2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Rental Review

Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
60
Location
Southern Missouri
I had a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee rental (upper level trim) 4X4 rental for a week while in Idaho. I put approx 250 miles on it, mostly city, some highway miles.
It has approx 22000 miles on it.

Exterior: Red color, paint was nice. No visible rock chips upfront, great shine despite not being recently washed (very evident that the rental company had done the bare minimum in cleaning inside/outside). Overall very sharp looking ride.

Interior: Driver seat was comfy with good forward visibility (sides were hampered by a thick A pillar). I was surprised however that interior space was not as big as I was expecting. I am 5"7, 150 lbs, and I was cozy. I doubt anyone over 6" and 200+ would be all that happy, my wife's van or my Rav4 has more up front space.
Rear seats were a joke. I just sat in them to test them out, not very comfortable, very upright positioned, short base, and quite cramped.
Dashboard was nice, clear and large screens/text. Infotainment and AC controls are easy to use.

Driving: Here is where it really let me down. There is a massive amount of lag between pressing on the throttle and actually getting the car going/revs up. Almost a 1-2 second delay. This was very annoying when merging. I would have to floor it frequently just to get up to speed in a somewhat reasonable manner. The engine was refined but the transmission was very jerky in the first few gears.

Overall: Decent rental, I enjoyed the driving comfort however disliked the driving experience due to the throttle lag. I would not rent this car again if given the choice.

Thanks
 
I have the Hemi Summit, specs are everything.
The V8 has no issues with getting up to speed, press gas - go fast, about that quick.
The Hemi has the 8HP70 transmission - the V6 has the 850RE.
I'm 6' and 190 lbs. Love the space and comfort of the front seats.
The rears recline, not sure if you saw the lever that allows the rear seats to recline.
That would have fixed the upright seat issue.
 
Agreed the front is a little smaller than you would expect, my Tiguan had more room. I'm not a huge guy so I have plenty of room and find the front of the Grand Cherokee roomy and comfortable. The back seat will seat two full sized adults comfortably and the cargo area is big.

I don't get the throttle lag. I've had two of this gen Grand Cherokee with the 3.6 and haven't experienced throttle lag in either. Funny thing is I got rid of a vehicle that had terrible throttle lag for the Jeep. Could be adaptive learn from so many different drivers.
 
While I've never driven a hemi GC, I have driven a hemi 300C.
Compared to the 3.6 300S, the performance difference was night and day.
I had really hoped the 8 speed transmission would make up for the lack of 2 cylinders and 2.1 liters, but I was misled.
 
IIRC those have an “eco mode” that really kills throttle response. FCA seemed to go very heavy handed with that as our van is truly miserable to drive with eco on… but turn it off and it’s almost too twitchy!
 
IIRC those have an “eco mode” that really kills throttle response. FCA seemed to go very heavy handed with that as our van is truly miserable to drive with eco on… but turn it off and it’s almost too twitchy!

I forgot about eco mode since I never use it in the city, it really kills throttle response. It is useful on the highway, it keeps the transmission from downshifting on grades.
 
Driving: Here is where it really let me down. There is a massive amount of lag between pressing on the throttle and actually getting the car going/revs up. Almost a 1-2 second delay. This was very annoying when merging. I would have to floor it frequently just to get up to speed in a somewhat reasonable manner. The engine was refined but the transmission was very jerky in the first few gears.

Overall: Decent rental, I enjoyed the driving comfort however disliked the driving experience due to the throttle lag. I would not rent this car again if given the choice.

Thanks
I completely agree. My grandpa has a 14' Grand Cherokee that only I drive. Everyone is always applauding these transmissions but I hate it. Very jerky and it takes a nap between putting your foot down and it actually doing something.
 
I completely agree. My grandpa has a 14' Grand Cherokee that only I drive. Everyone is always applauding these transmissions but I hate it. Very jerky and it takes a nap between putting your foot down and it actually doing something.

The reason everyone applauds these transmissions is because of how durable and reliable they are. I've owned 3 vehicles with them and the programming on the two V6 Jeeps were clearly geared towards economy, the 392 Challenger I had was much more responsive.
 
The reason everyone applauds these transmissions is because of how durable and reliable they are. I've owned 3 vehicles with them and the programming on the two V6 Jeeps were clearly geared towards economy, the 392 Challenger I had was much more responsive.
Yup, even my truck (which has excellent programming) is not as snappy as my SRT's.
 
Yup, even my truck (which has excellent programming) is not as snappy as my SRT's.

I'm sure a lot of it is comfort as well. The SRT I had shifted quick and firm, something a lot of drivers looking for a comfortable drive might not appreciate. I have no complaints on any of them, they seem to be programmed correctly to the type of vehicle they're in. Sport mode is an option and changes things up as well.
 
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