No Roads Lead to Roam: Mud wrestling with the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler

Most automotive thrills involve doing something very fast. But there’s another kind of challenge to one’s driving skill—and that is doing something quite slowly, without stopping. We’re talking of course about off-roading. Plowing through sand, mud, and water isn’t normally our idea of a fun day behind the wheel, but this one piqued our curiosity.

We were highly interested because the day’s program involved the brand-new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Jeeps—all of them—are supposedly made to the same standard as its illustrious forebears—the US military’s go-anywhere vehicle. The Wrangler, the brand’s most formidable off-roader, looks certainly up to the task. We wondered, though, about the Grand Cherokee, a highly-luxurious, P4,180,000 (in its highest variant) eight-seater wagon. Would it still take to the rough stuff like a bishop to a luxury SUV?

To answer that, we made our way to the Angeles Dirt Motorsport Track, a sprawling off-road playground managed by Landcraft Adventures Inc. The day began badly and rapidly became worse—weather-wise, that is. A nonstop downpour that would douse most automotive driving activities was just what the folks at CATS Motors wanted—the less traction, the greater challenge for the Jeeps. After being nabbed for speeding, by a ridiculous 9 km/h beyond the limit, at the North Luzon expressway (We suspect it had something to do with the bright red shoe box—aka Kia Soul—we were driving.), we emerged through Clark, through Korea-town, and onto the edge of the pavement.

Sitting splendidly on the grass was the Grand Cherokee 70th Anniversary-edition car, decked out in an attractive bronze paint scheme. The special color and trim are a no-cost option, while supplies last. Then there were the action group, a white Grand Cherokee Limited, a black Overland edition, and a Wrangler Unlimited.

To begin with, all Jeeps carry a sophisticated four-wheel drive system. The Grand Cherokee has a full-time system that automatically directs torque to the wheel with the most grip. Instead of a locking differential, it uses the ESP system to selectively brake wheels and send it to the opposite wheel.

It was a bit incongruous to sit in the soft armchair called the driver’s seat and point the Grand Cherokee Limited’s leather steering wheel straight into a muddy rut. The Limited proved to be a natural at plowing through the slippery stuff. On bog-stock wheels and tires, the car eased over a muddy trail, with one side planted in soft mud, and the other on a harder strip of ground. With the grinding of the ESP traction control the only indication of how hard the vehicle was working, the car eased its way up and clawed its way through a simulated jungle track.

Power goes to all four wheels via a five-speed automatic and the Quadra Trac II electronically-controlled four-wheel drive system. The driver can turn a knob to select a terrain, whether Sand/Mud or Rock, and engage the four-wheel drive low range via a pushbutton. Electronics also eased the car on descents down steep hills—no need to step on the brakes; just steer.

The only section that bogged down the Grand Cherokee was a tire-deep water crossing followed by a deep trail. The heavy downpour had softened the mud that the car couldn’t find enough grip to climb all the way up. This was already way beyond what one might expect on any reasonable dirt road.

Then there’s the Grand Cherokee Overland, which ups the ante with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8. The Overland has 352 bhp and 520 Nm on tap. The torque enabled the Overland to climb hills with barely a tip of the throttle. The car also features an air suspension, which can raise the vehicle to tackle more challenging terrain.

Grand Cherokees now feature a unibody chassis, which bode well for ride and handling on road but which usually limits off-road capability. The engineers have apparently not let that reduce the off-road capability of these cars. What was even more remarkable was that the Grand Cherokees did all their mud-plugging that day on standard road tires.

The Wrangler is somewhat the opposite of the Grand Cherokee in character. Where the Grand Cherokee is a car that will be at home on the driveway of the swankiest hotel, the Wrangler is the surf-and-sand kind of car. Where there are no roads, this car is in its element.

Built body-on-frame, the Wrangler’s specialty is going where there are no roads. Where the Cherokee climbed and muscled its way forward and up, the Wrangler just danced through, with little hint of a challenge. The Unlimited features a soft top that can be peeled back for open-air motoring. It’s anything but Spartan, though, with full electronic features and an automatic transmission. The speakers for the Infinity sound system are cleverly integrated into the roof frame, so that they won’t easily get wet, even when driving top-down.

At the end of the day, we believed the hype. The name isn’t just a badge—it signifies cars that are capable of tackling very challenging terrain all while remaining very civilized and comfortable.

Jeep Grand Cherokee 3,6L Limited P3,680,000
Engine: 3.6 liter V6. 286 bhp and 347 Nm.
Transmission: 5-speed automatic
Power seats, locks, windows, steering column
265/50R 20 tires
30GB HDD with 9-speaker sound system
U-Connect with Bluetooth
Quadra Trac II 4wd system
ESP

Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7L Overland P4,180,000
Engine: 5.7 liter V8. 352 bhp and 520 Nm. With cylinder shutdown.
Transmission: 5-speed automatic
Quadra Trac II 4wd system
Quadra Lift air suspension
Power seats, locks, windows, steering column
265/50R 20 tires
30GB HDD with 9-speaker sound system
U-Connect with Bluetooth
Power lift gate
ESP
Cruise Control
Keyless Enter-N-Go

Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 70th Anniversary P2,820,000
Engine: 3.8L V6. 199 bhp and 315 Nm
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
6-speaker Infinity sound system
U-connect with Bluetooth
255/70R 18 tires
ESP and traction control