by Rea Papas

Created on: January 25, 2009

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is definitely an American favorite car, continuing a successful history of SUVs from an American favorite company: Jeep. Jeep was the first company to make SUVs. In fact anybody that has been to Europe has probably heard people there refer to SUVs as "jeeps." But a company like Jeep, who has made extremely reliable and tough SUVs for nearly a century, had to change its philosophy for this type of car to catch up with the change of lifestyle of the American family, who wanted SUVs to be more of an on-road car rather than an off-road vehicle. Until now Jeep was considered to make rough, bad boy cars built for dirt, mountains and work. Not any more. Just look at the new 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The new design is smooth, slick, and one could characterize it as the Cadillac of SUVs. But underneath this beautiful car lies a beast that is still waiting to roar when you need it.

The Grand Cherokee comes in many editions, depending on the taste and the wallet of each driver. There is the Laredo, the Limited, the Overland and the SRT-8, and the engine varies depending on the model from 3.0 to 6.1lt with a horsepower ranging from 210 to 420. In addition, there are four different style four-wheel drive systems to choose from. New suspensions, along with other small tricks, have cut down the noise and vibration, thereby making the car more on-road friendly.

The heritage of the Jeep name is alive and well in this luxury design of today's model Jeeps. The seven bar front grille complements its aerodynamic, stylish looks. Inside the car, comfort was given first priority with deep seats to sink into and enough leg space for even the 7-foot tall basketball player in the family. Ok, perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but I own a Grand Cherokee Laredo and I enjoy it so much when my wife decides to drive it and I can push the seat back and just lie down.

Jeep offers a variety of other features on its new model Grand Cherokees. Safety ranks high for today's Jeep. It gets five stars for both front and side crash testing. Additionally, ABS brakes, ESP, airbags for the driver, for the front passenger and even side curtain airbags are standard. What about gas economy? Well it is an SUV, and as an does not come close to 40 mpg; however, it can get anything from 18 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. The monster 6.1Llt SRT Hemi V8 gets 11 and 14 city and highway mpg respectively. Compares to other model SUVs, Jeep fairs very well indeed.

So now tell me, after reading this story about the beautiful beast in disguise that is the Jeep Grand Cherokee, don't tell me you won't dream tonight of a weekend trip in the mountains with your very own black Jeep Grand Cherokee? The bikes are on the back rail, the kayak is on the roof, and fishing poles and camping tent are already packed!

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