New Grand Cherokee miserably fails moose test

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Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: caravanmike
test was FAKED and done with an overloaded vehicle.
Link:
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2012/07/moose-test-faked


It was not faked. Look at the quote above.

They were actually UNDER the maximum allowable weight.


The Germans passed it:
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2012/07/grand-cherokee-survives-german-moose-test

Of course the Jeep Grand Cherokee is built on a Mercedes Benz ML chassis so they might have been a little biased
lol.gif
 
I'd like to see the test with about 500Lb of luggage strapped to the roof...
 
Originally Posted By: TFB1
I'd like to see the test with about 500Lb of luggage strapped to the roof...



...and a driver (female) talking on her cell phone.
 
I'll belive Bob Sheeves over the Swedish meatballs who conducted err rigged the test.

Oh Mr Sheeves knows more about suspensions than most since he was JTE designer, is a consultant in the industry.
 
This is what I picture when you swerve in all SUV's. I like a lower center of gravity myself. One reason I've always liked station wagons.
I'd still drive the new GC. I think it's one of the more handsome SUV's on the road.
 
I hear them comparing the GC handling to a crossover and a station wagon. Not a fair comparison. The Jeep GC won't handle like a car or a crossover no matter how many bells and whistles they put on it. I had an older one with the narrow wheel base so I knew it was unstable. But what year is this? Its not mentioned. Looks recent.
 
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
its..its...its a JEEP thing. You wouldn't understand! ROTF LMAO



If found upside down, please roll over??? LOL.

Bummer if this is all the case. I have really liked the lines of the JGCs that Ive seen recently.
 
This is so old, and has been posted 10x on each WK2 forum. Nonsense. I have yet to see a moose in KS. We saw one once in the 23 years I lived in ND.
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Originally Posted By: dave1251
Not surprising at all. That is why if I am in my truck I will not try a maneuver like this.


My truck has a lift kit in it...a mild one, but I know it would roll were I to try this maneuver this violently.

That's part of why my kids aren't allowed to drive it. It's a real truck (that sees real 4WD terrain), not a soccer-mom mobile as the GC has become, so for the safety of teen drivers, they drive cars: lower CG, better brakes and handling.
 
I'm guessing the previous generation would have done better ... looks to me like the independent suspension folded ... just like it did in the independent suspension army jeeps.

A solid axle jeep with the same dimensions would have spun out.

Whatever they did to get it to fold the suspension is what debeaded the tires. Its practically sliding on the sidewall.

My xj would have flipped ..I have 3.5" of lift, tires that are 3" taller but 1 inch narrower mounted on front drive offset wheels.
 
I think this is a serious deficiency with many of today's SUV's.

They feel safe because the driver sits high, you don't realize how fast you are really traveling and the vehicle feels BIG (safe)
But the handling, even at moderate speeds, in a maneuver like this, can make them a hazard to the occupants or other road users.

We have mandated safety regulations for equipment like Air bags, Seat belts, Anti lock brakes. I think it might be nice to see a requirement (for passenger vehicles) to attain a minimum standard of breaking and safe handling??
 
When the test is conducted properly with measured inputs into the steering wheel, ie a repeatable test, it passed, but when you have the Swedish meatballs conducting and rigging the test, anyone can make any vehichle fail?
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I'd like to see how an '04 or older model with solid axles would do. Seems like they took away one of the best attributes of the GC and it still handles like [censored]! What's the point?


Actually, solid-axle Cherokees and Grand Cherokees handle very well on smooth roads. Very little body roll, and very stable cornering... they let you know they're not a Miata, but they don't bobble around much. Now if the road is washboarded out, VERY different story- the solid axles kill cornering when the road is rough because the wheel hitting the rough spot transfers the bounce over to the wheel that is on smooth pavement.

But as for this so-called "test", I think it probably could do better, either with different programming or without the gas-bag suspension technology. That said, it IS an SUV, and the two vehicles they "compared" it to are clearly smaller and clearly have lower CGs. They should compare it to a Pilot, Tahoe, or Armada and see how those do. I've driven the new JGC and even horsed it around a bit. Its much better than most comparable SUVs. And even with all the theatrics they showed in that video, it never rolled, missed the "moose," and never left its lane even with a blown tire. I'd say it passed.
 
That's what's frustrating, the solid axle models probably would have done just as well, but that awesome factory off road capability was replaced with a car suspension for "ride and handling."
 
From the original magazine if wondering:

Quote:
Cars used as references
We have used two cars as reference cars in the moose test: Volkswagen Touareg and Volvo XC90. Both the Touareg and XC90 can maneuver on the set track at speeds around 43.5 mph (70 km/h) without any tendency to roll over. Other competing car models, such as the BMW X5, can also handle speeds around 43.5 mph (70 km/h) without any problems. Compare the pictures to the right with the Jeep Grand Cherokee and how it performs in the movie above.

When we ran the previous generation of Jeep Grand Cherokee in the moose test in 2005 the car passed the test without any problems. It is obvious that Jeep has been careless in the construction of the current model


http://www.teknikensvarld.se/jeepmoosetest/

The popping tire is what scares me a lot. That is not explained. My guess some combination(trim level) of tire size/type and suspension settings does not pass muster for the test.
 
The magazines test has been totally discredited, basically they faked it.
 
Originally Posted By: VNTS
The magazines test has been totally discredited, basically they faked it.
How? Where?
 
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