Jeep Grand Cherokee petrol: Competition Check

The market for big petrol SUVs seems to be opening up slowly in India and everyone has been slowly jumping on to that bandwagon and introducing big petrol models for the Indian market. Of the German three, two already have petrol options while the third is expected to bring it in soon. But our focus is on a new player, Jeep, which entered the Indian car market last year. It began its innings with the big diesels for its CBU range and has now introduced a petrol option for the mighty Grand Cherokee. It’s the same 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 mill found in the Wrangler petrol and here it produces 284bhp/347Nm with an eight-speed transmission and AWD to match. So how does it fare against the competition? Read on to find out.

Mercedes-Benz GLS
This is the German automaker’s biggest petrol SUV and is offered in the 400 4MATIC trim. It is a bit more expensive that the Grand Cherokee petrol, but for that kind of money you get three proper rows of seating, a big petrol engine and of course, that famous three pointed star badging which gives you quite a bit of bragging rights. In fact the Merc’s engine produces 100 Nm of added torque as compared to the Pentastar Mill.

BMW X5
The petrol powered BMW X5 is available as the xDrive35i output and is priced at Rs 70.5 lakhs while the variant closer to the price of the petrol Grand Cherokee is the xDrive 30d M Sport which costs Rs 75.3 lakhs and and 75.3 lakh respectively. Huh? Both engines are 3.0-litre straight-six units and produce 258bhp/560Nm and 306bhp/400Nm respectively. Take the case of the latter - it is quite a bit more powerful than the Grand Cherokee and in addition, you also get that fancy M sport package which lends sporting credibility to the overall appearance.  In both cases, the cars are similar in terms of features and get a dual tone cabin as a part of the deal.

Audi Q7
Among the big German three present in India, Audi is currently the only one not offering a petrol option for their flagship SUV. But it is competitively priced and in a price bracket comparable to that of the Grand Cherokee, you get the Q7 in the 45TDI Technology Pack which is a higher spec variant than the Premium Plus trim. What you get for this kind of money is the subtle Audi design with extra bits like the Virtual cockpit and quattro AWD system.

Jaguar F-Pace
Globally, the F-Pace is a rung lower than the Grand Cherokee but in India that is not the case and they are priced in a similar price bracket. Since it is slotted close to the price of the petrol Grand Cherokee, you can have the F-Pace in the Prestige trim level. They maybe similar in terms of size but the Grand Cherokee has the upper hand when it comes to features as you get lot more kit on offer as well a 50 year Jeep heritage to back the Grand Cherokee moniker.

Volvo XC90
The Volvo X90 will become a locally assembled model later this year and probably the price will drop even further. But for now, you can have the Swedish SUV in the Momentum luxury trim as a rival to the Grand Cherokee petrol variant. You get Volvo’s minimalist design but with all the extra safety bits that define the Volvo range. 

Porsche Macan R4
This may seem like an odd choice as it is a much smaller vehicle and fits into a rung lower. However, when you want to choose a petrol Grand Cherokee, you also want a sportier alternative. This car may be low on features, but what you get is the Porsche badging and sporty handling.