By Philip Ruth–
Over time, U.S. car buyers have proven their collective desire to buy the biggest vehicles their budgets will allow. While San Francisco residents go for reduced dimensions for easier city driving and parking, a quick ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County shows how Range Rovers and their ilk have conquered the upscale suburbs.
Chevrolet and Jeep are star players on this field, with the Uber-ubiquitous Suburban and the recently reintroduced Grand Cherokee. Chevy’s brand may not be equated with luxury, but the $79,370 sticker price on the tested Surburban 4WD Premier begs to differ. The $73,085 tab for the Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4×4 wasn’t far behind.
Both SUVs are in the “large” segment, and the Suburban’s 227-inch length makes it a class giant. The tested Grand Cherokee was the two-row model, which clocks in at a tidy 194 inches, and the three-row L trim stretches that to 205 inches. One benefit of the Suburban’s extra 22 inches is a six-inch advantage in third-row legroom. Short and tall passengers have space in a Suburban, while the Grand Cherokee’s third row leans toward the petite.
Ample widths for these SUVs create expansive interior environments, although the Suburban’s 81-inch measurement demands planning in city driving, because holes in traffic can close up just enough to leave you out of luck. The Grand Cherokee’s 77 inches had a lesser but similar effect, and it is in those situations where you question if you need this much vehicle.
Hit the freeway, and the answer might quickly switch to the affirmative. This is the Suburban’s time to shine, with its compliant ride and train-like solidity. The $2,495 “EcoTec3” V8 engine displaces 6.2 liters and felt like a mellow bodybuilder under the hood—unstressed in normal tasks and firmly forceful when called upon. Chevy’s “Dynamic Fuel Management” shuts down some of the eight cylinders when it’s loping along, and this action is undetectable by the driver.
The Grand Cherokee has similar stats but feels very different from the Suburban, much more truck-like. It’s not a higher-effort steed or anything like that; the Jeep is as genteel as its price would suggest. It’s more about its occasional vibrations and characterful responses the Chevy studiously irons out. Its familiar 5.7-liter V8 “Hemi” engine cranks out 357 horsepower and sounds great doing it, with a hearty grumble from idle up to top gear. This engine also features cylinder deactivation (“Fuel Saver Technology”), and buyers wanting more efficiency could explore the Grand Cherokee 4xe four-cylinder hybrid, which the Suburban counters with its six-cylinder turbo diesel option.
Inside, the Suburban is aptly named, with a driver’s environment that successfully mimics that of a luxury sedan. You don’t feel bulked up in a truck until you look down over the windowsill. The Grand Cherokee shares some design elements, including the long flowing horizontal lines to define the styling. Both were done in tan-and-black treatments that effectively epitomized these plus-sized exercises in modern opulence.
Philip Ruth is a Castro-based automotive photojournalist and consultant with an automotive staging service.
Published on April 21, 2022
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