Tragically the Subaru 'died' at the weekend and is 'beyond economic repair.' Looking around we have found the above showing 18K on the clock and pre haggling price of 17k.
Any experiences good or bad? The car will provide Mrs Geebee with daily transport to and from work ( approx 30 miles mainly country driving) and will be required to tow a horsetrailer complete with large horse - I've done the calculations and there doesn't appear to be a combination mismatch.
Your help / information would be much appreciated, we don't want to make an expensive mistake.
Edited by Webmaster on 22/10/2007 at 22:42
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I have Jeep Cherokee 3.7 Ltd (03 year). Not quite the same as a Grand CRD and they not the most popular mode of transport these days. I have found mine to be powerful, comfortable, enjoyable to drive and totally uneconomical and I love it to bits. I have never had any problems with it. I have always found Jeep service to be excellent and efficient but relatively expensive. There is a JeepClub website that you might have a look at. May be worth a look, to ask some questions from owners.
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A good old friend of mine has an auto has though he loves it to bits he struggles to get up to 25mpg with it.
Sorry but thats all i can tell you and don't know when i might see him next..pretty useless eh?
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Drove the petrol engined version in the USA. Provided it's the newer model, it's actually quite nice to drive to drive for an american ladder frame SUV but has very poor interior space. With myself (6'2") driving and a similarly dimensioned passenger it became a 2 seater. Fortunately the back seat was able to then act as overflow storage for the ridiculously small boot. Smooth, torquey 6 cylinder engine great for the traffic light grand prix. Downside was a fuel consumption of 9 (US) mpg according to the trip computer.
The diesel engined version I drove in Germany was a different kettle of fish. The one I had suffered turbo lag, had a very narrow power band and the engine was loud enough to wake the dead Admittedly, performance was so poor I suspect there was a fault with the engine. Fuel consumption around 20mpg so a big improvement on the petrol engine.
I think the biggest advantage of the Jeep is its towing ability and also the fact that despite the name it's actually relatively compact and the squared off styling makes it easy to place on the road.
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With myself (6'2") driving and a similarly dimensioned passenger it became a 2 seater.
Was that the *Grand* Cherokee? I've driven several in the US and Canada and thought plenty of room for 4 adults.
Downside was a fuel consumption of 9 (US) mpg according to the trip computer.
That's terrible! I usually get about 18 (US). Even the bigger (but same engined) Dodge Durango I had a couple of years ago did 14 US.
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I've had three of these, so I have some idea about them - although I change mine every 9 months so have little knowledge on how they age!
I average 26mpg in mine although did manage an all time record of 29mpg when driving down to the south of France at a steady 80mph. You may see more after they have run in but I never exceed 9000 miles before swapping for a new one. A colleague with an ML320 (same engine) gets low 30's after about 12000 miles.
The build quality is erm American even though they are built in Austria. Having said that if you don't mind the grey plastic then they aren't so bad. You just notice bad finishing inside the front armrest compartment and places like that. Also the front of the front doors have a poor panel fit in the bottom corner, although its a very quiet ride with little wind noise. Make sure you get a 'limited' or 'Overland' spec as it buys you quite a few extras inc leather that will help with the resale. Overland gets you suede seat facings, more wood and leather sown on the dash and door panels. It looks a lot nicer than the grey plastic, but the sued seats will soon look awful in an Overland if you sit on them after horse riding!
I've heard of a few problems with the Mercedes diesel engine, although I have had none. A colleague blew the engine on his after 7 months and we never did find out why!
To drive, I don't tow, but the vehicle has plenty of power and torque and is very comfortable on long journeys. The Merc auto box can be a bit hesitant when pulling out from a junction and seams to think about it from a second before moving off. You can overcome this by anticipating with a slow rolling start, or slap the auto stick to the left to select first gear only, resulting in a near instant response. It drives like a car and the electronics seem to keep the car in trim quite well on bends, although you are of course always aware of the weight of the vehicle. Braking is quite positive, but the car seems to need a bit of hard prod when pulling up behind someone on a hill (again the vehicle weight).
Check the cruise control buttons as mine seem to become less sensitive as the car approaches the end of the 9 months, particuarly the ones on the right hand side of the wheel (accel/resume, decel) - cancel seems ok. This has happenned on 2 of mine. they still work, but neet a more pronounced press. The leather seat facings crease up a bit after a while and the holes in the seats have small white threads protruding from them as they wear.
I have just had mine back from an accident repair after an almost head on collision after someone span out in front of me. I am glad I was in it and the car held out very well considering the high speed impact so seams to be built quite well! The downside was waiting for 6 weeks for a shock absorber that was out of stock.
Well perhaps the best way to endorse it is that I have ordered a 300c to pick up in a week and I'm starting to feel sad about giving up my trusty Jeep. Perhaps I'll go back to one in another 9 months. Please let me know if theres anything specific that you want to know.
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.... and another thing.....!
I have the entertainment pack on mine that gives you a TV/DVD in the back and a reversing camera. The camera is mounted above the rear numberplate looking down at an angle, and would give you an excellent view of your towbar as you revesed up to hook up your horse box. Perhaps an option to look out for!
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Moulder, changing every 9 months? Do you work for DaimlerChrysler, or something?
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Moulder changing every 9 months? Do you work for DaimlerChrysler or something?
Yep - for a franchised Merc Dealer.
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Yep - for a franchised Merc Dealer.
Presumeably (now D & C have separated) you'll have to switch to an ML? Life's tough, eh!
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Our Diesel Range Rover died and we needed to replace it with something diesel, quiet, automatic and powerful enough to tow an Ifor Williams 510 + two 16 hand horses. We bought a 2 year old 3.0 CRD which seemed good value compared to a Discovery or Range Rover Sport. Having driven a 4 cylinder Tdi for several years I was determined to have more than 4 cyliners. I was sceptical about a Jeep having had Range Rovers and Discoverys for 17 years but the Jeep does the towing extremely securely with ample power and no hunting between gears. Otherwise it is a quiet fast car which we like much more than anticipated. Economy seems to be very similar to the Range Rover. I have no hesitation in recommending one.
GS.
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Had a 3.0 Turbo D LTD. Very comfortable for long runs, excellent towing our 1.5 tonne caravan BUT
25 mpg solo, down to 17 mpg towing.
Expensive servicing if you stick with main dealers. I switched to local indendent but some jobs required a visit to the main dealer - plus it cost me over £1000 to try to get a back-end knocking diagnosed and fixed. They never managed it before I got rid.
Autobox had a mind of its own . Occasionally refused to change up out of first. Had to stop, turn off and "reboot" the car. As an intermittent fault, this never got diagnosed either.
Hope this helps
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