Still impressive: the 2014 Grand Cherokee Limited diesel

The marketers are calling the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee "all new" which, of course, it isn't. There is. however, a bunch of new and interesting equipment and a do-over of the interior. A day in the forest with a 3.0 litre turbodiesel Limited confirms that it's still as good as ever on track and trail. The question is, who wants to endanger their costly new SUV among stumps, roots and rocks? For those who do, it will reward with excellent performance, even on its street oriented rubber. Air suspension pumps up to allow good ground clearance, articulation is good, low-range is pleasingly low for an automatic and the off-road electronic traction control is one of the very best. It goes where it shouldn't. The licence plate? FC stands for Fiat Chrysler. Across the Tasman, 4x4 Australia,magazine named the CRD as its Four Wheel Drive Car of the Year. “Sure, it doesn't have the unstoppable off-road ability of a Wrangler but it does everything else so well,” said Matt Raudonikis, the editor. “The Grand Cherokee has a level of performance, safety, comfort and convenience features that belie its price tag.”