Need a midsize SUV. 2021 Grand Cherokee, Blazer - or wait for 2022?

dishdude

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Last year of the current generation Grand Cherokee. The 80th anniversary edition is speaking to me...it's almost like they had me hand pick the option packages. All the bugs have been worked out and I know I can get a solid SUV that I know I'll love...should I bite or wait and see what the new 2022 version brings? The only other vehicle that interests me is the Blazer. The local dealer has one that checks all the boxes coming in that's this color, any suggestions on how this color will hold up? I don't plan on hand washing or claying this thing, just running it through the car wash.

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I’d get the current generation, I’ll never buy the 1st year of a new/redesigned vehicle again. Love the wheels on the picture you posted! Going for a v6 or v8?
 
The current (outgoing) GC is a mature platform shared with numerous Mercedes SUV's. Well appointed, you should find it a very nice place to be, I've owned three of them and we also owned a Durango, which is based on the same platform. I'd still own my 2016 SRT if a pandora's box of lingering damage from a poor quality repair as a result of a collision hadn't resulted in the recommendation to get out of it.

The powertrain is mature and well sorted regardless of which engine you go with.

It does have a bit more road noise than some other SUV's, but it's not obnoxious.

If given the option, I'd choose a package/trim that gets you the HID's. The non-HID projectors are "acceptable" but the HID's are a lot better.

What trim level and powertrain configuration are you considering?
 
I'm not a fan of transverse engines in larger applications. With that said, the Telluride and Palisade are pretty nice. Costly but nice. Otherwise out of that list, I'd go with the current grand cherokee.
 
I doubt all the kinks are worked out. I thought the same thing when I bought a 2010 JGC. Nope. Lol. Get something from Korea or Japan and stay out the shop.
 
Buy whichever one you enjoy the most. I know plenty of people who have bought vehicles they hated because of claimed reliability, only to have problems with it and hate the vehicle even more. Life is too short, drive what you can afford that makes you happy. If it were me, I'd pick the Grand Cherokee, but because I think the Telluride and Blazer were smacked with an ugly stick, and I enjoy how the GC drives. My father has a WK2 Grand Cherokee and it has been very reliable for 160k miles, many of them with a dump trailer behind it, and he is hard on vehicles. His GC has been in 3 different accidents, 2 of them his fault, and it still drives very well.
 
Wait for the 2022 GC and then buy a 2021 GC at a big discount! Blazer? I'm not a fan of GM's 3.6 engines. I'd be a huge fan of the Blazer if it was RWD based and had a pushrod V6/V8 instead.
 
I service a friend's 2015 GC with the V6 turbo diesel. It has been in for recalls and extended warranty stuff, but Debbie loves it.
And she uses it, lemme tell ya. Avid hunter and outdoors woman. It gets filthy.
Great interior. I've never driven it.
 
I'd go Grand Cherokee myself. Had one a couple years ago as a rental and really enjoyed it.
 
Wait for the 2022 GC and then buy a 2021 GC at a big discount! Blazer? I'm not a fan of GM's 3.6 engines. I'd be a huge fan of the Blazer if it was RWD based and had a pushrod V6/V8 instead.

I have the 3.6L V6 in my Equinox. Only issue in 60,000 miles has been a failed purge valve solenoid. Easily replaced in the driveway with a replacement from Autozone (the Duralast part is actually made by Bosch, same as the OEM one that came out) and 1hr of my time. As long as you are prudent with oil changes on the 3.6L they are fine. 10,000 mile oil change intervals on the GM 3.6L are really a no-no regardless of oil and filter being used. The 3.6L likes 5,000-7,000 mile oil changes best. The timing chain issues of the earlier 3.6L's have been resolved, but the oil change interval is the most important part of keeping it happy.

That being said, I also do not like the new Blazer. It looks nice, but owner forum posts about them have not been overwhelmingly positive. Seeing a lot of complaints about build quality and major infotainment glitches.

I would easily choose a Grand Cherokee or even a new Ford Explorer (and I have been burned by Fords twice in the past) before any of the current SUV offerings from GM at this point.
 
All i know about GM 3.6 is they have changed it so many times. It can still have timing chain and other issues. Could a diligent BITOGr nurse one along to a long life? Probably. They should have just used the gen v 4.3 LV3 engines. They have got to cost less to build and certainly are more reliable. Not to mention easier to package into vehicles.
 
The 4.3 is a longitudinal engine designed for trucks and full-sized vans. It would probably cost too much to engineer a transversely mounted version for FWD and FWD based AWD applications such as the Blazer, Traverse, Acadia, Enclave, etc. Who knows. GM does some weird stuff sometimes with their powertrains.
 
True, but they easily made the LS4 V8 Front wheel drive Impala SS, buick lacrosse super, grand prix GXP, ect. It was modified to be shorter in length, something not required in the LV3 V6 because, yep, only 3 cylinders wide. Would it be exactly the LV3? Probably not but small mods would make it work. They also run the 3.6 in RWD applications like the Colorado. i think they could easily do it and save a ton. But they what "high features" and don't care how long it lasts past 100k.
 
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