Interested in your opinion of a 4x4 Grand Cherokee

Friends tow a new Lincoln with their 45 foot Monaco Dynasty. They love it and tows easily. I have owned about a dozen Grand Cherokee's. One for me and one for my wife. We needed them for bad roads in winter. They did the job well and nice ride. I currently tow a 2005 from time to time. They are high maintenance compared to everything else. Son has a 2015. Great ride but does have more issues than I think it should. The Lincoln just seems a better bet.

Blaster Man wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
..I don't have any faith in a CR reports. They seem to be biased...

The April issue of CR lists maint issues reported by owners, CR has no input other than compiling the data. Every subscriber fills out a detailed report on his/her vehicles. Don't shoot he messenger.

I'm with Bill on this one. In most cases what CR recommends I find to be 180 degrees out of phase.

Sure owners report stuff, but thats a very, very, very small sampling of all owners.

They also have, IMO, a known bias, dating way back. We used to be CR subscribers. For me the last straw was when the original Taurus came out. At the time it was the highest rated car they had ever collected data on, besting the previous all-time high Toyota Supra, yet they rated it worse than average "because it's an American car".

I still will pick up their magazine from time to time and browse. A few years back they had tested tires. The winner was the current Michelin offering, that happened to be the same tire I had on my Fusion. I thought the tire bordered on being dangerous, they called it the best all-season radial ever produced.

Take a look at the Board sometime, it's filled with a bunch of left leaning people, and not much balance.

Now look at how they survey, this is almost laughable - in part;

We conduct many surveys by selecting a random sample from the millions of readers who subscribe to Consumer Reports and/or to ConsumerReports.org, who are some of the most consumer-savvy people in the nation.

So just because you subscribe makes you "consumer-savvy". Umm...OK. :h And you're only gathering information from like-minded people who belong/subscribe to your publication? Seems like it's a very skewed sample before the fist bit of data is collected.

Nope, when it comes to CR I'm not a fan - even if they say something nice about the stuff I like. :B:B:B

holstein13 wrote:

Bruce Brown wrote:
I am a Ford guy, friends of ours have a GC. I'll give big credit where it's due, what a nice vehicle. Comfortable, good MPG, and they haven't had any real issues with it. They love it.

Having said that, if for any reason you'd like to stick with a truck, take a look at a new F150. I just bought a '16 Lariat, I like it better than my wife's '14 Explorer Limited. The upgrade from the last generation F150 to the current generation is amazing.

It's so interesting you mentioned this. I'm actually waiting for the 2017 Ford Raptor to come out before making this decision. The wife would really like a more off-road capable vehicle anyway and she likes the Raptor so I'll look at both early next year.

How cool would that be?

I like how you're thinking! :C

Bill.Satellite wrote:
..I don't have any faith in a CR reports. They seem to be biased...

The April issue of CR lists maint issues reported by owners, CR has no input other than compiling the data. Every subscriber fills out a detailed report on his/her vehicles. Don't shoot he messenger.

Bruce Brown wrote:
I am a Ford guy, friends of ours have a GC. I'll give big credit where it's due, what a nice vehicle. Comfortable, good MPG, and they haven't had any real issues with it. They love it.

Having said that, if for any reason you'd like to stick with a truck, take a look at a new F150. I just bought a '16 Lariat, I like it better than my wife's '14 Explorer Limited. The upgrade from the last generation F150 to the current generation is amazing.

It's so interesting you mentioned this. I'm actually waiting for the 2017 Ford Raptor to come out before making this decision. The wife would really like a more off-road capable vehicle anyway and she likes the Raptor so I'll look at both early next year.

How cool would that be?

Isn't the shaking issue with the Cherokee, not the Grand Cherokee? Other friends tow a Cherokee and have suffered the shaking issue. Apparently there is an update coming from Fiat to fix this.

I am a Ford guy, friends of ours have a GC. I'll give big credit where it's due, what a nice vehicle. Comfortable, good MPG, and they haven't had any real issues with it. They love it.

Having said that, if for any reason you'd like to stick with a truck, take a look at a new F150. I just bought a '16 Lariat, I like it better than my wife's '14 Explorer Limited. The upgrade from the last generation F150 to the current generation is amazing.

We have the 2015 Jeep GC Limited and love it !! We have towed it over 4k miles and have not had the "problem some have had with shaking" This is also my daily driver at home. We put our 2 bikes on the back and I'm sure you could put 2 in back folding down the seats if you had to. We also had a 96 Cherokee Sport with over 166k miles and just sold it. Now that was a sweet tow vehicle ;)

tplife wrote:
Those reviews I cited from C.R. Magazine are from subscribers like myself, we do lengthy surveys each year on our vehicles, appliances, and other consumer products. They also pretend to be an average shopper and buy an unprepared vehicle for rigorous scientific testing. They are "independent and reliable", unlike JD P'ers or other companies that accept $ for advertising and product placement. Because "past performance predicts future reliability", their comprehensive ratings are useful in predicting outcomes. Personally,I'm Ford and GMC certified (gotta make a $ between jobs as a chemist sometimes) and in my experience each model usually last around 10 years, and parts don't change 100% every year, so there's a lot of carryover with small improvements over the life of the model decade. If you want to buy the least reliable cars on the road, more power to you and your mechanic, lol. The "statistical conclusions" are there in print and online, but you have to borrow the issue or buy a subscription. If a product maker uses their name in advertising, they are as vicious as Disney for stomping out illegal infringement to protect their reputation. I've been taking their advice for over 30 years, and outside of their "social issue" stances, the product advice is as good and saved me a lot of $ and aggravation. :@

You are an engineer and I value your opinion so let me ask you a practical question. Let's say the defect rate of the new Jeep is 1 in 200 making it the most unreliable car on the road. Let's also say that this 1 in 200 rate results in thousands of cars in the shop for the same defect, would you buy the car if it, otherwise, fit your needs?

At 1 in 200, you are unlikely to personally have any problems with the vehicle. Statistically, it may be the worst, but the odds are in your favor. What would you do?

The Mercedes engines in Sprinters are famous for making 2 million kilometers without removing any cover.
Sure don't expect much experience with them at Jeep dealership.