Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Takes on Ultra-fast SUV Rivals
Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is unmatched, but fast rivals are ready to pounce in Motor Trend’s latest mashup race.
Impressive stats are part of the Trackhawk’s repertoire. Thrusted forward by 707 horsepower, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk seems to have no direct rival, however, it is fair to put them up against some of Europe’s other fast haulers. Motor Trend recently did such a thing, pitting the Jeep up against the Porsche Macan Turbo, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, and the Mercedes GLC 63 AMG coupe, which isn’t a coupe.
Of those listed, the Land Rover SVR stands out to us as the most direct competitor to the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. It is a faster version of what was originally an off-roader, rather than being designed from the ground up as a wagon on listed suspension. That said, the SVR carries an immense $32,000 price delta over the Jeep, which wasn’t inexpensive to start with, with an as-tested MSRP of $101,610. The Land Rover is also the closest in power numbers, too, but only with 575 horsepower to play with.
That leaves Italy and Germany to compete.
Porsche’s Macan Turbo is considerably smaller than the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but that puts performance on its side. After all, it is a Porsche. Motor Trend felt a bit differently about that pedigree, however, saying “The soul we’ve come to expect from Porsche products is nowhere to be found.” Apparently that still made the Porsche good enough for third.
Second place went to the AMG. The GLC 63 Coupe offers more car-like performance and appealed to Motor Trend, and it picked up 2nd place in the lest. It is faster to 60 miles per hour than the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, by 0.1 seconds, and does so with 200 less horsepower. It also snubs the Jeep by costing hardly $5,000 more. Quite compelling, and worthy of second place.
Motor Trend named the Giulia Quadrifoglio its car of the year last year, so it’s no surprise that the SUV which shares the majority of its DNA also gets the top spot here. Pace for the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is not too far off that of the Jeep, but also solidifies its 1st place position by being a clean $15,000 cheaper. Some may question the Alfa’s build quality, but the vote has been made.
The whole comparison is actually part of an adventure that MotorTrend went on to discover the vehicles more thoroughly, and is worth a read. But do you think they missed the point of the Trackhawk by placing it last?
Photos: Motor Trend
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