Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk 2020 Review

It’s impossible to call the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk a bargain, but at $134,950 you’re getting a hell of a lot of SUV and muscle for the money.

There’s no SUV with more power and torque and very few vehicles on the road that can match --let alone exceed -- its 522kW and 868Nm.

High-performance road-oriented SUVs that can run the Trackhawk close on price don’t get close on powertrain outputs. Those that do, cost more money. In some cases lots more.

Within Jeep’s own range, the Trackhawk is the undoubted performance flagship. Hey, the nat-atmo V8 SRT is still fast and a lot cheaper at $92,450. Then there’s a slew of petrol and diesel V6s.

Okay, so what does the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk deliver for all that dosh? It takes the popular Jeep mid-size five-seat SUV as its base, stuffs the 6.2-litre supercharged Hellcat supercharged V8 under the bonnet and attaches it to an eight-speed auto, high-range Quadra-Trac Active on-demand AWD system and a limited slip rear differential.

There’s lots of tweaking and toughening that goes on and we’ll get to the details of that shortly. But for now, know the Trackhawk has a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.7sec and an 11.6 sec quarter mile sprint time, a top speed of 289km/h. Other important stats, in no particular order, are: 100-0km/h braking distance of just 37m, it sucks down 98 RON at a claimed average (so you know it’s really higher) of 16.8L/100km and weighs in at 2.993 tonnes. It’s a heavyweight in every sense of the word.

Aside from outrageous performance what do you get for the money? Exterior highlights include adaptive bi-xenon headlights, a vented hood that actually vents, body-coloured cladding, a deep grille, a dual-pane panoramic sunroof, yellow Brembo brake callipers, 20-inch alloy wheels shod in 295/45ZR20 Pirelli Scorpion Verde all-season rubber, a powered tailgate and quad tailpipes.

The overall effect, building on the fundamentally handsome shape of the Grand Cherokee, is something pleasingly malevolent and purposeful. It makes you look forward to driving it.

Inside there are leather trimmings, dual-zone climate control, heated seats all-round, ventilated front seats with power adjustment, a performance instrument cluster, the Uconnect 8.4-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connection, 19-speaker Harmon Kardon audio, four USBs and two 12v outlets.

The steering wheel alone is a piece of work. It’s power adjustable, heated, wrapped in leather, has a flat bottom and two aluminium paddles mounted behind for gear shifting.

The Trackhawk is covered by a five-year/100,000km warranty with roadside assistance included for the full duration. The capped price service schedule is every 12 months or 12,000km and will cost you a maximum $799 each time.

As we’re discussing servicing and the like we have to mention the Grand Cherokee range’s reliability record. It’s not good, so be alert... But’s let’s hope, not alarmed.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk comes with seven airbags, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, Isofix and top tethers for child restraints and tyre pressure monitoring.

There are many driver assists systems; autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross path detection and parallel and perpendicular parking assist. There’s even a choice of adaptive or standard cruise control.

What the Trackhawk doesn’t get is an ANCAP rating -- because that only applies to the V6 versions of the Grand Cherokee. Even then it’s a 2013 five-star score, so it is not that relevant any more.

There was some significant uprating required to turn an average GC into the powerhouse that is the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.

The 16-valve pushrod Hemi V8 engine is the same one that also powers the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats, sadly not sold here.

The basis is a cast-iron block with water jackets between the cylinders to aid cooling. There’s a forged steel crankshaft with induction-hardened bearing surfaces, forged-alloy pistons, powder-forged connecting rods and carbon-coasted piston pins.

The cylinder heads are heat-treated aluminium alloy, and hollow-stem sodium-cooled exhaust valves feature steel-alloy heads.

The 2380cc per revolution IHI supercharger features integral charge-air cooling and maximum boost pressure of 11.6psi (or 80kPa). It has a maximum speed of 14,600rpm. Cold-air sources include a scoop that replaces the driver’s side foglamp in the lower front fascia and helps feed the 92mm throttle body.

A high-flow oil pump feeds eight high-flow piston-cooling jets. A high capacity oil/air heat exchanger is mounted in the nose of the Trackhawk.

A new cooling system is designed to keep intake air below 60 degrees Celsius while flowing air at up to 500 litres/second. There’s also a new high-flow fuel delivery system with multi-mode pumps.

That is a hell of a lot of words to describe what is a hell of an engine.

Peak power arrives at 6000rpm and peak torque at 4800rpm, but you can take it for granted most of that torque (and power) is available from a hell of a lot lower in the rev range.

Behind the engine, the ZF auto is unique in its 950Nm torque rating and tune. The transfer case in the Quadra-Trac AWD uses forged steel chain sprockets and a wider chain for added strength and durability.

The driveshaft, rear axle and differential have been strengthened and the vacuum-melted steel half-shafts are new.

Based on a car-like monocoque, the Trackhawk features all-independent suspension equipped with Bilstein adaptive dampers and lots of aluminium links, arms and knuckles.

Spring rates are up nine and 15 per cent front and rear compared to the atmo SRT V8.

The front 400mm discs are the largest ever fitted to a Jeep and they are clamped by Brembo six-pot callipers. They are complemented at the rear by 350mm discs and four-piston callipers (still painted yellow at the rear).

It’s worth knowing there are plenty of driver assistance features for controlling the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk’s performance capabilities.

First off, there’s launch control that’s simple to execute and stunning in its effectiveness. The Trackhawk simply squats at the rear, rises at the front and then propels forward. That 3.7sec claim is undoubtedly achievable.

Then there’s Selec-Trac, which offers Auto, Sport, Track, Tow and Snow modes for adjustment of parameters including transmission shift, torque split, stability control, AWD, steering and suspension.

Having mentioned tow mode we should tell you braked towing capacity for the Trackhawk is rated at 2949kg. Now, let’s never mention it again.

Nor are we venturing down the off-road path. Like other super-sports SUVs this thing has no real desire to go off-road.

Instead, it’s challenging bitumen that this thing is suited to. And more suited than you might suspect. Yep, it’s got a high centre of gravity and it’s a bit lumbering, but it grips like crazy.

Once it gets into the corner it settles and steers with response. Hey, it’s not crazy about changing lines, but it certainly enables you to carry speed to the bit where you can again point and shoot.

And dang, does it point and shoot. Press the throttle and there’s valvetrain mesh, supercharger whine and exhaust howl all fighting for eartime. At the same time, you’re conscious of blurring visuals and velocity pushing you back into the seat. This thing is fast.

And gee does it suck fuel. On a heavy throttle you can almost see the needle dipping. We averaged between 19-20L/100km, which means 500km on a good day from the 93-litre tank.

In its most benign suspension setting it’s also almost comfortable. Almost. Dial into sport and Track and it gets harder and taughter, less comfortable but also tighter in its body control.

The Trackhawk’s seats are good, the controls are clear, there’s is a bit of storage here and there and the materials quality looks okay without being special.

But if you’re buying this car for interior functionality or luggage space then save yourself some money and shop further down the Grand Cherokee range. The Trackhawk is all about show and almost unbelievable go.

The 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk lacks the panache and sheer outright capability of the latest BMW X5 M. That’s an amazing machine which is incredibly good at everything it does. But it costs well over $200,000 by the time you get it on the road.

The Jeep is in contrast, raw, less civilised, less refined and, ultimately, less capable, even if it can’t be topped for sheer outputs.

But if you love big power, big noise, big statements and have to have an SUV then the Trackhawk just has to go on your shopping list.

It’s utterly memorable.

How much does the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk cost?
Price: $134,950 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 6.2-litre V8 supercharged petrol
Output: 522kW/868Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 16.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 385g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: N/A