Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel debuts at Detroit auto show

The 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel will have a fuel-efficiency rating of 21 mpg city, 30 mpg highway for the rear-wheel drive version, Jeep predicts.

|
Tony Ding/AP
Mike Manley, President and CEO of Jeep, talks about the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, at the North American International Auto Show Monday, in Detroit. The 2014 Grand Cherokee includes new front-end styling, including headlamps, grille, and bumper, Voelcker writes.

It's been rumored for more than a year; now it's reality.

This morning at the Detroit Auto Show, the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel will be unveiled by Jeep as part of a comprehensive update to the three-year-old sport utility vehicle.

Fitted to European versions of the Grand Cherokee already, the 240-horsepower 3.0-liter V-6turbodiesel produces a substantial 420 lb-ft of torque.

Jeep predicts the diesel Grand Cherokee will be rated at 21 mpg city, 30 mpg highway for the rear-wheel drive version; we're betting that produces a combined EPA rating of 24  or 25 mpg.

Adding all-wheel drive will bring that down to 20 mpg city, 28 mpg highway, Jeep says, which we'd peg at 22 or 23 mpg combined. 

According to the company, that fuel efficiency will offer a highway range of more than 700 miles--meaning you'll have to stop for bodily needs well before you need to refuel.

Other changes to the 2014 Grand Cherokee include new front-end styling, including headlamps, grille, and bumper; revised taillights; and inside, various interior upgrades and a new version of the ChryslerUconnect infotainment interface.

Under the hood, there's also a new eight-speed automatic transmission that replaces the five-speed automatics currently used.

It will be fitted across the board to all 2014 Grand Cherokees, both the diesel and the gasoline V-6 and V-8 models.

Sourced from German maker ZF, the new automatic offers manual shifting for drivers who want it, and includes an Eco Mode that remaps shift points to maximize fuel efficiency.

On some models--though not the new diesel--the transmission works together with cylinder deactivation for further fuel economy gains.

The most fuel-efficient version of the 2013 Grand Cherokee gets a combined 19 mpg, using a 3.6-liter V-6 paired with a five-speed automatic transmission.

In addition to the new diesel Jeep, there's also a hot-rod Grand Cherokee SRT8 version--undoubtedly the least green of the 2014 lineup.

For all the news on concept cars and new production vehicles, check our Detroit Auto Show page for the very latest updates.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel debuts at Detroit auto show
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2013/0114/Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-EcoDiesel-debuts-at-Detroit-auto-show
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe