[dascrow]

I'm really hopping Jeep is able to get the new cherokee with the diesel motor up to 28-30mpg. If they can manage to get even close to these numbers in the real world the Diesel Cherokee is sure to be a huge hit!

 

[sanuras]

While 28-30 mpg is nice for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, what we really need to focus on is cost in dollars or cents per mile driven. That is, the cost per gallon of fuel (gasoline or diesel) diveded by the mpg obtained using that fuel. With the current diesel / gasoline cost difference, the cost of driving a diesel for a mile is more than an equivalent gasoline powered vehicle. Even when the cost per mile leans in the favor of the diesel, which is rare, the payback for the diesel engine premium is usually in the hundreds of thousands of miles. The average individual will have changed vehicles long before the payback is achieved. And this does not consider the added cost of maintinence and repair of a diesel vehicle. The Grand Cherokee diesel is no exception. One needs to justify the purchase of the diesel option to himself for some other reason that economy of operation. What you tell your spouse is another thing altogether.

 

[tcoilburner]

The only thing we all need to remember is that the diesel should be compared to the Hemi. They have similar capabilties. The Hemi has expensive maintance too, needing 7 qts. of oil. We will have to see what the diesel needs?

 

[fdb]

diesel/towing

The diesel should be the winner wrt to towing..as well as maintenance costs, reliability...and resale value ..
That offsets many other considerations and justify the extra cost in many cases (especially ig gas prices continue to
rise and differential price of clean diesel fuel becomes relatively less)...Anxiously awaiting to see/ test drive one ...

 

[mvmathew]

According to many jeep sources and even their website the JGC Diesel gets 22 city and 30 highway for the rear wheel drive model, while the all-wheel drive model gets 20 city and 28 highway. Compared to the competition this is right on the dot, in the end it all depends on how you drive the car and proper maintenance.

 

[Casper]

If it cost me 250.00 dollars per 1000 miles to tow my trailer with my present vehicle ( it actually cost a little more ) and it should cost about 200.00 per 1000 with a diesel ( which is a conservative to high guess ). The 2,500 ( 5000 if you are comparing it to something that is not an option ) dollar difference could be recouped 80 to 100,000 miles. Worse case scenario 200,000 miles. For me eight years tops. Probably closer to 5. Then there's the the oop's you should have got a diesel factor. Plus I believe in re-new-able (Bio-diesel) fuel.

 

[onebluemcm]

Looks like a lot of threads will be "revivals" until more people are on the site. Anyway....

I agree that comparisons are probably better against the V8 because of the fact that for most people the choice of these engines involves performance and towing capability. Cost per mile is a good way to look at it too. One thing we looked at in comparing to the V8 is how long it would take to offset the initial price difference. If the difference is on the order of $4-5000, it'll take a decade or more to offset the cost from improved mileage alone, unless fuel costs change. We got our diesel for just a shade more than a similar Overland with V8, so I am certain on mileage alone we can make up the difference in fuel savings alone in just 2-3 years. It also helps that in our area we can find diesel for $0.40-0.50/g more than gasoline. The less the difference, the better.

I think the general consensus is that for a given load, the diesel is expected to do better than the V8 because of the fact that mileage drops off more rapidly for towing in a gas engine than a diesel. Seems to be the thought from other diesel oriented sites.

We're at 27-27.5 avg mpg so far. About a 50-50 mix. BTW, the diesel takes 8 qts or engine oil, not 7. Also have to replace fuel filters at oil changes, or every 10k miles. And then there is the exhaust fluid. You may see where it costs $8/gallon - I found it at Autozone, $15/2.5g, so not $8/gallon. That is an estimated every 10k miles thing too, 8 gallons total capacity. There are going to be some increased maintenance costs with modern diesels compared to gas engines, and certainly the potential for major costs if things-engine fail and aren't covered by a warranty. I think even today, costs of repairs on diesels tend to be higher than on gas engines, I could be wrong given some of the sophisticated technologies on newer gas engines.

 

[Casper]

27-27.5 is better than 15. Thank you.... I still plan on placing my order towards the end of this month. Do you have the towing package?

