In a past life we were investment bankers. In Luxemburg. Our boss’s name was Bernd, a jolly fellow with an alert mind. He knew if interest rates were going up or down before they knew it themselves. Bernd had been in America for a long time and was uncompromising on one thing: he had to take his jeep with him.
So it was that a rather stately Cherokee was parked in the narrow streets, and if there had been the even more monumental Grand back then, he would certainly have taken that. To us the car seemed big and lame and thirsty, when it was big and lame and thirsty. But so sovereign and cool.
The 80-year-old brand is committed to freedom, adventure, passion and authenticity, and the Grand Cherokee is already 30 years old. Seven million units have been sold, now the next generation follows. The Americans are giving you a lot of modern technology for comfort and safety, but only one drive. “The diesel has seen its day,” says the product management, although an economical and high-torque compression-ignition engine would probably be the first choice in such a vehicle. But mood and laws are not thereafter, and so only a plug-in hybrid with 380 hp, 640 Nm and 17.3 kWh battery is planned.
New
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Jeep Grand Cherokee
Clear lines show resolute elegance. The interior, which is permeated by a powerful console, breathes higher standards. There’s a passenger screen, ambient lighting and music by McIntosh. Gear selection is via a rotary wheel, five driving programs ensure progress. The four-wheel drive is electrically contributed, for off-road fans is such a difficult thing to digest, but Jeep promises crisp climbing skills.
In June he comes to Europe, always with two instead of the usual three rows of seats in America in a short version, which is already lush by local standards. Bernd, ready?