A Stronger-Pulling Diesel
by Ross Finlay (24 Mar 03)

Some people think it looks wimpish beside earlier Jeeps to bear the name, but I'm beginning to like the Cherokee more, especially now that a really strong turbo diesel version has been added to the range, in the form of the 2.8 CRD.

When it was launched in 2001 the current Cherokee was available with a 141bhp 2.5-litre Mercedes-Benz common rail turbo diesel - modified, as Chrysler people insist, for the Jeep application - or a much more rumbustious 208bhp 3.7-litre American petrol unit.

A 2.4-litre petrol engine was added last year, and now we've got what I think is probably the pick of the bunch. The 2.8 CRD may not have all that much extra power and torque over the 2.5, but it offers peak figures of both these things at lower revs.

Maximum power is 148bhp at 3800rpm instead of 141 at 4000, and the torque spread is 266lb/ft from 1800-2600rpm rather than 251lb/ft from 2000-2400rpm. It all helps, not just in mid-range pull, but also in the car's general flexibility.

Curiously, or not curiously, depending on your point of view, the 2.8 CRD engine is available only when linked with a four-speed plus overdrive automatic transmission. It's an OK set-up, if not much more than that, although having the overdrive on/off button at the left-thumb position on the selector lever means that you can shift down to fourth, for a blast of overtaking or when driving on a winding road, without resorting to kick-down.

Although the transmission does seem to take some of the edge off the performance, the 0-62mph time of 12.6 seconds is competitive in the class of sub-three-litre 4x4s, as is the 108mph top speed. Economy figures are 33.6mpg extra urban and 27.4mpg combined. CO2 emissions are 274g/km.

Familiar Four-Wheel Drive

Thanks partly to some improvements in the Cherokee's braking system, the 2.8 CRD has a strong 3500kg of towing power, and it does, of course, come with full-time four-wheel drive plus a low-range transfer box.

Mostly in North Wales, the launch exercise didn't involve any off-tarmac motoring (although I saw one bunch of colleagues setting up a dusty photo opportunity on the edge of Clocaenog Forest which may give an impression on shiny magazine paper not evident in reality). But there were plenty of sporting roads where the Cherokee could be pressed on.

One thing about the current model is that it's not just more rounded in styling, but also more compact, than other and earlier Jeeps. So it can be driven quite smartly without seeming to be too bulky, and it's quite at ease wafting through S-bends in dips in the road, or cresting rises.

That 2776cc engine capacity is quite big for the overall dimensions of the car, and it certainly pours the torque on, but it's also flexible and responsive to the throttle. With quite sensible suspension settings, the handling is much nimbler than the kind of thing you still get with some larger and frankly muscle-bound rival 4x4s. Ride quality is well up to the mark, while the rack and pinion steering has none of the lost motion (or all-arms-and-elbows characteristics) in which some American SUVs used to specialise.

Forget The Old Trim Levels

When Jeep introduced the first right-hand drive Cherokee to the UK market, the interior was trimmed and presented like some truck-drivers' diner way out in 1930s Wyoming. The latest version is a great improvement, with a variety of trim surface treatments which may still be obviously American, but look and feel much better. Instrumentation includes a panel above the interior mirror which shows compass bearings. People like myself, without much sense of direction unless it's daylight and they can see the sun, find that kind of thing quite helpful.

Front cabin space is fine, and the Cherokee provides a certain amount more passenger room in the rear than there seems to be at a first glance, although if you want really roomy accommodation the Grand Cherokee is the one to go for. There's a two-piece tailgate in which the door hinges from the side and the window hinges from the top, and you'd better not be standing too close when the glass swings up, which it does rather smartly.

The spare wheel is on the outside of the tailgate, which is where I think it ought to be in a 4x4 of this size, to release luggage space. In some 4x4s that mean an obscured rear view, but the Cherokee has a dip in the back bumper so that the wheel can be mounted a little lower than would otherwise be possible.

Jeep is offering the 2.8 CRD in two specifications: Sport at £20,995 and Limited at £23,995, the top price in the Cherokee range. The Limited adds alloy wheels, foglamps, side curtain airbags, a leather-rimmed steering wheel with audio controls, and various other items to the already quite well kitted-out Sport. An electrically operated sunroof is a £600 option on both models, and full leather upholstery with heated front seats is a £1200 option only for the Limited.

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