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2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Drivers' Notes | Haulin' the groceries

Powered by the same supercharged Hemi at the heart of Dodge's Hellcat cars, the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is the sort of vehicle that comes from a " Why not?" attitude from the maniacs at SRT. It's not for the faint of heart, nor for the cash-strapped. With 707 horsepower and 645 pound-feet of torque, it's capable of a 0-60 sprint of just 3.5 seconds. Its base price, however, is $86,995, though our tester's sticker totaled just a few bucks shy of $100,000. Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: "What business does a Jeep have going 0-60 in 3.5 seconds?" This was my thought as I merged into rainy rush-hour traffic on Woodward Avenue in the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. "Why does an SUV need to have 'Track' in the name?" I thought as I unintentionally broke the tires loose pulling away from a stoplight. I hit the "Eco" button, but the Jeep still roared with every toe-tap, and still managed to gulp down nearly a quarter of a tank of gas on my ride home. That sound, though, is amazing, and surely more unsettling to other drivers coming from such a big beast of a ute. Anyway, this Jeep feels more grown-up than other Hemi-powered vehicles I've driven. The fit and finish in this $99,000 Jeep is far nicer than, say, the Dodge Durango SRT (though at a much higher cost). If another driver didn't pay close attention to the badging, they might see this and think it just another Jeep. The sound, though, will give it away every time. Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale: If Fiat-Chrysler knows how to do anything, it's making fast SUVs, and the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is further proof of that. And by that I mean, they know how to make them fast, and they know how to make them pleasant to drive. The Trackhawk definitely handles the fast part better than its SRT Durango and SRT Grand Cherokee cousins, what with its extra 230-odd horsepower. This big beast seriously rockets when you punch the throttle. The nose rises up, the supercharger screams, the exhaust rumbles and the speedometer ticks up much faster than you'd ever think. And it feels strong at all revs. Also impressive is that you don't have to really think when flooring it. The all-wheel-drive and fat tires offer so much grip the Jeep simply goes. The pleasant to drive part comes in the fact that the Trackhawk is very comfortable. The suspension has plenty of give, providing a good ride over pockmarked Motown roads.

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

Subcompact Crossover Comparo Roundtable | Autoblog Podcast #599

This week, we've got a special episode of the Autoblog Podcast, wherein you'll hear the extended version of the roundtable discussion from our Subcompact Crossover Comparison. In it, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski, Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale. After extensive testing (and filming) in Northern Michigan, our editors break down what they liked and loathed about the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Jeep Renegade and Kia Soul. Grab a cup of coffee with us, and enjoy. Autoblog Podcast #599 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: