2011 Grand Cherokee Overland Ordered

[madan]

Originally Posted by fman

I have almost 1000km on my crd overland and I am completely smitten by it. It has done some off road work, though on the easy side, no obvious problems evident and I never bought it for the extreme stuff anyway. I did buy it as a tow platform and I had enough k's on the clock to try a run with a 6m fibreglass boat on the back. It tows like a dream and was able to beat traffic off the mark at the bottom of some steep hills which the old patrol really lost momentum on. The only odd thing to date has been the first time I hooked up the trailer lights I got a range of warnings about rear parking sensors and then it would not start at all, then start and die. A call to jeep assist and was told to lock/unlock the car three times to reset the electronics. It worked and leaves me slightly nervous whether I bought a car or computer. Never had a problem since and am not sure what to make of it all. As a towing platform the tight turning circle and torque are a boon. Reverse camera has black lines off the tow ball so its easy to hook up. I crossed the Pajero off the list because I could not see the tow ball with the camera. Cheers Frank

Did you mean that the Jeep did not start at all when the trailer lights were hooked up...this is the bit that makes me nervous about my order...electrical issues that shouldn't be cropping up when you spend 75k+ on an Overland...

[fman]

I hear you. It has just been that one time and it will be mentioned at service. When I repeated the process, no problems. Perhaps a loose connection somewhere when the dealer installed the towbar? I find it hard to get a drive as the wife has fallen in love with it as well, you are going to love it.

[mtb rider]

Originally Posted by madan

Did you mean that the Jeep did not start at all when the trailer lights were hooked up...this is the bit that makes me nervous about my order...electrical issues that shouldn't be cropping up when you spend 75k+ on an Overland...

Madan,
I picked up my overland (5.7L) at start of July. I then quickly put 1000 km on the clock and had the initial service done within the first 2 weeks as I needed to tow my van on holidays.
I hooked the van up (a 3 tonne Jayco Base Station) and drove from Blue Mountains to Airlie Beech around 5000km round trip. It averaged 22.8L / 100km and did not miss a beat. I traded up from a 2001 Wj GC because WK was was a much heavier car. I absolutly loved the drive the WK GC handled everthing with ease and the extra weight made it feel as though the car was in charge and we wern't being pushed around by the van as was the feeling in the WJ.
It was extremly comfortable for a long trip although the seats were it tiny bit to hard (not much padding).
I had to turn the parking sensors off because when you put it in reverse it thought you were going to run into something and I also had to turn off the blind spot indicators because they were picking up the van and driving me nuts. I used the tow/haul button the whole way as it made for a nicer drive and it seemed to give better fuel ecconomy.

[sparky60]

best car i have had so far rides very well and tows well better ride than the wh doesnt feel at all skitish when the road gets a little rough done a little off road nothing extreme yet but all looks good

[pmac]

Originally Posted by sparky60

best car i have had so far rides very well and tows well better ride than the wh doesnt feel at all skitish when the road gets a little rough done a little off road nothing extreme yet but all looks good

Would you mind letting us know what you are comparing too? I.e. what did you own before in addition to the WH? It would be great to get examples against cars that others have owned such as Prado's and the like to rub it into those friends who are Jap car lovers.

[sparky60]

I have owned fords sixes and eights (falcons and fairmonts), one mistake i mean mitsubishi, a 180b, a navara dualcab 2.4 petrol ute, nissan terrano 11 which i drove to cape york and back and now on my second grand cherokee I have towed with all but the 180b mentioned and strongly believe the grand to also be the best tow vehicle i have had. In a work enviroment I have driven Land rovers, 60 80and 100 series toyotas ,several nissan patrols and a number of utes I work in an open cut coal mine.

[ENFORCER]

On the USA forum a NZ CRD owner has been towing his 2.5t van and been getting an average of 14l/100km. This is exceptional fuel economy for such a heavy load.
I will only be towing a box trailer and a bike rack, so the towing does not mean much to me. What matters is safety, reliability and comfort. As for the comments about the car being a computer, yes they are as are all the new cars. Unfortunately we cannot get away from it any more, you just have to hope that it is reliable. From what I have been reading, they are not problematic cars. They have been out for over a year in the USA so many bugs have been ironed out.