So Four Wheeler Magazine just crowned the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee its coveted "Four Wheeler of the Year." No problem, right..? Jeeps are capable, right? Most Rover owners have one in their fleet or once did, right? Well the problem is that if you read on, beyond the end of the article, it goes on to mention that the Grand Cherokee lost front-wheel drive during the testing and had to be replaced with a new vehicle. How is that fair?
Per the article, the Grand broke during the Hill Climb, so, "We immediately contacted Jeep, and...By that evening we had our Jeep swapped." Must be friggin' nice...break your brand new vehicle on the trail, phone a friend, have a team of engineers flown out, get a new rig the same day AND still win the event. (I wonder if all Jeep owners get that level of field support?) Even Dale Jr had to start the Daytona 500 at the end of the pack because he wrecked his original qualifying vehicle.
The article goes on with Four Wheeler patting themselves on the back for identifying this flaw in the factory setting of the transfer case chain...and because of their efforts no other Jeep owner will have this happen, but I still have to cry BS on how a vehicle can win, when it breaks during the testing and needs to be REPLACED - not repaired. They state that their policy allows for them to substitute if an identical replacement vehicle is available...though earlier they describe the replacement as a "nearly" exact replica...not sure what was different...adjusted transfer case chain maybe.
The article also noted that the Land Rover LR4, which lost to the Grand overall by less than 4 total points, showed up late to the contest and wasn't allowed to participate in the acceleration, braking or RTI portions of the competition, therefore scoring 0 points.
I am sure that while they were waiting around for their new (and improved?) Grand Cherokee to be delivered, the authors could have given the LR4 a second chance to complete the part of the competition that they missed...easily scoring another 4 points and winning the overall comparison.
In a related story, when the air suspension failed in the LR4 while competing for bragging rights in the similar competition for sister magazine 4-Wheel and Off-Road, they didn't bring in a new one. They finished the testing with the same impaired vehicle AND IT STILL MANAGED TO BEAT THE OTHERS!
Again, I have no issues with Jeeps and am a long-time Four Wheeler subscriber, but this just doesn't seem fair. But I guess we know where their bread is buttered. The operation was a success but the patient died.
In case you want to let the magazine know your thoughts....
http://www.fourwheeler.com/contactus/index.html