Jeep Grand Cherokee

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a thoroughly capable old-school SUV that still has huge appeal, especially in its latest guise. Not cutting edge, but has charm.

• Comfort

  Works well as a cruiser and copes with all the usual UK-specific issues like potholes and lazy roadmending executives and their scarred tarmac. Supple and relaxing.

  

• Performance

  The diesel 3.0-litre V6 pushes out a respectable 237bhp and 405lb ft of torque, hits 62mph in 8.2 seconds and returns 34mpg. The SRT8 packs a faintly ludicrous 6.4-litre Hemi V8; we're talking 470bhp, 465lb ft of torque and a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds. Hot hatch owners beware...and people who fix holes in roadside hedges, get ready for some overtime.

  

• Cool

  Reasonably. The SRT8 is even cooler, in a kind of rictus grin, slightly manic way.

  

• Quality

  Old school Jeeps had interiors like old schools, with a chronic mismatch of materials. This is vastly better, with quality materials, a nice - if subtle - dash layout and bullseye accuracy in fixing it all together.

  

• Handling

  That chassis is actually rather sophisticated, repaying your enthusiastic inputs with well controlled cornering and braking, although the steering can self-centre a bit too aggressively.

  

• Practicality

  The Grand Cherokee is a big old thing, so space is fine, though if you're super-tall the front seats might be set a little high. The boot is a generous 782 litres with the seats up and 1554 with them folded flat, though it's worth remembering that the boot floor is a couple of feet off the floor if you regularly transport crates of lead, or dead bodies.

  

• Running costs

  Residuals are acceptable, no more. 34mpg and emissions of 218g/km of CO2 can't quite match say, a 3.0-litre diesel BMW X5, but it's not far off. The SRT8, though, is a monster: 16.8mpg (if you're lucky) and an unspecified amount of CO2.