Looks like a lot of threads will be "revivals" until more people are on the site. Anyway....

I agree that comparisons are probably better against the V8 because of the fact that for most people the choice of these engines involves performance and towing capability. Cost per mile is a good way to look at it too. One thing we looked at in comparing to the V8 is how long it would take to offset the initial price difference. If the difference is on the order of $4-5000, it'll take a decade or more to offset the cost from improved mileage alone, unless fuel costs change. We got our diesel for just a shade more than a similar Overland with V8, so I am certain on mileage alone we can make up the difference in fuel savings alone in just 2-3 years. It also helps that in our area we can find diesel for $0.40-0.50/g more than gasoline. The less the difference, the better.

I think the general consensus is that for a given load, the diesel is expected to do better than the V8 because of the fact that mileage drops off more rapidly for towing in a gas engine than a diesel. Seems to be the thought from other diesel oriented sites.

We're at 27-27.5 avg mpg so far. About a 50-50 mix. BTW, the diesel takes 8 qts or engine oil, not 7. Also have to replace fuel filters at oil changes, or every 10k miles. And then there is the exhaust fluid. You may see where it costs $8/gallon - I found it at Autozone, $15/2.5g, so not $8/gallon. That is an estimated every 10k miles thing too, 8 gallons total capacity. There are going to be some increased maintenance costs with modern diesels compared to gas engines, and certainly the potential for major costs if things-engine fail and aren't covered by a warranty. I think even today, costs of repairs on diesels tend to be higher than on gas engines, I could be wrong given some of the sophisticated technologies on newer gas engines.

 

[onebluemcm]

trailer tow package yes, standard on Overland. 15mpg is not right and would not be the norm for this vehicle, whether or not there are many on the road. I suppose if you lived in a very urban area with stop lights every half mile and really got on it at each light (the torque is fun) you could get really crap mileage, but that would not be "average" driving either. If you are sensible and try to get good mileage, mid to high 20s should be attainable no problem. If you have a lot of fun with it, I'm still thinking low 20s is easily doable. More miles on it will tell for sure. It will be interesting to see how it plays out!

Reviewed the tow packages again. I'm not sure if it has the basic trailer tow package or trailer tow IV, I'm embarrased to say. On the Build and Price part on the website, with an Overland and I think any engine, there is no option to select trailer tow IV by itself, though I believe it is included with Adventure Package II. A bit confusing. I'm thinking that it does have trailer tow IV because it has the load leveling suspension, the air suspension being standard on Overland. I'm not 100% sure if it has the 220amp alternator or "heavy duty engine cooling", whatever that entails.

I went here: http://www.jeep.com/en/2013/grand_cherokee/capability/towing/ and compared trailer tow with trailer tow IV. Any thoughts out there?

 

[Motownp]

I just picked up mine, I'm pretty sure the trailer tow IV is standard, (there are a lot of standard features with this diesel engine) and I think the diesel has a tow limit of 7400 lbs., vs. 7200 for the V8. I'll be looking to see what the actual MPG is in a few days, the dashboard calculator I think is factoring in the 0 mpg moments when the vehicle is idle into the average MPG. I'm really happy about the vehicle even if it had an MPG of 15 or so.

 

[onebluemcm]

Cool! Post a pic if you get a chance. You in the Detroit area by chance? Just wondering from your user ID. Grew up up there.

I think it's 7200lb if 4x4 and 7400lb if 4x2, I could be wrong. I also wonder if it's limited by the chassis to some degree...

 

[Casper]

I think it's 7200 is for the 4x4 and 7400 for the 4x2 because the 200 pounds of hardware for front wheel drive is factored in. I don't see how 200 pound equates to 2 additional MPG but that is the claim. I intend on ordering a white Limited 4x2 in about 2 weeks. With tow packet. Because I am ordering the 4x2 I am not locked into the luxury package so hopefully I am looking at an MSRP closer to 40,000 than 50,000. I think can live without the 4 wheel drive a lot easier than the 10,000. Then in January the RV show is in Boston where I am planning on trading my 2800 pound RV in on something a little closer to 7400 pounds.

