16th Jul 2006, 18:06
Earlier this year I rented a 2006 Grand Cherokee Laredo for a week in Nevada. I was very impressed. It cruised so effortlessly on the highway, up hills included, that I thought surely it must have a V-8, but in fact it was the V-6. The transmission was smooth, and the entire vehicle was extremely quiet and comfortable. I put nearly 1,000 miles on the vehicle and never got tired of driving it. My only complaint was that for a vehicle with so many windows, the body shell creates a rather large blind spot on the driver's side, so I found myself craning my neck around everywhere checking for traffic zipping up beside me whenever I made a lane change on the highway. I drove it 90 miles on dirt roads from Reno to Winnemucca through the middle of nowhere and it rode smoothly and comfortably even on wash-boarded roads at 40 mph. I've never been so impressed before at the way a vehicle handles washboards. They would have shaken my old truck apart at half the speed, but I never even felt them in the Laredo. Even the 4-wheel anti-lock disc brakes were great for slowing down for the suddenly appearing gullies in the dirt road. I really loved it! Too bad I'm too cheap to spring for the $32,000, or I would certainly get one, but I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to spend the money in that price range.
3rd Nov 2007, 00:05
Chrysler isn't really ruining the Grand, yes, the new 2005+ model isn't too beefy underneath and if you slamed it onto rocks or thrashed it it wouldn't hold up. Most poeple don't wheel and if you do, stay away from the Grand and go get a Wrangler. Still the Grand is a fine Jeep for dirt roads, mountain outings, ski trips and around town-- very versatile.
22nd Jun 2009, 05:08
I recently bought a 2006 Grand Cherokee Overland, and like everything about the car, apart from the front suspension. It seems very crashy and bouncy on anything other than good roads. Anybody any ideas. Thanks.
13th Jun 2006, 21:58
I have had no cross wind problems with windows partially up. This Grand Cherokee is about the quietest car I have owned in 35+ years of driving. With windows down & sun roof open, the Hemi sounds great, but very tame with windows up.