another newbie 2011 Grand Cherokee CRD

[fman]

Hi All

After many years of faithfull service it was time to let my 98 petrol Patrol go, geez I loved that truck. Nothing lasts forever though and after much looking and waiting I bought the Grand Cherokee Overland CRD in black. I went for a test drive as a sale had fallen through and fell in love and bought it on the spot. Only 750km's on the clock and just filled up for the first time, already been on some 4WD tracks around melbourne. It is a beautiful drive and the diesel is smooth, quiet and powerful - it goes like a rocket off the mark or off 100km when passing with no noticeable turbo lag. The brakes feel really good too. Will be towing a boat once everything is run in. Happy to provide more impressions or stats if anyone is interested. Cheers Frank

[Nikau]

I have a CRD Overland in my driveway right now. It's "mine" for a week. What an spectacular vehicle; I'm super-impressed by the diesel engine and the Overland leather trim package. Who'd want to spend twice as much for a Range Rover Vogue?

[fman]

Could not agree more. The value for money is there and that appears to be Jeep's strategy to get people in the door to have a look. It's not a seven seater, I did not want one, and that may put some off. How is the cabin lighting at night? very schmick. Test drove the pentastar but thought that was undergunned for towing but I only had a short drive. My only longer term concern is how all of the electronics will go after a bit of thrashing. One of the endering features of the old patrol was that it had pretty much had none, so nothing ever stuffd up, could even push start it as it was a manual. I look under the bonnet of this and just shake my head, the battery is under the passengers seat! Also the turning circle is very tight, but then again, anything would be after the Patrol.

[madan]

Originally Posted by fman

Hi All

After many years of faithfull service it was time to let my 98 petrol Patrol go, geez I loved that truck. Nothing lasts forever though and after much looking and waiting I bought the Grand Cherokee Overland CRD in black. I went for a test drive as a sale had fallen through and fell in love and bought it on the spot. Only 750km's on the clock and just filled up for the first time, already been on some 4WD tracks around melbourne. It is a beautiful drive and the diesel is smooth, quiet and powerful - it goes like a rocket off the mark or off 100km when passing with no noticeable turbo lag. The brakes feel really good too. Will be towing a boat once everything is run in. Happy to provide more impressions or stats if anyone is interested. Cheers Frank

Frank, that is excellent to hear some positive feedback about the 2011 Jeep GC Overland 3.0L CRD model...this is the one that I have placed an order for and now waiting for it to arrive at the dealership sometime late September/early October.I have put in a clause on my contract that says 'subject to test drive'...just giving me a backout option if I need to.
There are a lot of negative comments out there that have made me think again on my choice and I am keen to get some more feedback from you. A lot of users are complaining about push button start up issues and the engine stalling when driving...and also electrical issues...not sure if any of this is true but it just makes me very nervous to be parting with 75k...this is a lot of money for me and I am not a rich guy by any stretch of imagination. I have narrowed it down to either a new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 3.0l CRD or a 2-3 year old BMW X5...as I will only be going light offroading from time to time.

I would really appreciate more feedback from you. Thank you in advance.

Cheers,
Madan.

[jewel]

Madan, I am interested in your comments on electrical and start button problems, I have been trawling the US sites and there has been nothing there to make me comcerned, where did you obtain this information as I have not been able to find it?. I am about to take delivery of a diesel Laredo and I want to make sure that any potential problems like this are sorted before delivery, I have been getting enough stirring already from the Toyota bogans up here and I dont want to give them any ammunition.

[madan]

Jewel, have a look at this web page http://www.carcomplaints.com/Jeep/Gr...11/electrical/
Click on each of the electrical problems - Won't start, Shut down while driving, Keyless entry not working properly and Sudden unintended acceleration to see comments by owners.
On the whole, after visiting a lot of user forums and reading countless reviews,I would say that 80% of the people seem to be very happy with their decision to buy/test drive the 2011 Jeep GC.

But it is comments coming from the remaining 20% that make me nervous...