After the necessary pomp and circumstance, a long and broad nylon sheet was smoothly whipped off a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk at the New York Auto Show yesterday. It sparkled under the myriad lights of Javits Center, probably. It likely faced a swell of photographers as the press conference ended. I’m just guessing. I was 2000 miles away in Moab, watching a merry and wind-whipped crew kick sandbags off the nylon sheet covering a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk in the parking lot of a hardware store.
Which is more fitting. The Trailhawk, for all its luxurious trim and comfortable Grand Cherokee trappings, is a nod to the off-road ability needed in places like Moab. Plenty of city-goers will tick the Trailhawk box even if they don’t take advantage of the vehicle’s optional rock rails, Quadra-Drive II setup (the Grand Cherokee’s most off road-capable setting), or air suspension that stretches an extra 4/10ths of an inch of adjustability out of the Grand Cherokee’s existing suspension.
The best news though, is that the Trailhawk will hit the road available with with all three of the Grand Cherokee’s engines. While the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and 5.7-liter Hemi are plenty appealing, for an off road-oriented family hauler Jeep’s turbocharged 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 is a compelling option indeed. Perhaps 240-horsepower doesn’t sound like a ton these days, but 420 lb-ft of torque and 30 mpg on the highway are nothing to sniff at.
Skid plates, seats plucked from the SRT Grand Cherokee, plenty of badging, a bitchin’ and exclusive “Rhino” grey-blue paint job, and a handful of existing Jeep extras. So It’s a trim package. But if you’ve been looking to take your New York luxury outside—pretty much anywhere outside—it’s a damned enticing one.
