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Buy this instead of a Wrangler | 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Review

In our first encounter with the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk at Fiat Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds, we saluted the new model's impressive on-road demeanor. In its off-road mode, however, we couldn't ignore the pre-production throttle calibration – it was super sharp and difficult to modulate with the precision needed to navigate obstacles. We were told then that Jeep's engineers were aware of the problem and were fixing it for production models. So we recently set off for Bundy Hill Off-Road Park in Jerome, Michigan, in a production-spec Grand Cherokee Trailhawk to check their work and get a better idea of the overall package. We can report that the Trailhawk's throttle has been fixed for production, landing it properly in Goldilocks territory. In the off-road Mud setting, the throttle is soft and easy to modulate. You can balance this rig with the gas pedal, reaching just past tip-in to steadily prod forward. But the gas pedal doesn't delay when you really need power. Move beyond the initial tip-in, and the engine responds quickly, which is a good thing, as a sluggish throttle is almost as dangerous off-road as one that's too sharp. Rock mode promises even more precise control over the throttle, although our lack of a spotter and a desire to avoid damaging the 700-mile-young Trailhawk kept us from hitting Bundy Hill's rockier sections. The wet, non-snowy weather meant we didn't properly test Snow or Sand mode. This test model was equipped with FCA's popular 3.6-liter V6, but like the rest of the Grand Cherokee range, more power is available from the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 and the 5.7-liter Hemi V8. You don't need them – the 3.6-liter and eight-speed automatic are perfectly fine on the trails. Faced with an incline, the transmission holds its gear without complaint – you don't even need to switch into manual mode. Despite the 4,800-rpm torque peak, the V6's 260 pound-feet arrive early enough that you don't need to strong-arm the throttle. So that's resolution for the pre-production issue. But our time at Bundy Hill exposed a different and ultimately much easier to fix problem for the production model. Late fall in Michigan is not always a good time to go off-road – sub-40-degree temperatures and a steady, depressing drizzle can turn a relatively simple trail into a slippery mess of wet clay. Conditions like these can easily overwhelm an on-road tire like the Goodyear All-Terrain Adventures the Trailhawk uses.

Jeep does Renegade Chinese-style with Zi You Xia design concept

As we mentioned, Jeep is bringing a quartet of concepts to the Beijing Motor Show this year. Its largest model, the Grand Cherokee, is nowhere to be found, but its smallest is. That, of course, would be the new Renegade, which has been done up as the Zi You Xia design concept.
Taking its name from the Mandarin word (or words) for "rebel," the Zi You Xia takes its inspiration from the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, with a Warm Chocolate Gray paintjob with contrasting dark bronze trim. The roof, grille and mirror caps are color-keyed to match the rest of the exterior, riding on 20-inch alloys in the same dark bronze finish.
Inside it's all Piano Black, Anodized Copper and brown leather with plaid fabric inserts. Scope it out in the high-res image gallery above and the press release below.

Watch a Jeep CJ get disassembled and reassembled in minutes

Movie buffs! Remember the scene in the James Bond film 007: The Living Daylights where Timothy Dalton's character slices the floorpan off a police Lada using a laser, and when the driver hits the brakes the Lada's body simply jumps off its axles? That scene was immediately brought to mind as I watched this clip of eight Canadian mechanics disassembling a slightly modified Jeep in a matter of seconds. Having driven the Jeep to a complete stop, the technicians start unbolting it until the body lifts off the frame and the engine can be hauled away. It only took half a minute to turn the Jeep into just a chassis on wheels. As repair manuals say, refitting is the reversal of removal. Apparently the technicians have now honed their mechanical choreography to the point that the Jeep can be disassembled and reassembled in two minutes and 39 seconds; while I expect a great number of bolts having been removed beforehand and the likelihood of the Jeep falling to pieces with a sharp braking being significant, it is definitely impressive. It also reminds me of someone driving an old, dodgy car, having learned all its kinks to be able to keep it running. According to a Reddit thread, the pre-modified "Jifty Jeep" has been built (and taken apart, and rebuilt) by the School of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) for exactly this purpose. The team travels all around Canada to practice their show, trying to shave seconds off their record. There are worse hobbies.