Throwing (the Jeep Grand Cherokee Track) hawk among pigeons

When the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was launched at the start of the year, the American carmaker proudly proclaimed an impressive list of new standards its flagship vehicle sets.

When we finally managed to get our hands on the Trackhawk a few weeks ago, it also set the new benchmark for social media engagement across our range of platforms. And this sudden explosion amid our two-day test period were all down to one figure: the 0-100 km/h time.

Road test editor Mark Jones reached 100 km/h from a standstill in 4.42 sec at the Gerotek Testing Facilities. One hell of a quick time for a chunk of metal that weighs almost 2½ tonnes, but not what Jeep wanted to hear. The American manufacturer launched this particular Trackhawk on the back of the claim that it’s not only the fastest and most powerful Jeep ever, but also the “quickest production SUV in the world” with a claimed figure of 3.7 sec from 0-100km/h.

Mark did his utmost in hunting that number. I should know, as I was recording videos during his runs. The weather was perfect and the scene was set, but the Vbox that record the numbers simply doesn’t lie and the 4.42 was not what Jeep wanted to hear. Being on the Highveld and using 95 octane petrol instead of something more at home in an aeroplane always contribute when comparing the numbers we achieve at Gerotek to those manufacturers claim.

It is very rare that Mark manages to match those numbers and extremely rare he betters them. So the 4.42 sec became the bone of contention as the debate flared up on social media straight after the numbers were posted. As expected, Jeep wasn’t too chuffed with it; everyone had their own opinion as to why there is a 0.72 sec difference.

As mentioned, 4.42 is impressive and when you experience the raw thrill of flooring it from a standstill, social media tug-of-wars over fractions couldn’t be further from your mind. That experience is pure bliss. The intoxicating roar and forces that get displaced during initial acceleration make your heart pump, you want to burst into anxious laughter and soil the seat at the same time. And once you manage to contain your inner-hooligan with continuous stop/starts, you start realising that this beast is actually house-trained too. It is a very smooth and solid ride at speeds north of the national speed limit.

At the heart of this beast is a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 engine that delivers a stupendous 522 kW of power at 6 000 rpm and 875 Nm of torque at 4 800 Nm. Power is sent via an upgraded TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels through the Quadra-Trac on-demand four-wheel-drive system. And just for the record, even though we drive mostly on tarmac, the Trackhawk set a new record for the fastest speed achieved by a SUV on ice when it clocked 280 km/h the Baikal Ice Motorsports Festival in Russia earlier this year. And drive isn’t the only thing this car does in a hurry.

The braking has been upgraded to feature what Jeep calls the largest front brakes yet on one of their vehicles. Up front there are massive 400 mm two-piece vented rotors with six-piston calipers, painted with a new distinctive yellow finish, and 350 mm vented rotors with four-piston yellow calipers in the rear for stopping performance, heat management and durability.

Anti-lock braking, electronic stability control and traction systems are also uniquely tuned to bring the vehicle to a complete stop from 100 km/h in 35m. We did not test this, but the sheer size of those monstrous yellow calipers is pretty convincing. And speaking of looks, its exterior is imposing.

It rides 2.54 cm lower than non-SRT Grand Cherokee models and is further set apart by body-coloured wheel flares, side sill cladding and a sculpted hood with dual heat extractors. The black mesh lids on these extractors tell you this car means business.

Jeep’s signature seven-slot upper front grille is flanked by adaptive, bi-xenon headlamps that feature a black background to highlight their jewel-like appearance. And the fog lights were ditched from the front fascia to optimise airflow to cooling modules and air induction. At the rear, it is hard to miss the four-inch black chrome quad exhaust tips, while the Trackhawk badge on the tailgate and Supercharged badges on the front doors should also serve as a warning to anyone fancying their changes when approaching the car from behind at a red traffic light.

The standard 20-inch titanium-finish alloy clad in 295/45ZR20 rubber wheels also complement s the car’s stunning coat of Ivory Tri paint. The Trackhawk’s unique looks continue inside the cabin where Jeep put in a great effort in giving the car a kind of finish that doesn’t have to take the back seat compared to more traditional premium brands.

A fully wrapped signature leather interior package with the Trackhawk logo on the front seats lends just enough class to the interior without sacrificing the racing-orientated look and feel, which is in turn enhanced by real metal accents included in the standard premium metal package.

Both front and rear seats are heated, while the front seats also have a cooling function and the Dark Ruby Red seatbelts looked great with the black Nappa leather seats on our test unit. The three-spoke steering wheel has a flat bottom and a myriad of controls gives the driver access to comfort, convenience and connectivity controls while paddle shifters also enable manual gear changes.

Our test model was also kitted out with a Blue-Ray players in the armrest console, connected to a screen on the back of both front seats to keep rear passengers occupied. The driver gets information via a seven-inch instrument cluster with the tachometer situated in the centre and the speedometer on the left. The 8.4-inch touchscreen in the centre console provides a cool function during which a snapshot can be taken from the dynamometer screen that measures horsepower, torque and transmission gear. This readout can then be saved on a USB device for rubbing some numbers under your mates’ noses.

The Trackhawk features the Selec-Track system which uses performance-tuned so ware to pre-configure and distinguish the five dynamic modes: auto, sport, track, snow and tow, enabling the driver to choose a setting that meets his or hers requirements and ambient conditions.

The drive modes separately control the four-wheel-drive system, transmission, paddle shifters, suspension and the electric power steering. In custom mode, the driver can configure a personalised driving mode, setting each control individually. A dual-pane panoramic sunroof adds to the comfortable interior, while a 825-watt, 19-speaker Harman Kardon sound system is on hand should you grow tired of the exhaust notes.

Jeep says the Trackhawk is equipped with over 70 safety and security features. We simply don’t have space to run all of them, but can tell you that they include adaptive cruise control with stop, advanced brake assist, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-path detection, full-speed forward collision warning with crash mitigation, front and rear park assist, lane departure warning plus, ready alert braking and roadside assistance buttons. Should you still worry about leaving someone else take the wheel, there is valet mode which deactivates anything that will allow the driver to be a hooligan and can only be accessed through a personalised four-digit pin.

Priced at R2 199 900, the Trackhawk isn’t cheap, but you’d expect nothing less from a performance SUV of its calibre. It’s still cheaper than contemporaries, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR (R2 367 135), the Mercedes-AMG G63 (R2 786 653) and the Porsche Cayenne Turbo (R2 210 000), and the 3.7 sec claim makes it faster than any of those cars’ claimed 0-100 km/h times. But let’s not go there again.

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