Abu Dhabi Off-Road Club Forums

I am looking at purchasing a new car and have come across the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited V8. I would like to follow my friends into the dessert occasionally, camp etc... but in terms of time spent I'm not looking at being in the desert every weekend (just to busy for now)

Any thoughts on this car? is the limited too limited, or should I push for the overland? is the v8 a good and reliable engine?

Any thoughts and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

I have a 2009 Grand Cherokee that I have driven in the desert only a few times, and only on mild terrain looking for a camping spot. Traction is excellent, but I always felt ground clearance was marginal, especially if you want to do newbie and intermediate trips. I now have a Wrangler JK as well, which in my opinion is the way to go for series fun in the desert. If you really need 5 seats plus cargo room, consider a Wrangler Unlimited 4 door, and you will only give up a little on road performance, and gain a lot of off road performance.

The power and smoothness of the V8 really makes it the only acceptable option for the Grand Cherokee. Most people will say the V6 is underpowered for that car.

There a couple of others that drive the Grand Cherokee on club trips, so hopefully they will pitch in their opinion as well.

goriding wrote:The power and smoothness of the V8 really makes it the only acceptable option for the Grand Cherokee. Most people will say the V6 is underpowered for that car.

Yeah, 260lbft from a 3.6L V6 doesn't cut the mustard in a 2200+kg SUV. I'd definitely rather have 390lbft from the 5.7L Hemi V8.

I have the GC Limited V8, 2011. I have used it a few times in the desert when I first started venturing into the sand and the V8 is stupendous. That said, the car is 'limited' by the fact that it has too much electronic wizardry, independent suspension, a number of underside components not suited to sand driving (plastic skid plates, vulnerable radiator and a/c components etc etc). At the time I used the car as a daily driver and didn't want to risk it so I bought a 2006 TJ which I ran for 18 months and now have a 2014 JKU which is fabulous. I also know a few people who drive the WK2 in the sand but they have modded the car to reduce the risk. If you are doing mild off roading to find camp spots the WK2 is more than capable. If you are intending to do a bit more serious stuff (i.e. beyond Newbie) then I would go for the JKU. The 3.6L Pentastar kicks out 285HP (Hemi 360HP) so is more than enough. Good luck with your choices!

Thank you all for your comments... does anyone have experience with the Overland?

I got the overland 2012 model,
Extremely awesome,
Till i went in the desert!
Front bumper back bumper thrice
Radiator twice
Ventilator behind radiator once
Total damage overall: 30k
Partly insurance partly not,
Coming to the point,
That the overland is too soft in hydraulics and really screws the straight crest!
And , one MAJOR issue,
Th overland is/was an european export version, as such NO FRONT TOW HOOKS, they could only install them for me AFTER my first major front accident where they changed the front bar and than were able to fix available tow hooks aftermarket ONLY
another one, Low gear is made for rocks, and you cant go faster than 50kmh in low, but you need it in certain areas as you have to speed the valleys,
And the electronics were regularly overheating when coming out of the desert..
So i dont know if you want to dune bash, or wadi drives,

For dunes it is shit,

for wadi and road :
A W E S O M E

Trust me, the 2012/2013 model,
I sold it after two years and got a nissan petrol !!!

And dont believe anything the sales guys tell you,
Am still Pissed at them for so much incompetence and pure sales interest!!!


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If you are not going off-road that much so it is better to forget about the Jeeps. So many Japanese cars will be better if you compare the amount you pay for the GC. Nissan and Toyota both have many models that will be good for occasional off road and in the same time giving great performance on road.
Good luck