Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2015 Jeep Cherokee TrailHawk; Day 1

[OliverD]

Well by that logic all reviews are silly because we all have different personal tastes and needs for different aspects of driving. 

Not at all. Reviews say why things are good or bad. Just having a chart of options with some having checkboxes provides no context.

[Noto]

Writers often do, in fact, tell you if they think that an option is superfluous or is well-worth the charge commanded for it.

"As spec'd" is an interesting idea that wouldn't likely be too time consuming, but perhaps the better way is to cite the "volume" model (i.e. which trim is expected to sell in the highest #s and for what price)

[OliverD]

Writers often do, in fact, tell you if they think that an option is superfluous or is well-worth the charge commanded for it.

For sure, and I'm not arguing against that.

[nlm]

Just having a chart of options with some having checkboxes provides no context.

Sorry that's not what I was proposing. As part of a regular review, instead of the paragraph text list of options, replace that with a table. Within the article the reviewer would comment on options as they normally do. The chart is a summary at the end of a review. I don't see any extra time over what is normally written in an article.

[tooscoops]

commenting on it in the text would suffice for me... just my opinion of course... but a statement of the option and what makes it good.

like the v6... worth it to increase towing to maximum in it's category and to make the most of 9 gears... the 4x4, even if just for the re-sale... the tow group, because it's part of what makes it impressive.... things like that.

anyway... to Ontariodriver... all cars are a compromise... the grand caravan as you mentioned, was the cheapest 7 passenger available and happened to also have the best fuel economy... those two things are paramount to many even when compared to reliability... over the years, they have increased reliability, kept the low price, but have become less competitive in fuel and are no longer the maximum in passenger capacity... as one thing gets better, others will get worse. figure out what things are important to you and buy the car that has those things as their top priorities.

this jeep... top in capability, top in tow capacity, top in interior amenities... but unknowns in reliability, not a huge amount of space and questionable style. some it will work, others, not so much.

[jamie1]

Having our Cherokee now for just over a year, it has some quirks that I can let go, but this 9 speed transmission I just HATE, HATE HATE. After 3 flash updates, the transmission is basically now a 7 speed. 2nd gear has essentially been programmed out in Chryslers attempt to fix the 1-2 wobble. [which mine still has. They hope to have a"fix" by the 3rd quarter] I used to be able to get 9th gear, but no more. Had this been the shifting like this when we bought, we wouldn't have bought it. Chrysler better get this ZF POS working right, because they are putting it every FWD vehicle we sell.

[Solstice2006]

Having our Cherokee now for just over a year, it has some quirks that I can let go, but this 9 speed transmission I just HATE, HATE HATE. After 3 flash updates, the transmission is basically now a 7 speed. 2nd gear has essentially been programmed out in Chryslers attempt to fix the 1-2 wobble. [which mine still has. They hope to have a"fix" by the 3rd quarter] I used to be able to get 9th gear, but no more. Had this been the shifting like this when we bought, we wouldn't have bought it. Chrysler better get this ZF POS working right, because they are putting it every FWD vehicle we sell.

The transmission on this vehicle is one of the main reasons why I am hesistant to consider this as a tow vehicle.  If I want to avoid the 7 seater, have to look to the Grand Cherokee (2012 or newer V6), and maybe the Tahoe. 

[pcsp]

Having our Cherokee now for just over a year, it has some quirks that I can let go, but this 9 speed transmission I just HATE, HATE HATE. After 3 flash updates, the transmission is basically now a 7 speed. 2nd gear has essentially been programmed out in Chryslers attempt to fix the 1-2 wobble. [which mine still has. They hope to have a"fix" by the 3rd quarter] I used to be able to get 9th gear, but no more. Had this been the shifting like this when we bought, we wouldn't have bought it. Chrysler better get this ZF POS working right, because they are putting it every FWD vehicle we sell.

