Sunday, April 25, 2010
Over spring break the fam rented a 2010 Jeep Cherokee Laredo 4x4 to drive around OBX, NC. My basis of comparison is our 2008 Honda Pilot AWD, my wife’s everyday driver.
The Jeep had a beautiful black metallic paint job, and generally looked really nice. The interior was nicely appointed and generally comfortable, but was less roomy than our Pilot. This was especially true behind the back seat where the forward-sloped rear window dramatically cuts into interior space. Also, the distance between the back seat and the rear hatch at the cargo floor was significantly less than that of our Pilot. As a result there was much less space for cargo in the Jeep. The Pilot actually has a third-row seat; no way would a third seat fit in this Jeep.
On a related note, one thing I have never understood is why doors on US-made vehicles always seem to be 20-50% thicker and heavier than doors on similar foreign vehicles that have equal side crash protection. This directly impacts interior space and ease of exit and entry. This was certainly the case with the Cherokee as compared to our Pilot. In addition, the Jeep’s doors were designed so they opened a bit too far and with the hand-grasps so far aft that you had to lean WAY out of the vehicle to pull the doors closed. Also, the mechanisms that hold the doors open were all far too weak and the doors regularly swung shut on unsuspecting arms and legs - a bit of a pain. You would think that after 100 years of car design they would have figured out something this elementary.
Both the Jeep and our Pilot have V-6’s with a towing capacity of 3500 lbs. Our Pilot has consistently averages 20-21 mpg in mixed driving and usually gets 23+ on the highway. The Jeep’s average mileage for the week in mixed driving was just over 17 mpg even though the official rating is 21 mpg. Pretty unimpressive.
This Jeep is supposed to compete heads-up with the Pilot, and the newer version of the Pilot is nicer than our 2008. At over $36,000 for this Grand Cherokee, it just does not stack up unless one is a diehard Jeep fan. I sure would like to have that black metallic paint job on my Pilot, though.
The Jeep had a beautiful black metallic paint job, and generally looked really nice. The interior was nicely appointed and generally comfortable, but was less roomy than our Pilot. This was especially true behind the back seat where the forward-sloped rear window dramatically cuts into interior space. Also, the distance between the back seat and the rear hatch at the cargo floor was significantly less than that of our Pilot. As a result there was much less space for cargo in the Jeep. The Pilot actually has a third-row seat; no way would a third seat fit in this Jeep.
On a related note, one thing I have never understood is why doors on US-made vehicles always seem to be 20-50% thicker and heavier than doors on similar foreign vehicles that have equal side crash protection. This directly impacts interior space and ease of exit and entry. This was certainly the case with the Cherokee as compared to our Pilot. In addition, the Jeep’s doors were designed so they opened a bit too far and with the hand-grasps so far aft that you had to lean WAY out of the vehicle to pull the doors closed. Also, the mechanisms that hold the doors open were all far too weak and the doors regularly swung shut on unsuspecting arms and legs - a bit of a pain. You would think that after 100 years of car design they would have figured out something this elementary.
Both the Jeep and our Pilot have V-6’s with a towing capacity of 3500 lbs. Our Pilot has consistently averages 20-21 mpg in mixed driving and usually gets 23+ on the highway. The Jeep’s average mileage for the week in mixed driving was just over 17 mpg even though the official rating is 21 mpg. Pretty unimpressive.
This Jeep is supposed to compete heads-up with the Pilot, and the newer version of the Pilot is nicer than our 2008. At over $36,000 for this Grand Cherokee, it just does not stack up unless one is a diehard Jeep fan. I sure would like to have that black metallic paint job on my Pilot, though.
Photo from: http://www.cornermotors.com/
