DRIVING IMPRESSION
The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk is possibly the most powerful SUV in the world, though it is certainly not intended for the bush. Nevertheless, we took it for a spin on a dirt road to see what would happen.
Do you remember the very first time you went on a roller coaster as a kid? Can you remember waiting anxiously in line, the second thoughts as you got into the cart and how your stomach turned as the train travelled up and over the highest point of the track and set off on a mad downward rush? Then you probably also remember how your knees trembled as you got out, but you still shouted: “Let’s go again!”
That’s exactly what it feels like when you stop on an isolated, dead-straight back road, jab the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk’s launch control button… and floor the pedal.
What do we have here?
At first glance, the Trackhawk looks almost exactly like an ordinary Grand Cherokee. It’s only when you walk closer and notice the huge Brembo disc brake calipers, air vents on the bonnet and an emblem on the tailgate that you’d see it’s a Trackhawk.
Under the bonnet is a 6,2 ℓ V8 power plant – the Chrysler Hemi, or so-called Hellcat engine. It generates 522 kW of power and 875 Nm of torque. That’s more than what a Lamborghini Urus can come up with (478 kW and 850 Nm) and significantly more than the ‘meagre’ power outputs of a BMW X5 M50i, Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE 63 S and Porsche Cayenne Turbo S – three cars that
aren’t used to being bested, certainly not by an upstart American.
The V8 is enhanced by a supercharger – unlike a turbocharger, it responds the moment you step on the pedal. Inside, there are chunky buttons, glowing lights and a neat black and silver finish.
Powerful, you say
Let’s return to that launch control button. When you are stationery, activate launch control in automatic mode – we’re taking it easy on your first try. A message on the rev counter instructs you to depress the brake pedal, and a graph shows whether you should exert more, or less pressure. As soon as you apply the correct amount of pressure to the brake pedal, a second message flashes that you need to step on the accelerator pedal – keep your other foot on the brake. Once the engine reaches 3 000 rpm, an alert flashes that you should immediately lift your foot off the brake.
The Trackhawk’s nose rises as its rear digs in. You blast off with all four tyres shrieking, and what follows is an impressive acceleration that rattles your nerves. In less than five seconds, you shoot past the 100 km/h mark… and the Trackhawk is still accelerating. The car starts drifting sideways across the road and your first thought is that there’s too much power and too little traction, but then you realise it’s because you’re being pushed back into the seat and your arms are pulling the steering wheel off-centre.
Come to a full stop again and page through the centre console’s touch screen until you reach the launch control menu which allows you to adjust the maximum revs. Try 2 500 rpm so you can launch earlier, with less wheelspin. The screaming of the tyres may sound awesome, but it wastes time.
Slide your seat forward so the acceleration doesn’t pull your arms from their sockets and threaten to break your neck. Follow the same brake-and-petrol pedal ritual, but this time you will be changing gears with the paddles on either side of the steering wheel.
Step on the petrol, wait for the signal and release the brakes. The launch feels similarly quick, and all four tyres are still screaming, but it’s no longer quite as deafening. Since the tyres are now quieter, you hear the whine
At first glance, the Trackhawk looks like an ordinary Grand Cherokee. It’s only when you step closer…
of the supercharger. A light on the dashboard flashes that you need to change gear. Second gear, flash, third gear, flash, fourth gear. By now your peripheral vision is all but gone – this is what tunnel vision feels like. You peek down at the speedometer… and, goodness, you’ve long exceeded the speed limit and there are still gears left you haven’t used yet.
Stop once more and activate track mode – the Trackhawk’s most aggressive driving mode. Set the maximum rpm even lower to 2 000 so the tyres don’t spin at all. Now you have to keep a cool head, because in this mode, all electronic aids are switched off, the Bilstein suspension is stiffened up, stability control is switched off, and you are now in complete control.
The rev counter’s needle is pegged at
2 000 rpm and you release the brake. At first everything seems curiously slow, and the only sensation of speed is the pressure on your body and the rising bonnet. You obey the light that indicates gear shifts while you listen to the supercharger’s whistle gradually being drowned out by the roar of the V8. Instantly, the Trackhawk bombs past 100 km/h.
The trip computer records your launch and shows a graph of the G-force exerted on your body and, of course, your time: 3,9 seconds! The brochure says you can achieve 3,7 s and on YouTube there are videos of guys who clocked up even faster times, but you’ll have to leave this for another day, because the adrenaline fizzing through your veins is causing your kneecaps to rattle against each other. A feeling not felt since you were a kid.
On a dirt road
We swapped the tar for gravel and realised straight away that you need to dial things back. A Trackhawk on gravel is by no means a death sentence unless you use launch control, which would not only be foolish but probably lethal. You shouldn’t even engage track mode here, because despite the allwheel drive, a Trackhawk is simply too beastly for farm roads.
Axle articulation is limited, and when you drive through ditches, one wheel is forever
dangling in the air because the suspension simply isn’t designed for these kinds of shenanigans. The standard Pirelli-P Zero tyres certainly don’t belong here and the suspension delivers merely an acceptable ride. No, a Trackhawk is by no means an offroad vehicle.
In conclusion
If you’re looking for a Jeep to take on 4x4 routes, then the Trackhawk is a poor choice. If you take a gravel road only occasionally, you could, maybe, consider it.
The Trackhawk belongs on a drag strip or a broad highway. Its acceleration is mad, but it can quickly get away from you if you’re not careful, as young racing driver Stuart White discovered at this year’s Emerald Speed Fest in Vanderbijlpark when he lost control of a Trackhawk and rolled repeatedly. Fortunately, he was unharmed.
A Trackhawk isn’t a frivolous pursuit, its luggage space is huge and there are TV screens on the back of Mom and Dad’s headrests to keep the little ones engaged while the adults talk about grown-up matters.
Who will buy it? We think he’s in his early thirties and owns a successful start-up.
A tribal tattoo peeks from under a rolled-up sleeve of his Fabiani shirt and his name is something like Chad, but with an Afrikaans surname like Uys (which he changed to Ace on his Linked-in profile).
Chad would prefer a Ford Mustang 5.0 GT, but he’s a family man and his wife said he could buy anything as long as it’s a fourdoor SUV. Little does she know that Chad’s Trackhawk annihilates most sports cars.