unclejjg said:
The best part is about the feedback from European customer's and Chris Ellis' statement that he agrees that the Grand Cherokee's on-road characteristics aren't as good as competitors.........................................................................REALLY?
Where does this clown want to go with the on-road manners?
Meh, I can understand that. Europeans tend to concentrate on handling a bit more and they compare the GC directly with the X5, and ML. Those two cars tend to handle "better" as far as Europeans are concerned.
Part of it is the on-center feel issue. Americans drive a lot of HWY miles, so they prefer a "dead" on-center feel; whereas Europeans prefer a much more reactive steering, even if it means more constant adjustments when driving on a highway. Geometry (camber), Springs, sway bars tuning, shocks, etc, etc. all have an effect on it.
Another major diference is that the GC is actually designed so that is CAN go offrad (bare with me Norm). Lock to lock is greater than in the competition, and that also has an effect on handling.
In short, in the US the GC has been lauded as having an almost "european" roadside manners, but in Europe its ride is still "markedly American" in the sense that it leans slightly more in corners and the steering isn't as reactive.
Jeeps need to be thought and engineered for worldwide consumption now, so the comment was probably directed at other markets, not the US.
Just consider this; even the new Maserati Quattroporte was desinged with the US and Chinese markets in mind above all, and as a consequence the the on-center feel is more marked and conseuently the steering is slightly less reactive. Even though the difference is minimal, I was reading a French review and they immediately noticed the change. And it's absolutely minimal! They just concentrate more on those aspects over there.