Hi All,
I have been a long time lurker on this site as I eagerly awaited the arrival of some cherokees here in Houston TX. I just wanted to take a moment and post my feedback after having a chance to take a brief test drive last night and also compare my personal opinions to some of the other vehicles I will be checking out in its class. Last night I also took a brief ride in a 2014 forester XT touring so for now that's all I have to compare, I do plan on driving some more vehicles today if I don't get too tired of car salesmen
Let me also state upfront that the Subaru dealership/ sales person was extremely professional and knowledgeable and the jeep dealer was the exact opposite and quite frankly it was so bad that I plan on visiting another jeep dealership with the hopes of finding a non idiot to deal with ( did u know the only model available with 4x4 is the trailhawk? for example).
After dealing with the sales person for what seemed like an eternity I finally got to look at a trailhawk v6, convenience, Nav, leather, tow MSRP in the 36k range. The looks of the trailhawk are simply BAD A$$. There is just no other way to describe it. The interior fit and finish is first class. The seats are really supportive and comfortable. The large Nav screen and features are great (unfortunately I had to deal with 30 mins of the salesperson unsuccessfully trying to show me what it could do). The only negative at all with regards to the interior for me is that I wish the rear storage area was a little wider, so golf clubs could fit without being angled. The forester on the other hand has a much wider storage area. To be fair the subaru also has a very nice and comfortable interior, but it just doesnt have the bells and whistles that the cherokee does. The Nav is much smaller and the seats are not quite as supportive.
I was able to take the trailhawk out on a short drive on the highway as well as a brief stint on a side road. The first thing I noticed was the little jump from 1st to 2nd gear that some other people have mentioned on this forum. Other than that the transmission was relatively smooth and while cruising on the highway between 60-70MPH the RPMs were always below 2000 and as low as 1500 which would lead me to believe that the gas mileage would be decent when cruising. I didnt get a chance to verify but I would assume that it was in 8th gear based on others observations. I did step on it once and the transmission downshifted quickly and the acceleration was good. The ride quality was a little more firm when compared to the forester but I assume that is due to the offroad suspension and tires.
I have driven a few cars with CVT transmissions in the past and I have always disliked them so I did not have high hopes leading up to driving the forester. I was pleasantly surprised by the CVT that they use in the XT model. It was silky smooth and was able to change RPM's much quicker than any other CVT that I have driven in the past. There is also 2 sport modes that will mimic 6 and 8 gears respectively. Using the paddle shifters when in either of these modes the fake shifts are extremely fast, faster than the 6 speed auto in my 2008 335i.
So after two brief drives, one good experience and one bad one my initial feelings are that I would rather sit in the cherokee but drive the forester. Which really makes the decision even harder for me as I do spend around 1.5 hours dealing with traffic every day. If only a vehicle existed with the foresters chassis and the cherokees looks/amenities.
Sorry to be soo long winded with what I hoped to be a short review. I do plan on testing some other vehicles and revisiting the cherokee at another location as I am sure that the negative dealer experience had to some what effect the review. Feel free to chime in as I would also like to here from people that test drove other vehicles as well.
Jason
I have been a long time lurker on this site as I eagerly awaited the arrival of some cherokees here in Houston TX. I just wanted to take a moment and post my feedback after having a chance to take a brief test drive last night and also compare my personal opinions to some of the other vehicles I will be checking out in its class. Last night I also took a brief ride in a 2014 forester XT touring so for now that's all I have to compare, I do plan on driving some more vehicles today if I don't get too tired of car salesmen
Let me also state upfront that the Subaru dealership/ sales person was extremely professional and knowledgeable and the jeep dealer was the exact opposite and quite frankly it was so bad that I plan on visiting another jeep dealership with the hopes of finding a non idiot to deal with ( did u know the only model available with 4x4 is the trailhawk? for example).After dealing with the sales person for what seemed like an eternity I finally got to look at a trailhawk v6, convenience, Nav, leather, tow MSRP in the 36k range. The looks of the trailhawk are simply BAD A$$. There is just no other way to describe it. The interior fit and finish is first class. The seats are really supportive and comfortable. The large Nav screen and features are great (unfortunately I had to deal with 30 mins of the salesperson unsuccessfully trying to show me what it could do). The only negative at all with regards to the interior for me is that I wish the rear storage area was a little wider, so golf clubs could fit without being angled. The forester on the other hand has a much wider storage area. To be fair the subaru also has a very nice and comfortable interior, but it just doesnt have the bells and whistles that the cherokee does. The Nav is much smaller and the seats are not quite as supportive.
I was able to take the trailhawk out on a short drive on the highway as well as a brief stint on a side road. The first thing I noticed was the little jump from 1st to 2nd gear that some other people have mentioned on this forum. Other than that the transmission was relatively smooth and while cruising on the highway between 60-70MPH the RPMs were always below 2000 and as low as 1500 which would lead me to believe that the gas mileage would be decent when cruising. I didnt get a chance to verify but I would assume that it was in 8th gear based on others observations. I did step on it once and the transmission downshifted quickly and the acceleration was good. The ride quality was a little more firm when compared to the forester but I assume that is due to the offroad suspension and tires.
I have driven a few cars with CVT transmissions in the past and I have always disliked them so I did not have high hopes leading up to driving the forester. I was pleasantly surprised by the CVT that they use in the XT model. It was silky smooth and was able to change RPM's much quicker than any other CVT that I have driven in the past. There is also 2 sport modes that will mimic 6 and 8 gears respectively. Using the paddle shifters when in either of these modes the fake shifts are extremely fast, faster than the 6 speed auto in my 2008 335i.
So after two brief drives, one good experience and one bad one my initial feelings are that I would rather sit in the cherokee but drive the forester. Which really makes the decision even harder for me as I do spend around 1.5 hours dealing with traffic every day. If only a vehicle existed with the foresters chassis and the cherokees looks/amenities.
Sorry to be soo long winded with what I hoped to be a short review. I do plan on testing some other vehicles and revisiting the cherokee at another location as I am sure that the negative dealer experience had to some what effect the review. Feel free to chime in as I would also like to here from people that test drove other vehicles as well.
Jason
