Jeep grand or regular cherokee

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May 15, 2006
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Lakeside CA and Lake Havasu City AZ
Thinking about buying a Cherokee Trailhawk or Grand Cherokee Trailhawk to tow behind the motorhome. Thoughts on either? If I pull the trigger it will be V6 only, and the only options I might be interested in are rock rails and advanced safety system (crash detection and auto braking). New or used, I am open to and looking at options.
 
I'd go Grand Cherokee personally. They're very nice vehicles, and pretty reliable despite what the naysayers think. Grand Cherokee also has a higher tow rating, in case you do have to tow anything.
 
I'd go GC personally, but I'm a bit biased
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Drive both and see which one you like better. If you can get a good deal on a particular example, then go with that
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Originally Posted by PowerSurge
Are you planning on flat-towing or dolly towing?


Flat tow. I have a dolly to tow the current Ford Escape (FWD), but you cannot tow any 4x4 modern Jeep with a dolly, they say it damages the transfer case, so it's either 0 down or all 4 down (or DC the driveshaft, but I am not doing that every time I hook up). They also say to disconnect the battery on the GC, not sure about the smaller one...IIRC something about the electric steering.

Does anybody know if the mileage accumulates when towing 4 down TC in neutral, or if there are any warranty issues if it's towed like that?
 
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Drive both and see which one you like better. If you can get a good deal on a particular example, then go with that
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For sure if all else is equal. It would be my wife's DD, so she has to be happy with the drive and vehicle in general...and she loves her Escape so it might be a hard sell.

For others that commented I too am leaning towards the GC for the reasons mentioned plus the air suspension and better ground clearance (on demand), an extra 9 gallons of fuel with similar mileage ratings, more power, nicer displays, and bigger.
 
I'd go Grand Cherokee, my grandpa has a 14', back seat is pretty cramped, makes me wonder what a regular Cherokee is like.

Also, the Cherokee doesn't have the best transmission.
 
I'd buy neither, but I could be coaxed into the Grand. The regular? Absolutely NOT. The Grand actually leads its class in many ways. The Cherokee is just terrible.
 
I'm a Jeep guy and would opt for the Grand Cherokee. It can come with a real 2 speed 'case so you can do some real exploring if you want to. Not a fan of the CVT based 20:1 low range systems in the front drive based Cherokee and Compass.
 
The Cherokee TH off road will out perform the GC TH off road. Shorter wheelbase, locking rear diff and it has a real low range too. I haven't had any issues with the tranny in my 15 Cherokee or my 19 Rene TH. Take the experience real owners have had over what random forum people say! I actually think the Cherokees have more room in the back seat than the Grands. I traded my 09 Grand Cherokee in for mine and it is much roomier in the back seat, and the WK2 Grands don't seem much bigger in the back seat than the WKs. The Cherokee will feel more like the Escape.
 
Originally Posted by Ws6
I'd buy neither, but I could be coaxed into the Grand. The regular? Absolutely NOT. The Grand actually leads its class in many ways. The Cherokee is just terrible.

+1
 
In my opinion the Grand Cherokee is one of the best looking SUVs and the Cherokee is one of the worst. Based on that alone I would be leaning towards the Grand Cherokee.
 
Although I like the GC better, if I had to buy a Jeep today it would be the regular Cherokee based on crash test ratings. The 2019+ Cherokee is a top safety pick. The GC, on the other hand, has a marginal rating for driver and a poor rating for passenger safety. I would feel better driving the safer vehicle.
 
Originally Posted by ryster
Although I like the GC better, if I had to buy a Jeep today it would be the regular Cherokee based on crash test ratings. The 2019+ Cherokee is a top safety pick. The GC, on the other hand, has a marginal rating for driver and a poor rating for passenger safety. I would feel better driving the safer vehicle.

Wait what? Wow. There is literally no excuse for this in 2020. I only buy IIHS Top+ and NHTSA 5-star vehicles. More fuel for my hatred of the poor engineering Chrysler does.
 
The base model Cherokee is, in my opinion, a very undesirable vehicle. I avoid renting them. The 4 cylinder rental version is a "one star" or mabye 1.5 star vehicle. The rental version has no power, no acceleration, it's noisy, drives poorly and it's not all that roomy (it actually feels cramped to me) or comfortable, but at least it gets poor MPG.

A V8 powered Grand Cherokee on the other hand is very nice. A well equipped Grand Cherokee is a great thing in just about every way.
 
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