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It possesses as unlikely a mix of characteristics as we’ve seen roar down the pipeline in quite some time. On one hand it’s part American muscle car — a monstrous 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 crammed under the hood packing a whopping 470 horsepower and enough torque to pull asteroids out of orbit. That is when it’s not propelling its hefty...




It possesses as unlikely a mix of characteristics as we’ve seen roar down the pipeline in quite some time. On one hand it’s part American muscle car — a monstrous 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 crammed under the hood packing a whopping 470 horsepower and enough torque to pull asteroids out of orbit. That is when it’s not propelling its hefty 5,150 pounds from 0-to-60 in 4.8 seconds or reaching top speeds of 155 miles per hour. Those with lingering doubts about this vehicle’s desire (and ability) to play dirty has only to note the Selec-Terrain knob setting for Track.



Yes, this car is just dying to kick some butt.

View full sizePhoto by James Gaffney/The Times-PicayuneGiraffic Park: The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee's top-of-the-line SRT8 4x4, pictured above and below at the nonprofit Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, offers a safari of luxury, style and power including a behemoth 6.4-liter Hemi V-8, premium leather upholstery and leather-wrapped sporty steering wheel, plus all-terrain capabilities and legendary off-roads chops.

It’s also part midsize luxury SUV, a picture of understated refinement recently redesigned and outfitted with enough high-end cabin upgrades and materials, ranging from carbon-fiber accents throughout the console and premium Nappa leather seats with suede — yes, suede — inserts to give its European counterparts a run for their money.



And it’s also part legendary off-road crusader, it’s electronic limited-slip rear differential, adaptive dampening system and Quadra-Trak active-on-demand four-wheel-drive system ready to eat up seriously rugged terrain and never ask for a doggy bag.



This year’s top-trim (and brand-new) SRT8 is, quite simply, the most daring — and daringly good — Grand Cherokee ever to roll off the assembly line. And its swagger can be understood when its chief competitors include the biggest SUV bad-asses on the road today, including the Porsche Cayenne S, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, Masarati’s Ferrari-powered SUV and the supercharged Range Rover. And that’s pretty heady company to be keeping when just years before consumers and critics alike were talking smack behind your back about your torturous lack of ride comfort and flagrantly mediocre cabin materials.



‘Big Boy’

“So this is the new one?” asked the guy at the Bonnabel Boat Launch. “I didn’t know these were out yet.”



He spent nearly a half hour perusing the bodylines and checking out the interior. Turns out he was a long-time Grand Cherokee owner and loyalist (you’d be surprised by how many of them appear out of thin air when I’m driving one) whose admiration for the 2012 SRT8 was dispassionately objective yet overwhelmingly positive.



“It’s beautiful,” he said quietly, squatting down to check out the stop-on-a-dime, red Brembo brakes, visible through the 20-inch alloy wheels, which include six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers and massive ventilated rotors. “Yep, this is the big boy.”

View full sizePhoto by James Gaffney/The Times-Picayune

He quite liked the fact that my $58,000 all-in-one SUV came to the table with a tilt-telescoping, leather-wrapped and heated steering wheel with audio controls; heated and vented front seats and heated second-row seats; an eight-way power driver’s seat and dual-zone climate control. Not to mention the modernity of a media center with GPS navigation with voice command, a 6.5-inch touchscreen display, USB port for mobile devices, Uconnect voice command with Bluetooth, and a head-bangin’ 550-watt, nine-speaker audio system with a 10-inch subwoofer.



Setting the SRT8 apart from the pack of lower-trim Grand Che

Tags: Jeep, is-featured

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TALL ORDER: Grand Cherokee's new SRT8 goes up against the big boys was originally published by New Orleans Auto Reviews: Jeep. Read the full story by clicking here.