Good ride and handling, almost like a car. Good braking, quiet cabin. Smooth off road performance. Engine performs well. Good fuel economy for an SUV. Rear seats easy to fold or remove. Full-time 4WD is a BIG plus.

Front seats too soft, lack support. Radio performance is weak. Rear storage is limited.

I chose the Grand for its ride, looks, and full time 4WD capability which was not an option on the others. This allows you to drive on-road in patchy snow or on wet streets without damaging the drivetrain or ruining the handling. It also has conventional 4WD as well, unlike Lexus, etc. This SUV is smaller than a Four Runner or a Trooper, roughly the size of a Rodeo. The seats are too soft for me, but others may like them.

Engine, sound system, exhaust system, loaded with options, quiet interior, permanent 4-wheel drive, extremely light doors, looks.

Gas mileage(but hey, you knew that going into it), interior build quality(rattles/squeaks), extremely light doors(passengers slam doors), painted side panels, body roll. Deep Slate paint.

This is a mean machine! It kicks butt and takes names. When I first got it, I didn't listen to the 10 speaker Infinity Gold sound system...listened to the music emanating from the exhaust system. The engine is an absolute delight, but the gas mileage will kill you. I average 14 mpg all together. Have a rattle in the upper left corner of dash, and the rear door speakers are so powerful that the rear door panels can't handle them....there's a vibration/rattle under tight/heavy bass frequencies. Having the lower body panels painted sucks compared to the Laredo. You can park a Laredo and not have to worry about cars next to you opening their doors and scratching your paint. Any minor scuff will show on the Limited versions' lower body panels. Body roll is very noticeable...but it's an suv...not a Corvette. Seats could use more lateral support, but they're nice and soft(heated too). This Jeep GC 5.9 Limited has all the options! It's trick! Drivetrain is fantastic. No problems with it's transmission. It has a different one compared to others. Deep Slate paint shows all the dirt. Hard to maintain. Would go for the Bright Platinum. Deep Slate looks sharp when it's clean, but doesn't stay clean long once there's moisture in the air. Overall, I'm a Jeep diehard. They rock! For the money, you can't get anything better. Fords suck...aren't worth crap off road, they're cheap, and not as powerful. Toyotas are nice, but way overpriced! For the same money as a Jeep, you only get a six cylinder and less options. Nissans can't compare. Range Rovers don't have the power. The luxury brands still can't beat my 5.9, and they can't hold up to Jeeps off road. There is a reason why Jeep keeps winning 4x4 of the year honors.

Similar Products Used:

1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo V8

Great looks, very comfortable, great engine, good power, great turning radious, and lots of room.

Still too much road noise for the price and 17 mpg hwy.

I am one of those guys that will take my $30K SUV off-road, for hunting, and it does great. Two buds even told me that I would get stuck in one creek full of mud and water, I have the 2wd, and it just marched right through to the other side.!! I thought I was making a mistake getting the 6cyl/2wd, but I thought that I did not need the 8/4wd, and I was right. If you want a great hwy and off-road SUV, this is the one.

Lots of power, good handling, comfortable

up-country suspension makes the ride a little rougher. Not enough storage space for small items. Gas mileage.

I bought this for about 10K a year ago and it's not a new car by any means... it also had alot of miles on it (130k), but this truck is a workhorse. I got the Grand Cherokee Laredo with up-country suspension and I put oversized tires on it. The tires made a huge difference in looks and handling. Before this I was driving a '80 volvo station wagon - I loved that car. This is alot different. It's quick - I can smoke most cars and/or trucks with it's 5.2 V-8 which was available up until 98. I haven't had any major malfunctions or breakdowns - haven't had any minor ones either. This car is rock solid and it's 7 years old with over 130k miles on it. My sister has a new '99 and it's badass - I'd rather have her car, but I can't afford it. For what I paid, I am very satisfied. Someday I will upgrade to the new Jeep if that says anything about how much I like mine. I miss my Volvo 240dl station wagon cuz it had ample storage space and was just alot more cozy. But this is a truck and you can't compare it to a car. I've driven the durango, the explorer and the pathfinder and think out of those, the Jeep is the best. If I decide to get another SUV, it's either gonna be Jeep, xterra, or 4Runner. In my model year, the spare tire is taking up valuable space in the rear... plus, new or old, the Jeep isn't long enough for me to sleep in the back (I'm 6'1"). My volvo had enough room for 2 to sleep comfortably. I give it a 4.5 for value cuz I got mine cheap and it hasn't let me down yet, and I give it a 3.5 overall cuz it's older and new cars are way better. Another thing to note is that these are high on the list of theives... my car has been stolen once (and recovered) and it cost me about 500 bux to get it back to normal... The Jeep is really easy to break into and start with a dummy key. Best thing to do is to use the club or a steering column lock - otherwise you might as well leave the doors open with the key in the ignition.

