Took The Plunge( 2014 Jeep Cherokee )

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Very nice car, congrats! These are on my short list for my next vehicle.

Did you drive a 2.4? I am curious how they are on power. I suspect you'll be happier with the 3.2 especially since it is 4wd.
 
Looks very nice. Congrats on your purchase. I like them. Hopefully Jeep will switch over to Firestones on the Grand Cherokees as well.
 
Very attractive SUV. I particularly like the six lights in the front. The look is distinctive (that's a very good thing these days). I've never been a Jeep person but this one has a much more refined look. It's great that you've got those decent tires on there. So many OEM tires almost can ruin the performance of an otherwise great vehicle. My Ridgeline came with great tires as well (Michelins).
Keep us updated. I'm interested in how reliable this vehicle is.
 
Based on the pics I've seen in this thread and others on the net,I'd say its a terrible looking vehicle.

This morning I was passed by a new Cherokee in the same color the OP purchased. I have to say they look much better in person. Not a bad looking rig at all.
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Congrats! Enjoy the new Cherokee! We might consider one in 4-5 years time to replace the Fit since the wife doesn't like driving 10+ year old cars after her experience with her last 10 year old car.
 
Originally Posted By: harbor
I don't place much stock in Consumers Reports car reviews, but they trashed the Cherokee yesterday, calling it half-baked, unrefined, etc.... Not surprising since CR doesn't seem to like any FCA vehicles.
This poor review may put a dent in the strong sales start of the Cherokee, since many blindly follow CR reviews.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/11/autos-cherokee-review-idUSL2N0LG1L720140211


CR is so full of you know what it is beyond being pathetic. Doesn't surprise me at all that they are trashing a Chrysler product. It isn't one of their preferred brands so it must be bad. Their comments are actually so far off of reality it isn't funny. Makes me wonder if they even really drove one.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I couldn't agree more about the lack of dealer options. When my dad bought his 2013 Grand Cherokee he had only two requirements. He needed the 5.7L V8 for towing, and he couldn't have a sunroof since he was too tall, and his head hit the ceiling on sunroof equipped models. There was one vehicle 500 miles away that fit those requirements, which is the one he currently owns.

Two of the dealers we went to didn't even have a Hemi Grand Cherokee on the lot, they were all 3.6L V6 engines. The color combos were Black, White, Silver, and 2 red ones. They either had strip down Laredos or loaded Overland editions, nothing in between. I can't help but think this lack of package options hurts their sales. Sure people can get what they want by ordering, but that costs more and they are more likely to go with another competing brand.

Good luck with your new Jeep! I know the Destinations are great in the snow, and I have heard great things about that four wheel drive system. My dad's Grand has "snow" mode and it is unstoppable. He actually tried to get it to slide last storm in an open parking lot and it was very difficult to do.


EXACTLY. Black, white, silver, and a few reds and then either bare bones or loaded to the max. I don't get that mentality???

The new Cherokee has Select-Terrain like the GC. I am curious how the snow mode will perform. Reading reviews from others who already have Cherokee and have used it in bad weather it sounds really good.
 
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Originally Posted By: dishdude
Very nice car, congrats! These are on my short list for my next vehicle.

Did you drive a 2.4? I am curious how they are on power. I suspect you'll be happier with the 3.2 especially since it is 4wd.


Yes, I drove a 2.4L. It was another Latitude with Active Drive I ( base 4WD system )so the comparison is very fair. To be honest the 2.4L seemed plenty powerful for daily driving. If I didn't have a boat to tow for fishing and duck hunting I probably would have gone with the 4 cyl. Actually, as I said if I was able to get all the options I wanted I would have got a 4 cyl as the $1500 for the V6 would have put me out of the range I wanted to stay in. IMO the 4 cyl is not underpowered for the vehicle. It isn't a rocket but it isn't s slug either.

Originally Posted By: Bambam
NICE RIDE !

Let us know how the 9 speed is...


Will do. So far it is ok. Still learning how to shift optimally for my driving style but it isn't anything bad.

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Very attractive SUV. I particularly like the six lights in the front. The look is distinctive (that's a very good thing these days). I've never been a Jeep person but this one has a much more refined look. It's great that you've got those decent tires on there. So many OEM tires almost can ruin the performance of an otherwise great vehicle. My Ridgeline came with great tires as well (Michelins).
Keep us updated. I'm interested in how reliable this vehicle is.


Will do. Yes, tires can make or break a vehicle. usually they break them because the car mfg uses junk. Really glad to see Chrysler step up and actually use quality tires.

Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
Based on the pics I've seen in this thread and others on the net,I'd say its a terrible looking vehicle.

This morning I was passed by a new Cherokee in the same color the OP purchased. I have to say they look much better in person. Not a bad looking rig at all.
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I have been telling people they look better in person ever since I saw them myself.
 
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UPDATE:

Had to do some errands today and put about 100 miles on. Also had the GPS activated at the dealer this morning so got to play with that.

I really am liking how the vehicle drives more and more as I use it. Just so smooth and quiet. The engine is very responsive. Trans is a little choppy 1-2 but 2-3 is starting to smooth out. The rest of the time it is fine.

I experimented with the voice commands and like that feature a lot. Very easy to activate it, uses common sense on how you ask it to do things, and it understands me well( don't have to repeat myself ). I need to start getting into the UConnect Access and Sirius features and see what is available there now. Allows for apps through your phone, add traffic & weather to the GPS, and so on. Lots of goodies once I activate the 2 services.

Now about the GPS. 1st problem with the vehicle.
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I am NOT happy with one thing and it WILL be rectified or Chrysler owes me $600! It loses GPS signal when you shut down( normal when power is off ) but it takes like 15-20 minutes to get it back once you start back up. When it does this it has a mind of it's own as to where you really are. Just takes WAY TOO LONG to get a signal and figure out where you are. At least initially. Maybe it will be better now that it has been activated and run for a while?

After having it turned on at the dealer this morning I used it to head to my house for the maiden run. After telling it I was in NH and not in Texas I entered the address for home and told it to go there. The route came up properly so I figured everything was ok. I decided to go the other way just to see how it handled changes/recalculations. Well, it didn't. As I went to the right it kept me going left on the screen??? I went a ways figuring it would catch up but it didn't. It had me on one side of town by the Hospital when I was on the complete opposite side of town by the parkway. Shut the car down and turned it back on to see if power off would help? 10-15 minutes later it finally caught up and it worked fine going home from there.

So, I thought it was fixed and when I left my house later to do errands I just brought up the map screen to see if it had me where I was? NOPE! It had me on a street in a totally different town? WTH man??? I left the map screen up and just started to drive. I was going due East and the map had me going due West???
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At one point it had me on a street I lived on when I was a kid in a town about 15 miles from where I really was. Let me tell you the air turned BLUE around me. After 15-20 minutes it all of a sudden flashed and then was where I actually was. I set the route then and it worked awesome going to where I was headed.

I finally figured out what was causing it( lost signal )by accident really. While going through the various menu screens after it had acquired signal and was working I came across one of the screens showing where I was and that time the signal bars looked different. What I had seen before and thought as full strength was actually no signal. So I know why it was happening now I just need to see if it continues. If so I am going to raise holy heck. It shouldn't take that long to get the GPS signal. Should only take a few seconds. BY the time the nav loads and the radio is operational after start up you should be good to go. Having to wait 15+ minutes before being able to use the Nav while it gets a signal will not fly with me. Hopefully, as said, it will be ok now?

With that said it works really well when it does have a signal. It calculates and recalculates quick, takes reasonable routes to locations, the female voice it uses is not overly annoying, and I really like that it lets me have the upcoming turn show in the instrument cluster EVIC display. It is right between the Speedo and Tach so you just glance down and don't have to look off to the side. I didn't think this feature would be there on the base EVIC but it is so that is great. I wish it used an IGO GPS system instead of Garmin but it does do ok when working.

Other than this lost signal issue so far so good.
 
Instead of settling for something not quite to your liking why didn't you just order the exact vehicle you wanted from the factory. Any dealer will do this if you put a small (usually refundable) deposit down. Looking a $ealer inventories for months seems like a bit of a waste of time since like you said many times they option the vehicles in ways that ONLY benefit them.
 
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NHHEMI:

My factory NAV does that too IF its in the wrong "Zone". If yours has that option, I bet its not set to the region you live in. Its probably set to Texas, so it defaults there.

Worth a check.
 
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The problem with the factory nav not finding signal is really baffling. Both of my vehicles have factory nav, and they find signal almost immediately.

When you had the nav "activated", did they have to install a GPS antenna at the same time?
 
Originally Posted By: [email protected]
NHHEMI:

My factory NAV does that too IF its in the wrong "Zone". If yours has that option, I bet its not set to the region you live in. Its probably set to Texas, so it defaults there.

Worth a check.


