"How long will the next bus be, driver?" "If it's like this one, madam, 36 feet." OK, you try sitting right next to a Gardner diesel engine for hours at a time, and see if you don't attempt to alleviate the pain with a little harmless repartee.
Drivers of modern buses, with their rear engines and air-conditioning, get off lightly. In the long-lost days when I was a bus driver I sat right alongside the engine bay, from which the noise, heat and fumes could find no egress except through the cab. After and eight-hour shift I was never sure if the conductor was ringing the bell or if I'd gone down with tinnitus. It's hardly surprising, therefore, that I developed an intense dislike of oil-burners, a dislike that only recently has graduated via a grudging respect to genuine approbation. I've got to like them, too.
If you are still of the old school, the school that thinks diesel engines have no place in a premium car, then come with me, we're going for a spin. Already we're up to 60 mph and how long did that take? Under nine seconds. And what can you hear? A bit of wind and tyre noise but what else? Nothing, niente, nichts. Yet a few feet away sits a hardworking, torque-rich, V6 diesel engine: three litres of hefty pulling power that has the sound signature of a Ford Mondeo. On bricks. Welcome to the Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD.
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0-62 mph time of 9.0 seconds and a top speed of 124 mph |
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For a while the suffix 'CRD' had me puzzled until I realised that it simply meant Common-Rail Diesel, which scarcely does justice to the excellence of this all-new engine, which replaces the old 2.7 CRD unit. Described by the company as 'next-generation' the new engine features Bosch high-pressure fuel injection, a variable-geometry turbocharger, and four valves per cylinder. And were Jordan an engine she would be this one. Along with enlarged lungs comes eye-popping pulling power - 510 Nm at a mere 1600 rpm. Add 218 bhp and it becomes obvious that the Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD is a match for any premium 4x4 on the market, including the Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI to which it's not so distantly related.
Compared to the engine it replaces, the 3.0 CRD unit delivers a 33 per cent increase in power and 28 per cent more torque. In absolute terms, this translates to a 0-62 mph time of 9.0 seconds and a top speed of 124 mph, all in return for 27.7 mpg on the combined cycle. In-gear performance has also been improved, thanks to a new kick-down switch added to the throttle pedal.
Drive is via Chrysler's new W5A580 5-speed automatic hybrid transmission (auto' and sequential), which is hooked up to the Jeep Quadra-Drive ll full-time active four-wheel drive with a finger-flicking-simple low-range option.
Quadra-Drive ll incorporates three electronic, limited-slip differentials - front, centre, and rear - for what the company describes as 'best-in-class tractive performance'. Torque transfer is automatic although on really soft surfaces there is some evidence of the wheels' scrabbling for grip as the electronic brain decides where to feed the grunt. Selecting low-range - which in combination with sequential use of the 'box provides a measure of engine braking - involves nothing more demanding than operating a toggle switch on the centre tunnel, and waiting for a confirmation supervisory to appear in the instrument array.
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