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durango, explorer, pathfinder, 99 grand cherokee...

Comfort, style, rugged. This is a truck padded with luxury accessories, not a luxury car tricked up to imitate and SUV. For all of that it has one of the best sound systems I have ever owned.

I have that same forward-to-reverse jerk problem that other reviews mention. I consider this a minor problem. The non-leather interior (if you get that) costs less, but the style looks tacky to me.

I have the 26F package, which give you the luxury leather interior, definitely recommended. You don't need the V8 unless you are a "power user;" I prefer the extra gas mileage. You can still go up anything you have traction for. My GF liked my car so much we bought another one almost exactly like it.

great ride, great build quality, amazing off-road capability, better than any other suv

needs a drive shaft modifacation.thats why you feel a jerk when going into reverse

all in all its amazing but wish i got the v-8

Jeep perfected the SUV look on this one, but it sacrificed everything else.

I hate everything except the looks, engine, transmission, ride.
My jeep has been in the shop over 12 times. I know the service manager on a personal basis now. I have owned suv's all my life and have never gotten so little for so much. To top it off, this winter I realized the thing is worthless in snow. Seems they trimmed too much weight off in this model- I've gotten stuck in 6" of snow. That's not even enough to touch the undercarriage.

I definitely would not recomend this SUV unless you really don't care how much it costs to maintain it. It definitely is the best looking SUV on the road. I would be more understanding if I abused this truck, but it's main use is by my wife driving the kids around.
Parts replaced so far:
3 shocks
Entire Power Steering
Both air bags
front differential
rear differential vent, it was leaking (how?)
2 tires, - they said the tires made it pull to the right.
front right cv joint
ball joint in steering
transmission - not the whole thing, I think they replaced one part.

Similar Products Used:

96 Grand Larado, 92 Blazer, 99 Chevy truck, 75 Cherokee, 74 CJ-5
All of the above were better for realiability.

it has great acceleration. The seats are way comfortable. It a jeep, what did you expect?

I wish it was just a little bigger. bad gas mileage.

I would recommend this vehicle to anyone who wants an suv. it is an all around vehicle that has everything you could ever want. I love it!

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I have had alot of other vehicles like it and it kicks butt.

Roomy, feels great on road,engine has enough power for me. good family SUV.
Need more time to evaluate.

After reading some of the reviews here I'm concerned.
Before I bought it, the check engine light was on when I was testdriving it, I told the dealer about it and they fixed it by changing air filters,Does this make sense? Will let you know how it turns out. Got the extended warranty just in case.

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Similar Products Used:

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- V8 Engine (acceleration)
- Infinity Gold sound system is incredible
- Up-Country package is worth it, I've used the tow hooks about three times. The skid plates have also been useful.
- Ergonomics
- Fuel Economy (compared to previous Jeep V8s)
- Looks
- Seats (you could fry an egg on them when the heater's on)
- Dual Zone climate
- Much tighter build than earlier JGC's (no rattles after 48000 miles)

- Stalls out sometimes (weird)
- Rear window is more like a porthole
- Quadra Drive "Full time" is definitely not full time. (a major disappointment compared to older JGC's) you need to skid first for the front axle to engage
- Power steering goes out alot when parallel parking or turning at a slow speed
- Very loud transmission. The 2.5 gear makes accelerating and coming to a stop quite nerve racking
- It's controlled by way too many computers
- Offroad ability has fallen greatly (compared to '98 GC's and earlier)

We've had the '99 Jeep for about 2 and a half years and it has been OK. It looks great and has many nice features. Disappointing is the fact that it's been in the shop for factory screw-ups like the grinding and buckling front end when turning hard at low speeds. I was expecting better offroad performance when I watched the video, but was disappointed to find that in LOW range, it could not climb a muddy hill that my 5.9 conquered easily in HIGH and LOW ranges. From what I hear from the other reviews, the 2001 Grand Cherokees seem even more refined (for the better?) and that DaimlerChrysler has eliminated the piece of crap transmission and weeded out the minor new-design faults. I highly recommend getting the extended warranty, it has been a great help and value.

Similar Products Used:

'98 5.9 Limited, '97 4Runner SR5
The 5.9 has WAY better acceleration and comparable fuel economy. 5.9 has much sharper styling and has a much better 4WD system.
The 4Runner is so much more reliable and a little higher (but much slower)