SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get at home.
Unlike most car reports, what you read in these pages will not be a faithful reproduction, albeit slightly reworded, of what appeared in the manufacturer's press release. We look for background material, user experience and whatever else we can find that's beyond the obvious. Our guiding rule is that you will be able to tell that the car was actually driven. If we ever present a product rather drily and technically, you can be fairly sure we were underwhelmed for some reason but too polite to say so. That's because there's always someone who loves those things you or we might hate!
Finally, we do our best to not always present our findings in exactly the same way from one report to another. Variety keeps us interested, right?
*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling at the time the reports were written.
Posted: 26 June 2014
The engine:
Essentially the same as the 3.6-litre V6 Pentastar fitted to the Grand Cherokee we reviewed last November, the 3.2-litre engine's smaller capacity was achieved by fitting thicker cylinder liners to reduce bores by 5 millimetres. The same cast aluminium block is thus used for both engines. Its double overhead camshafts are chain-driven and fuel is fed via serial multiport injection. Direct injection is rumoured to be in the pipeline for 2015 or 2016, but it’s believed that Chrysler is waiting for low-sulphur petrol to become available in the US first.
Fully dressed, the Pentastar V6 is 43 kg lighter than the old 3.7-litre and is made up of fewer parts. For example the air conditioner compressor and the alternator are bolted directly to the block, thereby cutting vibration, so a tensioner is used to maintain appropriate play in the serpentine belt. The engine was designed to be used either North-South or East-West and works with both front- and all-wheel drive.
The gearbox:
The new nine-speed unit designed, but not built, by ZF, serves a torque range between 280 and 480 Nm and is said to use 16-percent less fuel on average than current six-speed automatic transmissions. This car’s 9HP48 ‘box features a new and compact hydraulic vane-type pump, a nested gear set and two patented dog clutches that replace bulkier conventional clutch packs. So what’s a dog clutch and does it bite? You know that rotating propeller-shaped item at the bottom of your microwave that slots in between three islands on the glass platter so they all turn together? Those, together, form a simple dog clutch. Straightforward, effective, and it doesn’t bite.
The features:
Apart from the bigger engine, what sets this edition apart from basic Longitude is yet more high-spec standard equipment. Essentially, Limited boasts heated Nappa leather seats with eight-way powered adjustments and lumbar support for the driver, an electrochromatic interior rearview mirror, bright lower fascia accents, tinted sunscreen glass, a powered tailgate and bigger alloy wheels.
Our test unit had the optional, R32 500, Technology Group fitted. This adds adaptive cruise control with stop and go, automatic high beam headlamp control, blind spot and cross path detection, forward collision mitigation, Lane Departure Warning Plus, parallel and perpendicular parking assistance, a backup camera with guide lines, and rain-sensitive wipers. Assorted other packs fit various models, but this one looks useful for its price.
The experience:
The bigger engine certainly performed more briskly although the basic 2.4-litre Tigershark was perfectly adequate. We had hoped that greater power and torque would help the nine-speed autobox behave better, but it was not to be, unfortunately. It still hunted like a Baskerville Hound (even when warmed up) and the flare remained.
Comfort-wise it’s great; we drove another rugged dirt road, but this time with a full load of adults. The only complaint was that back seat width is limited and the square tunnel down the middle means the centre spot is for kids only. Apart from space concerns, the consensus was that, for fully mechanical suspension, the Cherokee rode very well.
Summary:
This is a competent all-round family SUV with a lot going for it. It has a couple of drawbacks, but we are sure that with some work on the transmission, it will follow in its predecessor’s tyre tracks very well.
Test car from Jeep SA press fleet
The numbers
Basic price: R538 490
Engine: 3239 cc, 60-degree, quad cam, VVTi 24-valve, all-aluminium V6
Power: 200 kW at 6500 rpm
Torque: 315 Nm at 4300 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8,1 seconds
Maximum speed: 209 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 11,2 l/100 km
Tank: 60 litres
Luggage space: 412-500 litres under cover, 1267 litres gross
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km
Maintenance: 6 years/100 000 km
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8