We figured by this mileage...
We figured by this mileage the stock tires would be toast. However, the Goodyear Forteras that came on the Jeep still had some life left in them, even after all they had been through. Granted, we'd have been looking to replace them after another 5,000 miles or so, but still not bad wear, with no cupping or other untoward issues out of this rubber.
The other question we get all the time is if we'd suggest this Jeep to others. We would, but with a few qualifications. This is a great Jeep to use as a daily driver and weekend tow rig, but if you are looking to tow another Jeep all the time, you should get a heavier vehicle. We towed all over with this thing, but it was a constant battle between balancing the trailer and paying attention to overall trailer weights. With a rated tow capacity of 7,600lbs and 376 ft-lbs of torque on tap, we weren't concerned about the Jeep up and going. However, the wheelbase doesn't lend itself to heavy towed loads, and our trailer was a 1,500lb trailer, allowing up to 6,000lbs of Jeep. Many car-hauling trailers are in the 2,000-2,500lb range, and that means you'd be towing at max capacity with a Jeep decked out for a weekend on the trails. When towing heavier loads, nearer to the max rated capacity, the Jeep did it with no questions asked. However, it would have felt better and been more stable with either a weight-distributing hitch or add-on air bags. The rear coils just don't handle tongue weight as well as a heavier leaf-sprung tow rig.
This is not a simple engine....
This is not a simple engine. Every oil change we'd pull the stupid plastic cover and just look at the top of the engine, attempting to ID components and only partially succeeding. It didn't matter, because in all the miles under the wheels, we only had one problem, and that was likely from our cross-country-north-to-south-border marathon. We swapped oil filters at 24,000 miles as advised, but at 39,000 (roughly) miles we were climbing a grade with the Jeepster in tow in 90-degree weather going from 2500 to 7500 ft of elevation and the Grand smelled hot. We pulled over and it died showing an ETC (electronic throttle control) error. We pulled fuses, checked this and that, and about 20 minutes after dying, we were able to restart it and make the rest of our journey. The root cause was a clogged air filter. The tech that worked on it said that it wouldn't have been too much longer until the filter was pulled into the turbo. For our part, we were happy that $20 solved the problem.
Overall, it is a great vehicle. Would we beat on it in the rocks? No, at least not the one we used for daily driver duties. Have we beat on a similar diesel Grand in the rocks? Yep, and the Quadra-Drive does great. If we didn't care about the $43,000 price, we'd build one of these and tow it to the trail with a stock one.
What 42,105 Miles Costs
In the last installment, I broke down the first 24,664 miles to figure out what this diesel Jeep was costing me to run. In keeping with the theme of this long-term test, here are the final numbers on our WK.
| * Cost of 2,286.869 gallons of diesel fuel | $7,544.88 |
| * 6 cases of 5W-40 Amsoil European Car Formula Oil | 669.60 |
| * 6 Mann engine oil filters | 76.14 |
| * Napa Air Filter | 15.69 |
| * Mopar Air Filter | 20.01 |
| * 7 quarts of Amsoil Hydraulic Tractor Fluid (transmission and T-case) | 56.00 |
| * 5 quarts of Amsoil 75W-140 Severe Gear Extreme Pressure Lubricant | 75.75 |
| * Mopar transmission filter (PN 52108325AA) | 23.10 |
| Total parts, fuel, and fluids (all expenses) | $8,481.17 |
| ($.20/mile over 42,105 miles) |
Real World Mileage
The sad thing is that we've now got seven Jeeps that won't see the kind of mileage they saw on a trailer behind the Grand Cherokee. The nice thing is that we saved a ton of money in gas by using a new Grand Cherokee as a tow rig for a whole year. Looking back on the year, here are some of the highs and lows of our fuel consumption.
| * Average fuel economy for the year (mpg) | 18.41 |
• Worst Single Tank Fuel Economy (towing an M-37 up a bunch
of steep grades, mpg) | 9.65 |
• Best Fuel Economy (in convoy at 65 mph running Interstate 5
south from Portland, Oregon, mpg) | 25.40 |
| * Highest Single Tank Range (miles) | 494 |
| (21.66 gallons to full, 22.8 mpg) |