2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Road Test
June 17, 2007 by Paul Maric
“Pfft…” said my passenger as I collected him in the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. “I thought you said you were driving something quick…not a tarted up 4WD” he continued. Not long after nailing the throttle, my passenger was eating a large serving of humble pie, and this was the case with most people who had no clue about the SRT heritage or its meaning.
This isn’t any ordinary Jeep. In fact, it’s far from it. Aside from a massive set of dual, centre-aligned exhausts at the rear, it rides on 20” Pirelli Pzero performance tyres and uses a massive set of Brembo brakes. The most impressive part of all lies under the bonnet. The 6.1-litre Hemi V8 is ready to disappoint almost anything off the lights, packing 313kW and a face-wrenching 569Nm of torque.
Let’s put that into perspective. The 2.1-tonne 4WD will out-row a HSV GTS in a straight line run to 100km/h and will also beat one of its double-priced rivals – the Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Although it’s quick in a straight line, cornering performance is limited. The stiff suspension and low-profile tyres make cornering very edgy and unnatural. This thing also won’t go off-road. The body kit and lowered suspension means that off-road driving will be limited to dirt roads.
All this performance comes at a price though – especially at the bowser. During my week with the car, I averaged 22.3-litres/100km. That’s around double that of a standard Commodore or Falcon. That included around 60% highway driving and 40% city driving. Mind you, I could barely resist nailing it from every set of lights, so I’m partly to blame for the massive fuel consumption figure!
Inside the cabin is a nice place to be. Racing inspired leather/suede seats, along with a meaty steering wheel dominate the cabin. Along with a stellar sound system, the interior feels very well built and extremely solid. There are even a set of ‘holy crap’ handles for passengers to grab on to when the cornering gets a bit tighter. Rear leg and head room is somewhat limited – despite the spacious appearance from the outside.
Priced at $85,990, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is pretty loaded with features. Included on the standard list are: Leather interior; 276-watt Boston Acoustics sound system with 6-disc CD-changer; dual-zone automatic climate control; electric seats with memory; rear parking sensors; automatic windscreen wipers; 20” alloy wheels with Brembo brakes; cruise control; electric windows; heated seats and privacy glass.
Safety features include: ESP (Electronic Stability Program); driver and passenger front airbags; ABS brakes; BA (Brake Assist); side curtain airbags; alarm and immobiliser.
The new Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 isn’t just quick…it’s insanely quick. A feeling of disbelief came over me each and every time I nailed the throttle, it was very addictive and was ludicrously powerful with each application of the throttle.
At just under $86k, it’s decent value for money when you consider the closest performance contender (aside from the Ford Territory Turbo) is well north of $120,000. If you could learn to drive slightly more sedately than I did, I’m sure the fuel consumption would be far more pleasing. Either way, with more power than a U.S President, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 is devastatingly quick and for a performance enthusiast with a family, there’s simply no cooler option!
CarAdvice rating (out of 5): 
- by Paul Maric
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Everytime I see something like this… I just have to ask: Why?
I would adore kicking hsv egos in that thing!
man it would suck to be beaten by THAT!!!
did it break down many times during the test?
Cause someone gave the Americans a ruler to design with ,AND an Atlas ,so now they know their not the WHOLE WORLD and they can send there crap to us. ARNT we lucky?
Dare I say it, but as far as these performance SUV’s go, it is definitely one of the better looking.
hahah man thats a lot of power!
i love the holy crap handles in those cars, makes u feel just a little more safe,
i recently had a ride in an SRT8 300C, now that, was insane! – too bad about the plastic bits falling off
How long does it stay in one piece, and when does it catch fire
Interior is low rent. These things feel like a bag of bolts after a bit of use. Wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole !
Not a smart move to pay the running costs and then, when you can’t afford it, take a huge bath on depreciation too…
Ford have to release a v8 territory.
Bavarian Missile ,,
so you watch TopGear … right …
mmmm, more power than a US president, I heard that somehwhere *dude*.
Yep ,but got that one from Jeremy’s book.
I think the ford territory is overrated, I think holden drivers have blinkers on.I think this Grand Cherokee Srt8 represents lots of bang for your buck.
Depreciation is a factor for the chrysler brand but I think the srt8’s will hold better than standard.You will also find the aussie version of these Grand Cherokee Srt8’s is being assembled in Graz, Austria, the build quality is exceptional.The interior feel is far superior to anything Holden Or Ford have to offer, even though the playing field is not level (given the superior daimler chrysler quality of vehicle).