I did some searching on Chrysler product forums and it seems to be a known issue with the 8.4A Nav radios. Some have it some don't??? Supposedly it is being worked on.
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Unfortunately, there is very little I can do in the Nav software part of it. No way to reset GPS signal or anything like that. Very limited software compared to what I have seen in other GPS programs( like the IGO 8 software my previous Nav radio used ). I am going to have to go through the manual and see if I am missing something.

When I tried to set the address for the 1st time the state it thought I was in was Texas( may just be default location ). After that initial change to NH it has been ok.

Originally Posted By: dishdude
The problem with the factory nav not finding signal is really baffling. Both of my vehicles have factory nav, and they find signal almost immediately.

When you had the nav "activated", did they have to install a GPS antenna at the same time?


No GPS antenna added. Vehicles with the 8.4A are Nav ready and just need the dealer to turn it on. The antenna used is a dual/multi purpose one and provides the signal. Nothing "mechanical" to do at all.

It baffles me as well. I have had stand alone GPS units, handheld GPS units, and Navigation radios in vehicles and none of them, not even the handhelds, took that much time to find a signal. I had a Nav radio in my Patriot( 430/73 style )and it was instant.
 
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Congrats! Looks like there is something in the water these days; all those new purchases being reported here :)
 
Work with the dealer on the nav thing until you get satisfaction. After all, you paid for things to function in a reasonable fashion. Seems to me that this is a real issue.
Personally I've never used nor wanted any sort of navigation system on a car. I know where I am 99.9% of the time and just see it as a toy. If I had a business where I needed to find addresses or something then yes, it would be useful. I still prefer paper maps when I travel across the country. But since you DID pay of this feature....it SURE as heck ought to work as advertised.
 
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: harbor
I don't place much stock in Consumers Reports car reviews, but they trashed the Cherokee yesterday, calling it half-baked, unrefined, etc.... Not surprising since CR doesn't seem to like any FCA vehicles.
This poor review may put a dent in the strong sales start of the Cherokee, since many blindly follow CR reviews.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/11/autos-cherokee-review-idUSL2N0LG1L720140211


CR is so full of you know what it is beyond being pathetic. Doesn't surprise me at all that they are trashing a Chrysler product. It isn't one of their preferred brands so it must be bad. Their comments are actually so far off of reality it isn't funny. Makes me wonder if they even really drove one.


I actually read the article in CR. They said many high spots with low spots in their eyes. They felt for daily use the low spots effect that. They really did not like the 4cylinder but had praise for v6 .
 
Nice, congratulations. I'm one of those who thought the vehicle looked terrible when the first pictures came out, but when I saw one live and in person, it really is a nice design.
 
UPDATE:

Nav issue definitely has to do with the signal. This morning I came out to go visit my aunt and decided to use the Nav to go there to see how it would take me and just as a general test run. Before trying to run it though I checked the signal. As I feared no signal again. So, I didn't try to use it and just drove off leaving the signal screen up to see how long it took to grab signal. About 2 minutes tops down the road it got signal and kept it the rest of the day. Looks like I just have to check the GPS signal and make sure it has it before trying to use it. As long as it gets it like it did today I am ok with it even if I feel/wish it should be faster. Today was at least borderline acceptable.

Got gas for the 1st time today just to see what it got even though I really didn't need it( 1/2 tank ). 201.4 miles on 9.07 gallons = 22.20 MPG. That was for a 50/50 mix and includes the 15 minutes+ idling at the dealer while they did the Nav activation. Not too bad I guess for the 1st tank. Just about what my Patriot did with similar use on the 1st tank. Hopefully as it breaks in and the weather warms up, and the darn winter fuel goes, MPG will improve.

Interesting note. This is the 1st time I have ever had a Chrysler onboard MPG computer ever tell me I got less than actual. Any Chrysler product I have had with this feature in the past has always been way over the top optimistic. Like 2-3 MPG more than actual. I was scared when I went to fill to be honest thinking I was only getting 17-18 MPG as the EVIC said 21.6 MPG. Turns out it was about a 1/2 MPG less than actual. I will gladly take that.

Finally got it into 8th gear today. Hadn't been able to get past 7th previously. Turns out I wasn't going fast enough to get the RPM's high enough on the highway to get into 8th. 60 MPH in CC results in 1600-1700 RPM's and keeps it in 7th. I bumped speeds today up to 65-70 MPH and finally got it to go into 8th. @ 65 MPH when it would keep 8th was about the same RPM's as 7th @ 60 MPH. I always went 60 MPH because it saved fuel. Maybe I will go 65 now seeing as the RPM's are the same. I have yet to see 9th gear at any time. Guess I just don't go fast enough.
 
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