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Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit

7K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  mrphelps01 
#1 ·
Has anyone cross-shopped the 2014 or 2015 Grand Cherokee? A Grand Cherokee Summit gets good reviews and comes with all the bells and whistles of the MDX Advance for thousands less. Thoughts?
 
#2 ·
We rented a Grand Cherokee for a week in Hawaii last Christmas. Don't know whether it was a Summit. While it is not a serious off road vehicle, it got us to hiking trail heads the MDX would never do. Highway driving the Grand Cherokee felt terrific cruising in a straight line, otherwise a boat with poor acceleration. Engine noisy when accelerating. Interior was much more lush but in a Lincoln Town Car way that I don't like. I prefer the simple and clean interior of the MDX for exactly the reasons many other folks in this forum complain - so obviously a matter of personal taste.
 
#3 ·
Has anyone cross-shopped the 2014 or 2015 Grand Cherokee? A Grand Cherokee Summit gets good reviews and comes with all the bells and whistles of the MDX Advance for thousands less. Thoughts?
Yes, I did. I have 2 kids that are 11 and 13. They did not think the middle seat was as comfortable as the MDX. It does not slide back and forth and does not have as much leg room. They love the MDX's middle seat comfort.

I was in love with the blue/brown interior of the Overland. A coworker of mine bought one, a 2014. The nav system is excellent. The ride is smooth, but firm. I was disappointed to hear, from my coworker, that he closed the rear right door of his truck when it was 2 months old and a piece of trim over the right/rear tire fell right off. A new part had to be ordered. It looked horrible for a few weeks. He also had a recall on the cruise control, and the transmission has a history of issues if you read up on it. MDX has a much better residual value.
 
#4 ·
No I didn't. As much as I like the three Cherokees I owned in the past I could not bring myself to buy another one. My biggest negative is their very very poor customer service. The last straw came when the exhaust fell apart because someone forgot to weld it. The dealer was happy to charge 1000.00 to fix . But when I informed it was warranty his attitude changed.
Two months later and many calls to Chrysler and the dealer it finally got fixed.

At one point after stating that I didn't get treated like this with my Acura the factory rep stated that they were not Acura.
So now I have a TL and a MDX in my garage.

If you do buy one I wish you many good times with it.
 
#5 ·
The Jeep doesn't have a third row seat so it was out of the running when I checked out vehicles before deciding on the MDX. Even though I don't routinely use the third row seat, it comes in very handy for those times I want to use it to take people to a restaurant or something without having to resort to 2 cars.

I've owned a Jeep Cherokee before, a 1985 one, and really enjoyed it. I 4-wheeled with it in a lot of places including many pretty difficult areas such as the slickrock area of Utah, deserts in multiple states, mountains around Ouray, and elsewhere. I don't know if the current GC is up to that level or not or whether you would even care about that aspect (most people will never use it to the extreme I did - an AWD is fine for most people and some people don't even need that). Of course, that Jeep Cherokee was completely different than the current Jeep GC so it's really apples and oranges other than the similarity of the name and the fact that the GC can be had with an off-roading capable 4WD system which the MDX doesn't offer.

If I didn't care about the third row seat I would have strongly considered the GC.
 
#7 ·
I traded my 14 MDX AWD with Tech package for a 2014 Grand Cherokee Limited Diesel 4x4 with Advanced Technology Group, Luxury Group II and towing packages. This equipment brought the Jeep to the same level as the Advanced MDX, but did not have the rear entertainment package. The reason for the trade was due to the amount of issues with the MDX I had and living in a state that applies a mileage penalty for Lemon Law claims. So when trading the MDX in, I got $42k for it, which was my breakeven point for the Lemon Law reimbursement after the mileage penalty and got the $50k Jeep for $43,900... effectively only paying $1900 to dump the MDX.

I have put 4000 miles on the Jeep since buying it. I got between 28-29 mpg on the highway on a recent roadtrip. It's been problem free and more enjoyable to drive and own than the Acura. The back seat is comfortable and can be adjusted to recline a bit. If you do not need a 3-row SUV, I think for all of the equipment that the Jeep provides and the discounts that are being given, it is a great value.
 
#8 ·
The Jeep GC was the one vehicle I seriously cross-shopped with the MDX in terms of price, features and so forth. I was very disappointed when I took it for a test drive:

1. I could not get used to the electronic shifter which has been a complaint of many
reviewers.

2. Even with the Hemi, acceleration was tepid until it built up some steam.

3. It felt ponderous and uncomfortable on anything other than a straight line or
gradual turns.

4. Sound system was no-where near as good as the ELS.

5. Fit and finish were OK above the Nav screen level but below seemed pretty basic
below that.

6. Nav/entertainment interface is very good but speedo/tach were quit dim when
I had my sunglasses on as compared to the MDX.

7 Backseat room was average.

8 The biggest issue was the sales and service. The salesman seemed disinterested
at best even though we arrived in my wife's RDX and are older. No follow-up
call. I also worried about future service and would not feel like I was driving a
more premium brand in a dealership that sells other non-premium products. I know
Acura is far from perfect but my dealer really tries hard to make you feel like you
bought something more than just an everyday product.

9. My wife did not like the Jeep but really liked the MDX.
 
#9 ·
I sat in, but didn't drive, the Grand Cherokee Summit this weekend and all but ruled it out based on the cheap plastic below the stereo and on the center console--much cheaper to me than anything on the interior of the MDX.

About car buying, to heck with the salesman. They're hit or miss. I'd focus exclusively on the price (which you can get over the internet), the vehicle and, to the extent that you can get a feel for it, the quality of the service department.
 
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