Jeep thrills for all

For 2009, the Grand Cherokee continues its rugged tradition but has thrown off its fatigues and – Jason Bourne-style – dressed itself as a sophisticated urbanite, while all the time being ready for a bit of rough.

It also has the chiselled good looks of a muscular survivalist with its angular wheel arches, squared off body panels and confident but imposing grin of the characteristic Jeep chrome grille framed by the dominant but simple twin SmartBeam HID headlamp clusters.

The muscularity continues when viewed in profile. Its slight upward incline to the rear presents an excellent athletic poise on standard 17-inch rims, while the square tail is modern and understated. In silver, this large SUV's subtle curves and sharp edges cut the same lines as a Beretta: Externally it has very little you could class as "showboating design", but by its rugged and functional appearance you know it is to be taken seriously.

On the inside, the image softens a little. Gone is the chintz, and in comes a slightly Scandinavian feel. The seats, steering wheel, door panels, armrests, and gear and handbrake grips are upholstered with soft leather. Shiny wood veneers have been kept to a minimum (unless requested), and in its place an understated and attractive grey/black colour scheme dominates the upper fascia, upper doors, centre console control elements, side bolstering on the seats, head restraints and upper steering wheel from the lower fascia, lower doors and flooring. As a result, you get a feeling of unity, clarity and sophistication.

But what especially impresses about the cabin is that nothing feels gimmicky. The instruments are clear and simple – white figures sit on a black background – while the steering wheel-mounted buttons for the driver information system viewed between the speedo and rev counter are rocker switches that do the job and rarely break. Then there is the dual-zone climate controls, which are rotating buttons on the centre console, not built into the interface and entertainment centre. Even if some of the quality of the plastic fascia is a little disappointing, the tactile surfaces are not. There has been no compromise on comfort either. The leather-clad seats may not be sumptuous but I could imagine driving for several hundred kilometres over a range of terrain before feeling the need to stretch my legs.

Logic generally seems to rule in this environment, except in one area. The seats need to be relaxing because actually setting the driving position to one of the three memory settings is enough to induce a coronary. Even following the manual's step-by-step process (of which there are eight steps, or 11 if you want to set the radio station that welcomes you every time you climb in), I couldn't work it out.

Insert the key, turn to ignition position but don't start engine, press seating position button and cancel at the same time, hold for a predetermined time, remove ignition key, open driver's door, drive to a cliff, climb through the sunroof, push the vehicle over… and typically, the previous driver – who was obviously more intelligent than me and somehow managed to work all this out – must have had legs as long as a giraffe and the upper body of a gerbil.

I'll get onto how the Grand Cherokee drives in a moment, but I have the feeling that most buyers in this region will be just as interested with the Boston multimedia six-speaker premium sound system with 276-watt digital amplifier, jukebox feature for CDs and a 20GB hard drive for music and photo storage – very useful if you've run out of space on your digital camera on a trip to the middle of nowhere.

Or there's the DVD rear entertainment system. Or the hands-free communication system. Or the iPod connection in the glove box with a little shelf especially for your gadget.

What our vehicle didn't have, surprisingly for a go-anywhere SUV, was satnav. Although it is available on the top-of-the-range Overland, such equipment seems fundamental to feature in a Dh115,000 plus car.

On the road, presuming you have a map and compass to guide you, the Grand Cherokee is no slouch. In our 4.7-litre V8 (which is one litre short of the top-end Hemi-V8 model and 1.4-litres short of the 6.1-litre V8 Hemi-powered SRT8), it felt eager to generate the 305bhp and 453Nm to pull it off the line. Unfortunately, you need to floor the long pedal before it really responds, which may be associated with the electronic throttle control. It also feels like the clutch is a little hesitant to transfer the engine's power to the driveshaft – a problem that is overcome when you switch to manual.

Also somewhere in the transmission there was occasionally a clunky sound, although it didn't affect the drive itself. This might be a symptom of the complexity of the QuadraTrac II full-time four-wheel drive system, which features 4WD low, tow and haul, and hill descent settings. Once in 4WD low (which requires a slow 5-10kph roll to engage), it makes the Grand Cherokee extremely difficult to get stuck because of buckets of low end torque, the ability to concentrate it 100 per cent to the front or rear axles depending on slippage and a gear ratio that gives you greater control during technical driving situations.

That control extends to the weight of the steering which is a heavier than other SUVs in this class, but which I prefer because it brings you into closer contact with the front wheels which are really needed when off-roading.

For a large SUV it doesn't feel like it is swaying around underneath you even when you push it and change direction rapidly thanks to the balance and rigidity of the chassis and independent front and five-link rear suspension. Damping is also very effective at making the ride quality solid but not uncomfortable, although there is a noticeable amount of road noise from the 245mm wide tyres.

The 35 degree approach angle will help drivers avoid high kerbs as well as negotiate rocky terrain and dunes, and while the departure angle is 27.5 degrees, it means access to the spacious 978-litre boot is high. But this mild inconvenience aside, the Grand Cherokee scores pretty highly on the urban functionality and the "SUVs I'd like to be seen in" scale.

This Jeep has inherited the "go anywhere" character and proven off-road capabilities but also has the comfort, refinement and attitude expected from a spacious, modern family car. Economy figures don't rate quite so highly however – 16litres/100km was the closest I could get to the official combined figure of 14.5 litres, but in a region where fuel savings are not a monetary necessity, even if they should be an environmental one, the Grand Cherokee is possibly the best serious and stylish SUV on the market.


The rivals

1. Ford Explorer. The Explorer is comfortable and handles well, but is let down by poor fuel economy.

2. Nissan Pathfinder. It scores well off-road thanks to its powerful engine but is not so easy on the eye.

3. Hummer H3. Hugely popular in our market, the H3 has good off-road abilities but falls down on its lack of environmentally friendly technology.

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