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Driving Impressions

Jeep Grand Cherokee combines mountain-goat agility in rugged terrain with stable and responsive handling on the paved roads where most buyers will spend most of their time.

Laredo comes standard with Chrysler's 3.7-liter V6, borrowed from its sister trucks, the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Ram, with its own five-speed overdrive automatic transmission. The single overhead cam V6 produces 210 horsepower and gets an EPA-rated 15/20 mpg City/Highway with rear- or four-wheel drive, not much better than the V8s.

The 4.7-liter V8, on the other hand, is significantly improved for 2008, and it works really well in the Grand Cherokee. This modern, overhead-cam engine is smooth and powerful for around-town and highway driving. It has a broad torque band, a lovely sound, and electronic throttle control (drive-by-wire) that's easy to use and precise in tricky downhill off-road situations. If you don't live in the mountains and don't usually tow anything, this engine might be your best choice. The 4.7-liter V8 produces 305 horsepower at 5650 rpm and 334 pound-feet of torque at 3950 rpm. (Those numbers are up 70 and 29, respectively, from 2007.) It's EPA-rated at 14/19 mpg with rear- or four-wheel drive. It's also flex-fuel capable in 45 states, meaning it can run on gasoline or up to 85 percent ethanol (E85).

The 5.7-liter Hemi V8 is a thoroughly modern engine, featuring twin spark plugs, direct ignition, and electronic throttle control, though it is a pushrod-overhead-valve design. The 5.7-liter Hemi produces 330 horsepower at 5000 rpm and 375 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. Fuel economy is an EPA-rated 13/19 mpg with rear drive and 13/18 mpg with four-wheel drive. Note that it delivers much stronger torque yet matches the fuel economy of the 4.7-liter. Torque is that force that propels you from intersections and helps you tow trailers up long grades, and you can really feel it with the Hemi. Its highway fuel economy rating is aided by Jeep's Multi-Displacement System, which shuts down four of the engine's eight cylinders whenever it detects a steady-state cruise condition and then reactivates them on demand. For 2008, Grand Cherokees with the Hemi get a Fuel Saver Mode display that informs drivers when four cylinders have been shut down.

Both V8 engines use a heavy-duty five-speed automatic transmission with a direct fourth gear for towing. Both this transmission and the five-speed automatic that's mated to the V6 feature a manual shift gate.

The 3.0-liter common-rail turbo-diesel (CRD) V6, engineered by Mercedes-Benz, produces 215 horsepower at 4000 rpm and 376 pound-feet of torque at 2000 rpm. That's as much torque as the Hemi, at half the engine speed. Towing capacity also matches the Hemi, at 7400 pounds (with 2WD); while EPA fuel economy of 18/23 mpg with rear-wheel drive (17/22 mpg with four-wheel drive) yields a driving range of more than 400 miles on one tank of fuel. Clean-diesel technology reduces carbon-dioxide emissions by 20 percent, but the diesel is not clean enough to be sold in Maine, New York, Vermont, Connecticut or California.

The Grand Cherokee offers a nicer ride and better cornering than any other Jeep in history. We don't recommend flinging 4500-pound SUVs into corners, but the Grand Cherokee is competent in this sort of socially unacceptable behavior because it's easy to drive and rewarding within the limits of its tires. There seems to be a flatfooted, stable attitude with this Jeep, similar to that of the car-based crossover SUVs recently introduced (in fact, it's better than some). The steering is reasonably quick, accurate, and nicely weighted. A tight, 37.1-foot turning circle provides advantages off-road as well as in crowded parking lots or when making a U-turn. Still, the Grand Cherokee feels more like a truck than the typical crossover SUV.

Tow ratings are 3,500 pounds for the 3.7-liter V6, 6,500 pounds for the 4.7-liter V8, and 7,400 po

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