USED Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4 (05 - 10)

My car

I've owned this car for 2 months having traded in an '05 BMW X3 2.0D for it. I have to say, despite what you might have read in the motoring press, that this is one of the nicest cars I have ever owned and there have been quite a few, 27 and counting!

The 3.0 CRD engine is just fantastic, smooth and more than capable of hauling it's bulk along at a decent pace. It's scared one or two 'hot' hatches since I've had it. It's a bit wallowly in the corners and an X5 might outpace you on a country lane but its also £15k cheaper and there won't be 50 of them lined up in the local Waitrose car park, so who's laughing now?.

The interior, except for the really horrid handbrake, is neat, comfortable and hard wearing. With the addition of an iPod adaptor it's now just about perfect and, dog proof!

My only gripe are the running costs, the X3 returned 34mpg+, I find the Jeep struggles to better 25mpg and the majority of my driving is done on rural roads at a constant 40mph ish. So that's a bit of a bummer considering, as I write, diesel is 116.9p - plus our friends in government raising my road tax bill to £400 for owning a car that puts out 270g/km - literally just over the higher tax limit.

Still, I'm fortunate that I can afford these rises (just) so I'm afraid it's not going to stop me enjoying my car. Sorry Mr Brown, and I'm not alone - see www.angrybritain.com.

Go drive one and make up your own mind, I highly recommend it.

My car

I bought a 12-week old SRT8 from a main dealer with £14,000, reduced from RRP with a 3-year warranty as a straight swap for my practical, but slow and boring 6 month old Land Rover Discovery 3.

Minus points: Sat Nav would be better if it was touch-screen, because it can be fiddly. Gearstick cup holders are not ideally placed. The auto elec seats squash the persons legs if they are sitting behind you so best switched off. No steering-wheel audio controls. If the 17mpg troubles you then an LPG conversion is the order of the day

Plus points: More comfortable on B roads than my 3 series bmw. Discreet until its started up. Standard privacy glass reduces the glare from other car head lights. Faster than any other 4x4 on the road including the £81,545 Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

The V8 sound and performance is absolutely awesome. More torque than a 2008 BMW M5 0-60 in under 5 secs in the wet. Enough space for the dogs and the baby's buggy. Excellent value for money. Servicing is cheap as it is only oil changes until 30,000 miles

Grey Leather recaro seats. Electric one touch sunroof. Reversing camera is fun. Split boot door. 4WD. Lots of airbags

More performance and space than an M5 BMW Tourer and an Audi RS4 Estate with the added benefit of the elevated driving position for safer driving. In my view this is the ultimate all rounder! Hugely impressed!!

My car

In agreement with other reviewers here, this car is a bargain. They're a wonderfully honest vehicle. Forget some silly remarks by road testers about interior quality; none of that matters at this price. And in any case the interiors are actually quite good & at least they don't fall apart - they are very practical and ideal for a vehicle of this kind. The engine and gearbox alone make this car so so much better than a slowcoach Discovery at £10k more! We have checked the fuel comsumption very accurately 'brim to brim' and pretty consistantly achieve 29mpg overall with 32mpg possible on a run. We have found that the cruise control actually uses MORE fuel and also surprisingly the OBC is pessimistic recording approx 2mpg less than it actually does. 420 - 460 miles on a tank. The dealers are quite enthusiastic and we have had no reliability problems whatsoever in our 18 months of ownership. Perhaps the ride on some backrounds gets alittle lively but it's really not a problem. Hidden talent?: most beautifully relaxed long distance tourer.. If you want to be alittle different from all the yummy-mummys and like abit of performance and value then try a Jeep GC.

My car

Sports car preformance 17-18 mpg which is not so good but hearing that v8 growl more than makes up for it. Ride is firm but comfortable . I've only had the car a month but am very very impressed .