Despite depressed market conditions, the Jeep and Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler SA intends to sell around 7 000 units this year. And, the introduction of 2,7-litre common-rail diesel and high-output 4,7-litre V8 petrol engines will add to the appeal of Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Despite depressed market conditions, the Jeep and Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler SA intends to sell around 7 000 units this year. And, the introduction of 2,7-litre common-rail diesel and high-output 4,7-litre V8 petrol engines will add to the appeal of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Introduced to the media at the Londolozi Game Reserve in Mpumalanga last week, the launch of the two new engine derivatives coincides with a change in positioning for the Jeep brand within the DaimlerChrysler SA network.
DaimlerChrysler’s new dealer network strategy involves changes of ownership at dealerships, realigned franchise territories and a single brand marketing structure in metropolitan markets. This means separate passenger vehicle dealerships for Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and Mitsubishi in metropolitan areas.
“The timing of the move turns out to be perfect,” Trent Barcroft, Divisional Manager of Chrysler and Jeep South Africa told CARtoday.com. “Jeep has been embraced as a new and desirable brand, and in terms of its market share in South Africa (about three per cent) it does a great job compared to other markets such Australia, Brazil and Venezuela”.
“As far as DaimlerChrysler is concerned, Jeep is strong enough to be marketed separately… in March it was the 10th largest selling brand in South Africa,” Barcroft added. “The South African market is recognising that the brand offers value for money compared to products offered by German and British competitors.”
Jeep will deliver more than 300 Cherokees this month, and the division expects to sell a total of 7 000 units in 2002, Jeep marketing manager Guy Franken said at the function. The new powerplants, which will do duty in the Grand Cherokee Laredo CRD and Limited and top-of-the-range Overland models, were introduced to better satisfy “the requirement for leading diesel engine technology and sustained high speed performance”, Franken said.
The 2,7-litre common rail turbodiesel engine, which is derived from Mercedes Benz’s OM612 unit, is notably quieter and more powerful that the 2,7 Tdi it replaces. The new engine is claimed to produce 120 kW and 400 N.m of torque, which is an improvement of 17 kW and 16 N.m over its predecessor. Furthermore, the engine is reportedly 16 per cent more fuel efficient that its predecessor and Jeep claims a 9,7 litres per 100 km on the combined cycle.
Jeep quotes a top speed of 182 km/h for the CRD models and a zero to 100 km/h time of 11,2 seconds – which is more that two seconds faster than the previous diesel Grand Cherokee models.
The prices of the two derivatives are R354 900 for the Laredo and R403 900 for the Limited. Jeep executives say that the improvements in the quality of diesel (such as Sasol’s Turbodiesel) and the refinement of modern “oil-burner” engines, have made models such as the CRD derivates highly desirable.
The result is that the CRD models do not appeal only to motorists who are specifically in the market for a diesel-engined vehicle in the first place. The diesel-engined Grand Cherokees not only offer better fuel consumption than some V8-engined petrol models on the market, but are also some of the more affordable options in the luxury SUV bracket.
A high output version of the 4,7-litre V8 has been fitted to the range-topping Overland. Producing 190 kW – 16 per cent more power than the standard unit – and 425 N.m of torque – an eight per cent increase, the engine propels the Overland to a top speed of 200 km/h – and a zero to 100 km/h time of 8,45 seconds, which compares well with the BMW 4,4-litre X5’s time of 8,49 seconds.
To produce the extra power and torque, Jeep engineers added symmetric pop-up-style pistons to the standard powerplant, and raised the compression ratio. The cylinder heads, connecting rods, crankshaft and intake manifold have also beenfine-tuned.
A full test of the Grand Cherokee Overland 4,7-litre HO appears in the March issue of CAR magazine.