I just picked up mine, I'm pretty sure the trailer tow IV is standard, (there are a lot of standard features with this diesel engine) and I think the diesel has a tow limit of 7400 lbs., vs. 7200 for the V8. I'll be looking to see what the actual MPG is in a few days, the dashboard calculator I think is factoring in the 0 mpg moments when the vehicle is idle into the average MPG. I'm really happy about the vehicle even if it had an MPG of 15 or so.

 

[Motownp]

So with 141 miles, I put 8.39 gallons back in. MPG= 16.8. Hopefully will see some improvements on the highway.

 

[onebluemcm]

We're at ~350 miles now, 26.9mpg. It may be pretty sensitive to driving style. Stop and go definitely doesn't help. Just today though, I had a 8 to 10 mile drive on a road where you average 45 to 55 but can hit stop lights. I started out at 26.4mpg, hit 2 or 3 lights, and got back up to 26.9mpg by the time I got home.

 

[bitbanger]

4x4 Limited: Just got back from Thanksgiving run up and down US-81. 1906 mi.
Saved receipts and topped off when I got back; 57.719 gallons => 33+ mpg!
Instrument trip avg reading is 29.9.
With over 2700 mi total, have used 2.5+ gal DEF.
+ Wife loved driving.

 

[ScottinOregon]

2014 4x4 Limited Trip to Grants Pass from Portland, Oregon. About 500 miles R/T. Average 28.5mpg, with four mountain passes each between 1,400 feet and 2,100 feet in southern Oregon. When on the flat Willamette Valley at 70mph, the mileage was 31.2 for 100 miles. Gotta love that Italian diesel and German transmission. Torque? How about going from 300' elevation to 2,100 elevation at 65mph in 8th gear, cruise control... no lugging; no downshifting. Just smooth cruising!

 

[Casper]

It's been a week since I ordered my 4x2 Limited.. so now it's 5 to 7 not 6 to 8 weeks. But a thought... A full tank of diesel is about 200 pounds and diesel, especially a bio-diesel mix doesn't like moisture. I'm plan to fill to half tank mark and re-fill when close to empty unless I'm going on trip or a storm is rolling in. Unless one of you know something I don't and are willing to share.
I'm purchasing a tow vehicle and my Prius get me back and forth to work just fine. Also the trailer I tow is not shaped like a sea anchor and 80 miles an is a speed at which my wife would get out at the first stop and refuse to get back in. Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing.

 

[motorishi]

Thanks for all the responses, everyone. I am going to ask the dealer about my mileage and see if something is "stuck", and try and drive it as conservatively as possible. I will also report back to all on my drive back to CO from AZ in early January--another 1000 miles with 2 passengers and about 1000 lbs towed.

Hoping for better results, and Happy Holidays etc..

Best to all--

 

[onebluemcm]

We just completed the below trip. Didn't drive it at all at our destination.

When we got home, the trip computer said 30.9mpg for the whole trip. I keep it pretty steady in the 70-72mph range, might slow to 68 on steep up hills, but it will easily cruise up to 80 on down hills while still getting amazing mileage.

I can't say how accurate the computer is. I can say that just today I put the 3rd full tank of fuel in it, and it has about 1250 miles on it. The first tank was filled by the dealer - at that time it wasn't totally empty and the reserve light was not on when we test drove it. The second tank full I put in and the reserve light wasn't on that time either. Anyway, worst case scenario, which it clearly is not, is that we ran through two full 24.6g tanks of fuel for 1250 miles, still 25.4mpg. It most certainly is much better than that - I would guess the reserve is about 2 - 2.5 gallons when the empty light comes on, that is pretty standard. So instead of 49.2 gallons total, it's probably more like 44-45 gallons for 1250 miles, which puts it more like 27.7-28.4 mpg overall. I don't think my logic is too far off....so glad I din't get the hemi.

 

[Doc13]

The day after I took delivery I went on a 530 mile trip. Granted mostly highway and with speeds around 70, I was able to get 29.8 mpg for that trip. I'm averaging 26.1 now, but I have more city driving on this tank.