By Emily A. Hay
I learned how to drive on a black Jeep Wrangler (manual baby!), we had a Jeep Cherokee in the family and I have been driving the same white Jeep Liberty since college….needless to say, I am one of those people that understands the expression, “It’s a Jeep thing.”
I have so many fond memories of the brand that it was time to give a souped up version a test spin as I approach the car shopping process. Thanks to my friends at The Suburban Collection, I was able to experience a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with all the bells and whistles (including the most important upgrades to me — leather seats and sunroof) for a #socialtestdrive to see if it was the right car for me.
The weekend of my drive was one of the HOTTEST in Michigan and certainly set temperature records in the #socialtestdrive books.
Check out my welcome video HERE! (Watch it quick before I melt on the pavement ;))
As I got into the Jeep, I cranked up the icy cold A/C, charged up the iPhone and prepared to tweet all weekend long about the experience. My travels took me around town from some more run-of-the-mill errands to more exciting stops, all with the focus to learn the car inside and out and see if it was right for me.
Here’s a recap of the weekend categorized as my pros and cons of the Jeep:
PROS (features I REALLY liked)
1) Sunroof. Yes, the aforementioned sunroof is a must for me 🙂
2) Plenty of trunk space / easy to load & unload (worth noting, it was completely intuitive to find how to flip the seats down to allow room for the IKEA goods). Also, being tall, it was nice being able to load groceries in right at waist level.
3) Technology. Great satellite radio, keyless entry and back-up camera.
CONS
1) Pick-up / speed. Once the Jeep got cruisin’ along the highway, the speed was fine. In fact, it was such a smooth ride that it was hard to tell how fast I was even going. However, the pick-up was almost non-existent in my opinion and was a bit of a let down as I looked forward to testing the acceleration.
(Perhaps the “need for speed” for a Jeep enthusiast would only be fulfilled by a blacked out Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, but that’s probably another test drive experience :))
2) Size / space. It was just too big of a vehicle. The Jeep was absolutely beautiful, smooth to drive and comfortable to just be in. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that without numerous passengers to account for at this phase of my life, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is simply more car than I need.
Before I sign off with the reasons why this model is not for me, here’s one more feature worth noting from the #socialtestdrive weekend:
The Jeep provided tremendous visibility as I cruised past The Townsend Hotel spotting the Dave Matthews Band tour busses (Detroit stop of the tour)! I was able to stake out in-style as I parked right outside the hotel in the beautiful Grand Cherokee…and circled the building a few times for an actual Dave sighting…although to no avail 😉
All in all, I truly enjoyed the opportunity to drive such a nice Jeep that will make a future owner very happy someday. I was able to get my Liberty serviced at the Suburban Jeep dealership in Troy while I was on the #socialtestdrive so I can keep it running during the shopping phase. Thank you to the Suburban Collection team for the opportunity and congrats on your forward-thinking marketing!
To the Jeep peeps out there, what nostalgic memories do you have around Jeeps?
Jeep person or not, did you ever get into a car that ended up being TOO BIG?
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