On this episode of Ignition
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:06 This week on Ignition, we sample Jeep's sleeper hit.
00:10 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:18 [CRASH]
00:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:38 When Fiat took ownership of Chrysler,
00:40 it put a few people at Jeep in an interesting situation.
00:43 They had to explain this, the Grand Cherokee SRT8.
00:47 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:51 What is it the Italians probably asked in a meeting?
00:53 Well, the engineers had to explain,
00:55 we took the 6.4 liter, 470 horsepower V8
00:59 from a Dodge Challenger and put it in a Grand Cherokee.
01:02 And then we also added adaptive suspension from Bilstein.
01:05 And then we added a limited slip differential.
01:08 How's the fuel economy?
01:09 Not good.
01:10 How is it off road?
01:11 Not good.
01:12 It's got 20 inch wheels and a relatively low approach
01:15 and departure angle.
01:16 You can probably imagine how the Italians reacted,
01:19 but we're certainly glad Jeep followed through and built
01:21 the thing.
01:22 Launching the SRT8 is pretty straightforward.
01:27 You make sure you're in track mode,
01:29 make sure the transmission's in manual,
01:31 hold the brake with your left foot,
01:32 and then mash the gas with your right and lift off the brake.
01:35 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:38 Thing jumps out of the hole pretty quickly.
01:40 0 to 60, 4.6 seconds.
01:45 The quarter mile, 13.3 seconds, just over 100 miles an hour.
01:50 And now for our 60 to 0 braking test.
01:55 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:58 Our best stop from 60 took just 106 feet,
02:03 which is pretty darn impressive.
02:06 Now we begin the figure 8 test in the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
02:09 That's kind of a funny thing to say,
02:12 but it's surprising how well this car works.
02:15 Around our figure 8 course, turning is sharp,
02:18 braking is very good, and you can power out
02:19 of corners pretty easily.
02:22 There's always a little bit of stability control intervention,
02:25 even though we got an ESC off indicator on the dash.
02:29 Understeer at the limit, and when you add throttle,
02:35 there's just that stability control intervention again.
02:39 But still, it's fun to drive a 5,200 pound SUV in anger
02:44 around a parking lot.
02:45 This lap time was pretty impressive, too.
02:52 We were able to beat the Porsche Cayenne S, which
02:55 is pretty impressive from an SUV that costs a lot less
02:59 like this one does.
03:00 [TIRES SCREECHING]
03:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:13 You shouldn't be able to do the things this car can do.
03:17 It's just so capable and so willing,
03:20 it's weird to drive fast.
03:22 I mean, you approach an SUV of this size and of this weight
03:29 with certain preconceived notions of how
03:31 it's supposed to drive, and then you drive it,
03:34 you realize, yep, none of those are true.
03:36 The way this thing goes around a corner,
03:38 how fast you can drive it, it's simply unbelievable.
03:43 And that's sort of the initial appeal of this car,
03:45 is the absurdity of it.
03:47 This is an SUV that weighs 5,200 pounds,
03:50 has 465 pound-feet of torque, weight distribution of 55%
03:55 over the front axle, 45% over the rear.
03:58 I mean, this is an SUV with a track mode.
04:01 This is an SUV you can charge up and down a mountain road
04:04 as fast as you would a sports car.
04:07 It's incredible.
04:07 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:10 At some point, you're going to get over the initial shock
04:12 and awe that is this car.
04:15 And then what are you left with?
04:16 Well, you have a pretty surprisingly comfortable
04:19 and livable SUV.
04:21 I mean, this still seats five.
04:22 It still has a ton of cargo capacity.
04:25 It's still four-wheel drive.
04:27 It still has luxury features like a heated steering wheel,
04:30 heated, cooled seats, radar cruise control, navigation,
04:33 satellite radio, and a lot of other things.
04:36 It's got a lot of features that you
04:38 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
04:39 It's got a lot of features that you
04:41 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
04:43 It's got a lot of features that you
04:44 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
04:46 It's got a lot of features that you
04:47 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
04:49 It's got a lot of features that you
04:51 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
04:52 It's got a lot of features that you
04:54 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
04:55 It's got a lot of features that you
04:57 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
04:59 It's got a lot of features that you
05:00 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:02 It's got a lot of features that you
05:03 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:05 It's got a lot of features that you
05:07 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:08 It's got a lot of features that you
05:10 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:11 It's got a lot of features that you
05:13 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:15 It's got a lot of features that you
05:16 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:18 It's got a lot of features that you
05:20 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:21 It's got a lot of features that you
05:23 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:25 It's got a lot of features that you
05:26 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:28 It's got a lot of features that you
05:30 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:31 It's got a lot of features that you
05:33 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:35 It's got a lot of features that you
05:37 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:38 It's got a lot of features that you
05:40 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:42 It's got a lot of features that you
05:44 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:46 It's got a lot of features that you
05:47 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:49 It's got a lot of features that you
05:51 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:53 It's got a lot of features that you
05:54 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
05:56 It's got a lot of features that you
05:58 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:00 It's got a lot of features that you
06:01 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:03 It's got a lot of features that you
06:05 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:07 It's got a lot of features that you
06:09 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:11 It's got a lot of features that you
06:13 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:15 It's got a lot of features that you
06:17 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:19 It's got a lot of features that you
06:21 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:22 It's got a lot of features that you
06:25 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:26 It's got a lot of features that you
06:28 wouldn't expect from a sports car.
06:30 [MUSIC]
06:40 [MUSIC]
06:50 [MUSIC]