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| The 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. |
Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of physics says for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So it is with automobiles. At a time when many manufacturers are making vehicles that run on electricity, Fiat Chrysler is making the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. It runs on gasoline. Lots and lots of gasoline. So. Much. Gasoline.
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| 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk engine. |
The Trackhawk is made by taking a Grand Cherokee and putting
the 707-horsepower, 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine found in the Dodge
Challenger Hellcat under the hood. It
can do zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds. It
does the quarter-mile in 11.7. Its top
speed is 180, but that’s artificially limited because of things like tire
ratings and insurance.
And all those are statistics I got from Fiat Chrysler. I’ve been reviewing cars for 22 years. I got
my driver’s license when what we thought were Golden Age muscle cars of the 60s
were filling my high school parking lot.
Five seconds of foot to the floor in the Trackhawk was enough for
me. I might have indulged a bit more,
but there is zero stealth to this machine.
It’s as loud as it is fast.
Tesla’s Ludicrous Mode is swift and silent. The Trackhawk is letting people six blocks
away know it’s here and it means business.
The window sticker has some fascinating numbers on it,
too. We’ll get to the price in a moment,
but let’s start with the EPA Fuel Economy and Environment information. 11 miles per gallon city. 17 highway.
13 combined. You are projected to
spend $10,250---that’s right, ten thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars---more
on fuel over five years than the buyer of the average new car.
The EPA says the Trackhawk---driven in a manner resembling
the EPA test---uses 7.7 gallons of fuel every 100 miles. Fiat Chrysler knows you’re unlikely to drive
it that way. You’ll use more. Which is
why it has a 24.6-gallon fuel tank.
I pulled up next to a Chevy Bolt at an intersection and felt
like rolling down my window and apologizing to the driver for rendering his
attempt to save the earth futile. Three
more people need to buy Chevy Bolts to offset this one Trackhawk’s thirst for
fuel.
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| 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. |
All this pillage and plunder has a base price of $86,650. Given that a base model of the same
vehicle---the Jeep Grand Cherokee---starts at $31,945, that’s a startling
price. I’m not sure I could name two
other American vehicles that have a $54,705 spread between their base trim and the
top of the line (I can name one--the difference between a Corvette Stingray and
a ZR-1 is $67,400).
Clearly, a chunk of that is in the performance bits---the
6.2-liter, 707-horsepower supercharged V8, the eight-speed automatic
transmission, the Brembo brakes, Bilstein competition suspension, 20-by-ten
inch forged polished wheels, the 295/45ZR70 tires to go with them---but a lot
of it comes in interior materials Jeep doesn’t make available for lower-spec
models. The Trackhawk is covered in
buttery-soft surfaces that feel and look like they belong in a vehicle in this
price range.
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| 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk interior. |
Yes, price range.
Because $86,850 is just where you start.
Our tester also had the Trailer Towing Group IV (a 20-inch by 6.5-inch
aluminum spare wheel, a compact spare tire, a 7-and-4-pin wiring harness, and a
class IV receiver hitch) for $995, an upgraded Signature Leather-Wrapped
Interior Package (Laguna leather performance seats and leather-wrapped lower
panels) for $4,995, an upgraded 19-speaker, 825-watt audio system for $2,095, a
dual-pane panoramic sunroof for $2,095, an upgraded set of tires from all-season
to three-season (yes, losing a season is an upgrade) for $895, and a swap to
black satin aluminum wheels for $995.
Add to that the highest destination charge I can remember
seeing---$1,495---and the Trackhawk we drove has an as-tested price of $100,215.
If you are a person without worries---about money, the
environment, insurance premiums, your future as a licensed driver---the 2019
Jeep Trackhawk is the SUV for you.
