Diesel_Uke

Hey to all canadian diesel GC owners.

I'm looking into getting one myself and would like to know what you all have to say about owning one? Pretty much the standard info: fuel economy (with your type of driving style), sound levels, comfort, quality, winter driving capability, etc.

Reading reviews online is one thing, but asking the people who have it for more than a week is completely another, and I believe you all will be far more reliable sources than some of the stuff I come across the net.

Thanks

BigSensFan

I have a 2007 WK CRD

Gas Economy varies on the driving but generally 24 mpg highway (not sure about city). Approx 74 Liter Fill up will take me 650+ Kms

Oil Changes at the Dealer are EXPENSIVE . $200 range as they require 9.5 Liters of MB229.51 approved oil ($11 per liter approx) and the Oil Filter is about 30-40 as well. (If you PM me I can get you wholesale prices on oil and filters from AMSOIL, filters would be approx $11 and Oil around $9 per liter)

I love the ride of this vehicle though overall.

One wish I would have for this vehicle, would be the option of 2wd to save fuel costs. Currently is is in 4wd High with the option of shifting it to 4wd Low

grahama2

I just recently purchased a 08 Diesel - did a trip from Toronto to Baltimore and back the first week I had it. To check fuel economy, I filled up in Baltimore - then drove 700 kms straight back to Toronto....and when I filled up I still had about 10 litres of gas in the car. Also note that I drove through a crazy snowstorm for 2 hours leaving Baltimore...so not optimal driving conditions....having said that...i am pretty pleased with how this car is performing.

I too am not impressed with how much the oil change costs....HOWEVER.....since I only have to do it every 10,000 km's, 200 bucks (or thereabouts) isn't too bad because I was paying 65 bucks on my dodge ram every 5000 kms....so, compared with the increased fuel economy...I would say the costs are comparable.

08gccrd

I love my 08 Diesel! I bought it new in November and it has just over 6000kms on it.

Right now im getting 14.5 mpg and thats 99% city driving with lots of idleing. The jeep sees 100km/h maybe 15min a week when i drive the girlfriend downtown for work on saturdays.

The sound levels are very low inside and out, the only time this thing sounds like a diesel is for 2 or 3 min after a cold start after that you can barely tell its running at all.

The Grand Cherokee is very comfortable inside. I like having the telescopic steering wheel and the adjustable pedals, it makes for more room in the back seat with the drivers seat being able to be more forward than usual. When i first got the jeep we took it on a nice road trip (Edmonton - Jasper - Banff - Calgary - Edmonton, 1000+ kms) with 4 adults and there were no complaints. This thing absolutely loves the mountains.

Driving in the winter is a breeze, afterall it is a Jeep. The 4wd and all the electronic traction controls it has makes it very hard to lose control on snow and ice, Ive tried :D.

I definately love my Grand Cherokee. Id recomend it to anyone and i would buy another one in a heartbeat.

HereNow

We bought one at the start of Jan.09. Was a tough decision, was a lot of money (even on deep discount) and we had to go out of town to get one.

But it was definitely the right decision. These things are amazing.

It's mostly for my sister who is going to school etc, and we live quite a ways out of town. Basically in the middle of no where on a dirt road. She travels 50k each way. The ride these things have considering the roads around here, imho cannot be beat. It takes small bumps, big bumps, pot holes, washboard, etc... and feels comfortable and always in control. On ice and snow, can't even spin a tire on the thing. It just goes wherever you point it. Roads are maintained poorly around here, and we could not imagine driving a car. And this is a way better ride etc then any truck I have driven.

The CRD diesel may be the best engine available in any vehicle. We only have 6k on it so far, but man this thing is a serious power plant. We are averaging about 10.5L/100k (27mpg). This is overall, including some town driving (mostly highway) and letting it warmup for 5-10mins on cold mornings. Its easy to do well over 32mpg on a typical trip to town.

I wish it had another gear. Or 2 even. We really dont need 7500lbs towing. (or any towing most days) So having another overdrive or 2 would be that much better. The thing never shifts out of 5th. Ever. Theres tonnes of power to the ground (which is nice for control) but it would get way better mileage with another gear or 2. At about 95km/hr it is doing about 2k rpm. Like My father's 2001 ford diesel runs at about 1500rpm at 100k.

It hasnt been 100% perfect. The heater blower squeaks a bit on low when u start out. (which seems common in reading forum posts) The passenger mirror light quit working the first time we tried it. Just minor things though.

Ya, people say that it is expensive to change the oil. But the thing takes 10 or 11 litres of Synthetic. What do you expect? Like I dont have to change the oil every 5k, only every 20k. Thats a big diff. Plus prices of oil have come way down recently. (and the price of diesel too is back where it should be, less then the more refined gas) So honestly, costs of operation are cheap for this vehicle in comparison to anything else close to it. Anywhere. It's also not an overly complex operation to change the oil yourself if so inclined.

Other then that. Best vehicle anyone in our family has ever purchased. By far. Whole new level of mileage, power, comfort, drivability. Cant really imagine buying anything else. Plus there is always talk on forums of maybe future mods (obviously when out of warranty) to do things like the chip, or maybe gear ratio to increase mileage. Not saying that is something we would do... but there is so much head room on this engine, really would only make sense tuning it for better mileage possibly in the future.

Only other things I wish it had were the climate control (just for warming up purposes when u remote start.) And a toggle to have the heated seats come on with remote start too. That would assist in the heating of the vehicle, plus they would be nice and warm when its time to go. It could actually use an additional auxilary heater that runs off of a belt for quicker warm up times. The engine does take a while to warm up when cold. But really, that is not a big issue. It's a diesel. They run cooler in general, so we expected that. If it is something that is an issue, can always add one of those little heaters that plug into the lighter port. But we never found it to be that big of a problem. And it gets cold around here.

Anyways, thats about it.

chester

I am 5'7" and have noticed I need to duck my head down to get in. Other than that so far so good.

reciprocity

I bought my 08 Overland in July of 08 and now have just over 80,000km on it(that's not a typo)

I do a lot of I average about 24-26mpg on the highway and about 21-22 in the city.

The truck sees lots of tow use as well, towing a 20ft trailer with racing motorcycles/gear etc from Ontario to the Southern US on a regular basis with 3-4 passengers.

long trip comfort is excellent, and ride quality is great towing or not.

As previously metioned, the 3.0 CRD motor is BRILLIANT, towing 5000+lbs it will rarely backshift while towing through the mountains of west virginia.