I own an SRT8 and insanly quick is exactly how fast it is and then I improved the exhaust……The red light race leaves a look of disbelief on faces on ‘want to be contenders’ BTW its almost unbreakable, fires are due to improper mods and grass from heavy 4W driving on some models that did have the fix applied and the other negative comments just show how jealous they are ! BTW great article..
lover the article wish i had the money to buy one how much is the insurance on that sucker?
Matty:
You know what they say mate…”If you have to ask…”
Nice but check out the 2007 Hennessey Grand Cherokee SRT600,
which has a twin turbo system and can do 0-60 Miles per hour in 3.7 sec… Making it the world’s fastest production 4wd!!
http://www.caranddriver.com/sp.....rt600.html
yes it does beat a manual 307kW HSV and a 270kW Typhoon and Ford GT 302 Cobra by at least 5 to 6 car lenghts at the start!
A lot of people love to hate Jeeps, but you have to be impressed by this car. The styling, the V8, the leather, the comfort, the V8, the wheels, the shear presence of this vehicle, and did I mention the V8?
My first car was a Jeep Cherokee- Indestructible and powerful. As moved on I Left the marque and stepped into the Porche Cayenne Turbo- however, with the arrival of the SRT8 I have decided to leave the Porche and return to the Jeep. I currently have one of the Hennesy srt600 Jeep on order from the states, and with this superior performance vehicle I still managed to walk away with a chunk of change from the porche.
Wow, plenty of neg. relating to Jeep here.
I bought a Grand Cherokee V8 brand new. They are well built and tough. Never any reliability problems either.
Chrysler engineering is still considered top notch in most parts of the world, drive trains, especially incorporating V8’s, are second to none at Chrysler/Jeep? Dodge.
Do I compare cars, absolutely; and I have owned about 20 including brand new Fords, Hyundais etc. The Chrysler/Jeep products in the last few years are great value and unless you have owned and lived with them, it is not a fair call to bag them for anything else than styling (which I love) in my view.
These things are very quick, feels much quicker than srt8 300c,
that’s nice the jeep srt600 is better
For $85,000 and it doesn’t go off-road, why bother, you might as well just put a sign on top saying worlds biggest wanker, yes it does beat a manual 307kW HSV and a 270kW Typhoon and Ford GT 302 Cobra by at least 5 to 6 car lenghts at the start!
At the start of what? the bush or the Pacific highway.
Anyone who pays this kind of monies just to beat a Ford Cobra, really has rocks in their head, whoopie-doo.
So hows the push bike going these days?
I am a few days away from stepping into a brand new SRT8 and i am looking forward to it. I currently drive 08 Commander. After reading all the reviews i could lay my hands on, i have come to the conclusion that more people bag out Jeep,than people that dont. I have had my Jeep for 10 months now and have not had a single bit of trouble with it. I find the quality of build, performance and style to be well above average, in comparison with other same classed Vehicles. Spending 100K on an SRT8 you wonder what kind of fools buys these cars, Then when you drive one, you are left wondering, How do they make them so cheap.
I bought a brand new SRT8 a couple of years ago. I added all the extras plus 22 inch chrome mags, 2 massive exhaust tips and tinted front windows so it looks kinda gangster now, lol. I bought it so I could fit my 3 big dogs in the boot and because it was the fastest 4WD I could find – no apologies, I’m a chick that loves fast cars!
It’s a beautiful car and a dream to drive plus insurance is only $850 pa which is a bonus! Yes, it’s expensive to run and I don’t do enough driving now to warrant such an expensive car but that doesn’t change the fact that it looks hot as.
Funnily enough, I haven’t noticed the ‘wanker’ sign above my head yet, although if I do ever see one, I’m sure it would have been put there by a jealous, whiney idiot who had nothing better to do than worry about his embarrassingly small penis.
I feel so sorry for you Wolfenn – if anyone is the wanker, it’s you, so go get a life (or an penis extension)!
The SRT is not a 4×4 designed for SERIOUS 4X4ING like other Jeep models – it is the ultimate Sports Utility Vehicle. I wish I could have one …love the v8 and Mopar performance – old skool tradition to the drag racing and muscle car scene. I have owned 3 Jeeps over the last 10 years, my fav which I still own for its mad offroad performance and reliablity is the XJ cherokee. Yeah I get the wanker SUV vibe, but thought that was for Hummers in LA?