubber. Despite the Trailhawk-specific air suspension tuning, the Jeep rides well on pavement, making it an exceptional long-distance cruiser.
Knowing a large amount of its drivers head off-road, Jeep engineered this Grand Cherokee to take a beating. Off-road on a dry, dusty, rutted trail running through Malibu’s hillsides, the Grand Cherokee didn’t break a sweat. With the four-wheel drive system in four-low and the Selec-Terrain system left in Auto, the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk just motored on up steel hills and frame-twisting ruts like they weren’t even there. Although many off-roaders turn their noses up at air suspensions because of a perceived lack of reliability, the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk’s didn’t exhibit any bad behavior; it rode incredibly well off-road and never bottomed out on more extreme obstacles, which is an issue exhibited by many air suspension–equipped off-roaders.
Our limited off-road test of the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk didn’t exactly stress the new Jeep, but the Jeep did show promise off the beaten path. Yeah, serious off-roaders will want mechanical locking diffs front and rear, among other things, but for a little more than a Wrangler Rubicon (and less than half the price of a Land Cruiser), the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk offers up some serious off-road potential and on-road comfort at a killer price. With the new Trailhawk hitting Jeep dealers now and a promise to get an EcoDiesel-powered version in our hands, I’m looking forward to finding out just what this Grand Cherokee is capable of.
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