Following last week's photo leak, Jeep has officially unveiled the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk model at the New York Auto Show. It spearheads the 2017 model offensive, together with a slightly more luxurious version of the Summit trim level that we also like.
The Trailhawk has plenty of masculine features that we tend to take more seriously than we did on the Renegade. Giving the SUV superior off-road capabilities is the Quadra-Drive II four-wheel-drive system. It's a revised version of the air suspension system that is said to make no compromises in the comfort department either. It's been tweaked to have an extra 0.4 inch of ground clearance in its tallest setting for a total of 10.8 inches.
New features include front and rear skid plates, a matte black hood decal, side skirts and a pair of red tow hooks. Some of the front end features have been subtly revised to match those of the 2012 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Moab concept that previews this whole shebang. Thought we forgot, Jeep?
All this badassery can be combined with different alloys ranging from 18s to a relatively large 20-inch alloy. Depending on the market, three engines will be available on the Trailhawk, namely the basic 3.6-liter V6 rated at 295 horses of power, the 5.7-liter HEMI bad boy V8 or the 3.0 EcoDiesel V6, likely to be the most popular in Europe.
Inside, it's further distinguished by black leather seats and a steering wheel with a red Trailhawk logo. The 8.4-inch touchscreen with Chrysler’s Uconnect infotainment platform is standard and adds special menus for the suspension settings, wheel articulation, and all that jazz.
The 2017 off-roader will go on sale this fall when it will be joined by the revised version of the 2017 Summit. What's so different about it? Well, the 20-inch wheels for starters, since they had a multi-spoke design and polished finished. Jeep designers also gave it a thin LED fog light strip inserted into the middle of the bumper. It also comes with full-wrap Laguna leather interior and all the goodies you could want.
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. Full profile
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