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economist sunlstoujfville tribune thursday march 23 2000 15 jeep grand cherokee limited 2000 jeep in a world that has been shrunk by the internet to not much more than a 15second dialup separating the reality from the marketing is getting harder to do every day north americans want to be more euro in style and we want to be more like the japanese when it comes to efficiencies but what north americans tend to forged is we have icons that other cultures not only respect but revere like the harley- davidsons navajo jewelry and the canadian rockies the outstanding example is the jeep i doubt there is a culture on earth that doesnt recognize the jeep name or the look to bring a long harangue to a short conclusion there is no doubt today about the viability of the suv and while mercedesbenz excuse me daimler chrysler may be pumping out mercedesbadged suvs and dodgebranded suvs the jeep is still the name that sings out as one of the true triumphs of north american culture what brings on all this rapture about jeeps was the first real snow storm of the season in the toronto area by design or luck modesty makes me pick the latter i had a jeep grand cherokee limited that romped through the snow and slush and brought back all those reasons why people buy jeeps in the first place the grand cherokee goes back almost a decade to 1992 amidst the sea of suv contenders its hard to remember now what a breakthrough the grand cherokee was at the time here we had a suv with decent room for up to five adults and their belongings along with the luxury of a chrysler new yorker or so i wrote at the time today the grand cherokee looks roughly the same like i always wanted my tonka truck to look but it has been given the best of fourwheeldrive engineering the grand cherokee is offered in two versions for 2000 the laredo and the limited thelaredo comes with jeeps long- serving 40litre inline sixcylinder engine that produces 195 hp and 230 lbft of torque standard engine in the limited is a 47litre v8 producing 235 hp and 295 lbft or torque this v8 is new not a rehash of the old 318 cu inch ohv unit that soldiered on in chrysler service from the days of the plymouth fury and dodge polara outwardly about the only way to tell the difference between the two is the signature sevenslat grille is chrome on the laredo body color on the limited both versions by the way only are offered with a fourspeed automatic transmission if you want a fivespeed manual better look at the cherokee when it comes to how you want your fourwheeldrive things get a bit complicated as one might expect from a leader and pioneer in the segment the grand cherokee offers as standard its selectrac part timefulltime fourwheeldrive system that requires a shift lever to select modes it is reliable and is the system used by most suvs next up is jeep quadratrac ii this set the standard for automatic allwheeldrive systems when introduced and allows power to be transferred from wheel to wheel as needed using a central differential an industry first it is now widely mimicked by other makers new and another industry first is the quadratrac ii with optional varilok axles that have speedsensing torque transfer couplings on the front and rear differentials the quadra drive with varilok adds 770 to the 45215 list of the grand cherokee limited as tested to truly go into the rough varilok has a suspension to go with it gone are the old torsion bars and these have been replaced by coil springs on both grand laredo and cherokee limited which also both come with fourwheel disc brakes fitted to the tester was the optional 740 up country suspension kit that includes skid plate heavy duty suspension with more serious gas shocks p245 16inch tires fullsize spare and tow hooks the beauty of the quadra drive system is its simplicity put the transfer case shift lever in 4hi or 4lo and forgettaabout it the system as normally used in 4 hi or about 99 per cent of the time is absolutely nonintrusive to the driver or passengers despite the conditions on the road where the unprepared or underestimating were spinning off highway 407 on the way home in above mentioned snow storm my tester rolled along unperturbed in fact my biggest problem was remembering to turn off the optional seat heaters set this thing on high and within a minute you could be frying eggs ie it works well an option on my test limited was the 300 trailer towing group with the v8s 295 lbft of torque and the quadra drive system towing a boat into a hardtogettolake is make easy the class iv towing package means you can pull 6500 lbs 2948 kg if you use the 40litre inline sixcylinder the towing limit is 5000 lbs 2268 kg an interesting option is the climate control system that relies on infrared to gauge temperature in the passenger cabin i was also surprised at the fuel economy which considering i was in fourwheeldrive most of the time was pretty reasonable according to transport canada the 47 with quadratrac returns 161l 100 km 18 mpg city and 116l100 km 24 mpg highway and thats with regular gas i am still recovering after receiving my esso statement that noted payments of 50 and 4726 in one week for filling a highlyr touted german suv with premium fuel i may even have to take out a loan the limited is not limited when it comes to standard features and i dare say it is up to mercedesbenz standards when it comes to creature comforts and amenities one of these is the homelink garage doorsecuritygate opener system while the cd with indash changer and concert hall sound is the equal of any system offered by anyone the 10disc remote cd changer as fitted to my tester was 300 and it is important to note jeep has not let the significance of its icon status fritter away while trying to keep up with the other ultralux suvs jeep markets itself as the granddaddy and leadingedge suv and they put their claims up for anyone to test as part of what they call jeep culture whether it is learning how to 4x4 at jeeps own training course in maple ont or one of the annual jeep jamborees owners are encouraged to bring their jeeps along and see for themselves with proper supervision what real four- wheeling is all about as far as i know jeep is unique in this regard and it is a credit to their belief in their product whether up to the hubs in mud or slush the beauty of the grand cherokee limited is the passenger cocoon is so refined that outward disturbances are there to be passed by not overcome this is the crucial difference those opting for sport- cutes or softroaders have found out they are nice on wet or slick roads but they dont cut the mustard when the conditions turn harsh while the jeep cherokee limited may be shouldertoshoulder with similar highbuck luxury suvs in terms of civility it is still a standout for its ability to provide refined accommodations when the going gets rough s automotive mty formerly portable automotive specialists in engine rebuilding parts complete machine shop service flywheel 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