NONSENSICAL, ludicrous and totally unnecessary. Praise the Lord for Jeep, for producing the insane 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. The presence of this absolute ball tearer makes the world a truly better place.
The Trackhawk is way more than just a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Its power is not only mighty, but it’s enough to give you a little tingle downstairs when you put your right foot to the floor.
Boasting 522kW of power and 848Nm of torque from its supercharged Hellcat power plant, it is the most powerful SUV on the Australian market. And yes, that makes it more powerful than the mystical Lamborghini Urus (478kW).
Let’s just say, when you switch to launch control and put this beast into track mode, there is a whole lot of fun to be had. The 6.2-litre HEMI V8 screams American muscle via its deep growl from the quad exhaust system and the whirr of the supercharger.
In fact, the performance is so impressive that the Trackhawk will do 0–100km/h in just 3.7 seconds. With a top speed of 289km/h and the ability to shred the quarter mile in 11.6 seconds, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is no soccer mum SUV.
It takes great concentration to pilot this monster in track mode because it’s definitely no sports car, despite its insane power credentials. More on that in a moment. To keep you in check though, there are various drive modes to suit your mood and purpose.
These modes include Auto, Towing, Snow, Sport and Track. There’s even an albeit redundant Eco mode. We say redundant because well, the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk has a drinking problem, with fuel economy the Achilles heel of this wonderful SUV.
If the $145,000 drive away purchase price doesn’t make you quake in your boots though, you’re probably not going to be bothered by the fact we were hard pressed to do better than between 14 and 18-litres/100km during testing.
Of course, these figures are dependent upon how enthusiastic you are with the accelerator. Excitement for going fast aside though, The Trackhawk has plenty to offer, including two piece slotted 15.75-inch brake rotors.
These are the largest ever fitted to a Jeep and are coupled with yellow Brembo brake calipers, for a tough look, partially hidden behind a set of ultra-stylish alloy wheels.
Ride comfort and handling is provided through Bilstein adaptive dampening suspension, while the Trackhawk is also equipped with the Quadra-Trac active on-demand 4×4 system, with a full time active transfer case.
The gearbox is a smooth and effortless 8-speed auto, with a flappy paddle manual shift option located on the steering wheel. Going manual offers the chance to hae some real fun through the torque range, and the exhaust note on the downshift is pure beauty.
Inside, the Trackhawk offers a feeling of sports luxury. The front seats are supportive and comfortable and the red seat belts give it a sports car feel. Adding to the ambience are carbon fibre inserts and a beautifully wrapped leather steering wheel.
An 8.4-inch touchscreen not only houses the sound system, navigation and reversing camera, but also incorporates some really cool apps to monitor your driving performance, including G-Force, tyre pressures and fluid levels.
Unfortunately, as good as these features are, the electronics are still a little glitchy. The sound system is up to task, but we connected to Spotify via Bluetooth and found ourselves having to reload more than once, which was a little disappointing.
We did struggle to find the strategically hidden (on the backside of the steering wheel) audio controls too. One of our favourite pieces of technology though was a simple function that formed part of an information panel on the digital dash.
You see, you can get it to display instantaneous Kilowatt data. This provided a bit of fun for various members of the Exhaust Notes Australia team, who, ignoring the fuel usage, tried to see who could get the kW readout the highest.
In all seriousness though, the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is undeniably a serious performance vehicle. It just happens to be capable of fitting the whole family in, as well as providing plenty of storage space.
The price also makes it a serious investment in performance motoring. It will put a smile on your dial, and give you a special feeling every time you drive it. You just need to remind yourself that this may be a decision you make with your heart and not your head.
For us, the stunning Granite Crystal colour of our test vehicle is the pick of the nine options available, with Bright White, Billet Silver, Rhino and Diamond Black Crystal among the other choices.
Our test vehicle was supplied by Jeep Australia. To find out more about the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, contact your local Jeep dealer.
