whatroads
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I travel, for work, nearly every week. This implies I get to rent a lot of cars. Last week I had a new Grand Cherokee Limited with the Pentastar 3.6 w/ 8 speed transmission. I only post this to discuss possible drive similarities with the, yet to be released JL Unlimited.
The GC will weigh around 1-200 pounds more than the JKU. Weight should not be much a factor. The Grand Cherokee was an AWD model. However, these post more power to the rear wheels than the front. I've had many past Jeeps. My wife currently drives a 2012 2dr Pentastar w/ the manual transmission. My current vehicle is a 2011 RAM 1500 QC 4x4 Hemi w/ 3.92 gear. So, I know what power feels like. Past Jeeps include CJ7, YJ, Cherokee 4.0 w/ Manual tranny, A couple GC's and a 2008 JKU
I found the GC w/ the updated Pentastar 8 speed tranny and very good combination. It never really felt wanting for power. I was in the midwest and no where near the mountains. I did disable the auto-stop-start. Off the line was very good. I'm sure it's much faster than my wife's 2012 Pentastar manual tranny. On ramp to highway, start of about 30 mph, easily hit 65 mph by end of entrance ramp with engine still accelerating. I found the 8 speed automatic shifts to be very smooth. Most of the time I did not even know they were happening.
I know everyone is psyched about the diesel and turbo 4 cyl options. Seat of the pants test lends me to believe the Pentastar w/ 8 speed auto will be an excellent engine, for both on and off road, in the new JLU
Auto stop start: Most of the time I barely noticed it. Mostly when pulling up to stop lights and trying to experience the systems effect. When I get a JLU i will likely hit the disable button every tie I start the Jeep. That is, Until I mount a switch to permanently turn it off. One thing I did notice about the auto stop start: When approaching a light, or stop, with relatively heavy brake, you felt the drive train kick in the back end. Kind of like it was unloading. When I turned the auto stop start off the effect went away. For example: 45 mph - 0 due to a stop light sudden change. Or, I simply like to accelerate\decelerate fast
The GC will weigh around 1-200 pounds more than the JKU. Weight should not be much a factor. The Grand Cherokee was an AWD model. However, these post more power to the rear wheels than the front. I've had many past Jeeps. My wife currently drives a 2012 2dr Pentastar w/ the manual transmission. My current vehicle is a 2011 RAM 1500 QC 4x4 Hemi w/ 3.92 gear. So, I know what power feels like. Past Jeeps include CJ7, YJ, Cherokee 4.0 w/ Manual tranny, A couple GC's and a 2008 JKU
I found the GC w/ the updated Pentastar 8 speed tranny and very good combination. It never really felt wanting for power. I was in the midwest and no where near the mountains. I did disable the auto-stop-start. Off the line was very good. I'm sure it's much faster than my wife's 2012 Pentastar manual tranny. On ramp to highway, start of about 30 mph, easily hit 65 mph by end of entrance ramp with engine still accelerating. I found the 8 speed automatic shifts to be very smooth. Most of the time I did not even know they were happening.
I know everyone is psyched about the diesel and turbo 4 cyl options. Seat of the pants test lends me to believe the Pentastar w/ 8 speed auto will be an excellent engine, for both on and off road, in the new JLU
Auto stop start: Most of the time I barely noticed it. Mostly when pulling up to stop lights and trying to experience the systems effect. When I get a JLU i will likely hit the disable button every tie I start the Jeep. That is, Until I mount a switch to permanently turn it off. One thing I did notice about the auto stop start: When approaching a light, or stop, with relatively heavy brake, you felt the drive train kick in the back end. Kind of like it was unloading. When I turned the auto stop start off the effect went away. For example: 45 mph - 0 due to a stop light sudden change. Or, I simply like to accelerate\decelerate fast
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