I think the writing is on the wall for multiple-speed transmissions. Issues seem to be increasing and customer satisfaction and acceptance is dwindling. Overly complex and bug ridden. CVTs, on the other hand, are increasingly becoming very focused on being unobtrusive, dare I say "performance oriented", and reliable. Many examples abound.

[dirtyjeffer]

The transmission on this vehicle is one of the main reasons why I am hesistant to consider this as a tow vehicle.  If I want to avoid the 7 seater, have to look to the Grand Cherokee (2012 or newer V6), and maybe the Tahoe.

tough to beat the Tahoe...GM's bigguns are pretty bulletproof and great workhorses...the newest gen are also fairly decent on fuel economy (relatively speaking, of course).

[sly]

I was told Jeep were badly unreliable and never considered one until I needed something cheap to tow 5,000. I was also surprised when I test drove a Jeep Liberty in 2006 and I ended up leasing one ( did not trust buying one). Drove much better than anticipated and seemed rock solid until I reached 60,000 km. It went downhill fast from there and got rid of it. I wonder if these new Cherokee are any better built?! Doubt it. May seem good new but... likely a risky buy for the long run.

[tooscoops]

just had a liberty traded in with 235km that they loved and were sad to part with... tough to base it off just one and your personal experience...

but in your comments' defense, the liberty was not the best vehicle out there... it usually held up decently, it was the loudness and brash feel/sound that most disliked...

as for being better built... they most definitely are... but the actual things it is built with will be the real questions (the 9-speed, tft screens, 8.4" uconnect, etc.)... the majority of the components are huge upgrades... the build quality is greatly improved... the materials seem head and shoulders about the previous choices. but that doesn't mean problem free and increased reliability unfortunately.

[Noto]

guy who parks beside me just traded in his brand new Cherokee North for a used MB B250.  He quoted the 9-speed as the #1 issue, but other reliability issues, such as a rattle when accelerating, as major deciding factors as well.

[EV-Light]

I was told Jeep were badly unreliable and never considered one until I needed something cheap to tow 5,000. I was also surprised when I test drove a Jeep Liberty in 2006 and I ended up leasing one ( did not trust buying one). Drove much better than anticipated and seemed rock solid until I reached 60,000 km. It went downhill fast from there and got rid of it. I wonder if these new Cherokee are any better built?! Doubt it. May seem good new but... likely a risky buy for the long run.

I also had a similar experience with an 08 Liberty! I got rid of it as soon as things started going downhill at 55k

[mixmanmash]

commenting on it in the text would suffice for me... just my opinion of course... but a statement of the option and what makes it good.

like the v6... worth it to increase towing to maximum in it's category and to make the most of 9 gears... the 4x4, even if just for the re-sale... the tow group, because it's part of what makes it impressive.... things like that.

anyway... to Ontariodriver... all cars are a compromise... the grand caravan as you mentioned, was the cheapest 7 passenger available and happened to also have the best fuel economy... those two things are paramount to many even when compared to reliability... over the years, they have increased reliability, kept the low price, but have become less competitive in fuel and are no longer the maximum in passenger capacity... as one thing gets better, others will get worse. figure out what things are important to you and buy the car that has those things as their top priorities.

this jeep... top in capability, top in tow capacity, top in interior amenities... but unknowns in reliability, not a huge amount of space and questionable style. some it will work, others, not so much.

I don't think the Grand Caravan had the best fuel economy out of the minivans.  IIRC, the Odyssey has handily beat it for more than a decade.

In my first hand experience driving both a Grand Caravan and Odyssey, I typically average 2-3L/100km in the Odyssey.

[tooscoops]

quite surprised that you would get 2-3 better in the Honda... I drove both (though limited to a week in the Honda) and got nearly the same.. that was abut 4 years ago though... the ratings are within 1l100 as well iirc.

but my point was poorly worded and too quickly typed. my bad. I meant that it was among the most fuel efficient 7 passenger vehicles such as big suvs and a few other full sized vans... more a comment towards all the mini van's strengths of which the GC just happened to be the cheapest