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2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Was the Hot Rod of SUVs, Doug DeMuro Says

We're living in the last days of Hellcat madness, and it's easy to think there's never been an SUV as cool as the Trackhawk or the Durango Hellcat. But Doug DeMuro is here with the keys to a 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and argues it's worth remembering, even without the supercharger.
2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Was the Hot Rod of SUVs, Doug DeMuro Says 11 photos
Photo: Doug DeMuro/YouTube screenshot
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The only reason people put up with Chrysler's cost-cutting and poor reliability in the 2000s was that they built cool cars. Specifically, the SRT8 badge on a Dodge Charger, Magnum or Chrysler 300 meant huge displacement and a soundtrack from the V8 gods.

Back then, the Jeep Grand Cherokee wasn't particularly luxurious and it didn't have the many special packages it does today. So in order to make it stand out, they decided to have an SRT8 version. By the time it came out, performance SUVs were already becoming a thing, as Doug points out the road had been paved by the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. However, they all had forced induction or slight tuning to make them sportier.

Meanwhile, what the Cherokee SRT8 did was like pulling a page out of the "hot to hot rod" guidebook. That is, it got a bigger engine. Normally, a WK (3rd-gen, made from 2005) came with a 215 hp 3.7-liter V6, a 4.7-liter with 305 hp, or a 5.7-liter HEMI making 325 or 357 hp. But in 2006, production started on this 6.1-liter beast packing 420 hp.

Doug says that the Grand Cherokee was driven by dads hiding their baldness under a baseball hat. And at any other company, the idea of a V8 performance version wouldn't have been taken seriously. But Chrysler knew their audience, and so they went ahead with the SRT8.

When it came out, it made 80 horsepower more than a top-end BMW X5 and was 30 hp down on the Cayenne Turbo. It claimed to be faster and was noticeably cheaper as well. You've probably seen lots of these things put down 1000 hp at the drag strip, but a stock model makes for an interesting review. You know... for the quirks and features.

The main theme is how cheaply made this was. The console has more empty buttons than usable ones, for example. It's got a fixed antenna on the hood, and the dashboard looks like it's been recycled.

It's not all bad news, as the SRT8 came with the square-jawed bumper, chrome wheels, and red Brembo brakes that made it so distinctive. And it sounded about as good as you think. Just don't expect it to be fast by modern standards.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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