SW17LS

No reason not to wait to see what the 2016 RX looks like on Wednesday.

I'm a longtime Lexus owner, and I'm on my second Jeep Grand Cherokee. The first one was a 2011, and it had a lot of little niggling problems that were very frustrating. Replaced it with a 2014 Overland and its been awesome. Great vehicle.

The fact that I gave them another shot after the first problematic one tells you what I think of this vehicle. Its a GREAT vehicle for the money. No way I'd even consider the current RX over one. Driven them many times, the Jeep is on a whole other level in every category, build quality, ride, refinement, style, interior quality, capability. Its a great vehicle.

Reliability is the issue. If you have a good one, they're really great. If you have a bad one they're really bad. Even with a warranty, its a huge PITA having it in the shop all the time...no loaners, etc.

mmarshall

Haven't owned one, but I did a full review and test-drive of the present-generation Grand Cherokee, and its refinement, drivability, powertrain smoothness, ride quality, interior trim, and overall Pleasure-to-Drive factor is simply light-years ahead of its predessor. This has been the case with several new Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep products lately, though, with the Grand Cherokee, based on what we've heard from some owners on and off CL, reliability does still seem to be some of a question mark. As SW13GS suggests, you either seem to get a good one or a garage-Queen.

I also have a very high opinion of the present RX, though its ride quality, IMO, is not as quite smooth as the Jeep's. Still, between the JGC and the RX, I think the RX is the safer buy for reliability, though I can understand SW13GS's comments about his JGC being so nice to drive that it was worth the repair inconvenience.

SW17LS

Let me just preface that, had my 2014 GC been in the shop as much as my 2011 I'd have been pissed lol. I rolled the dice and I won...but no vehicle is worth having it constantly be in the shop with no loaners, etc. That sucks.

If you're looking for a good Jeep forum, try www.jeepgarage.com. I post there (not as much as I do here, but I lurk and read) and I've found that Chrysler seems to have gotten their sh together, and a lot of the problem threads are about the early WK2 (like my 2011) and the early 2014 refresh model which had a lot of electrical and infotainment glitches. Mine is a late-build 2014, and its been really a joy. You don't read nearly as many issues with the 2015s either.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i love lexus reliability, and i've owned an rx in the past (long time ago) and it was AWESOME. also had a 2GS which was spectacular.

however, now i have a '15 JGC Summit. my neighbor has a '14 RX350. yesterday we all (2 couples) went for a 2 hour round trip to a coastal town in my JGC. they were EXTREMELY complimentary about how quiet and smooth the ride was. as for the interior, there's NO comparison - the JGC Summit blows away the current RX in every way.

i'm excited about the '16 RX - i'm sure it will be great - probably like a 'big' NX.

i went for the JGC after a lot of agonizing. i heard about early '14 ZF 8 speed transmission issues (bugs) and waited for the '15. so far, zero issues and i love it.

only feature i wish it had which it doesn't is lane assist, but it has so many other awesome features like adaptive headlights, auto high beam, adaptive cruise (to stop), collision braking (saved my butt the other day when i momentarily wasn't paying attention in traffic), the digital configurable guages are really nice and i like the uconnect infotainment. the harmon kardon is amazing although on some MP3 tracks it seems to overcook the bass even if turned down on the equalizer.

i got the v6 by the way, which is PLENTY powerful enough. i get about 21mpg in mixed driving which isn't bad.

anyway, so far so good! well, great!

as for your choice, you obviously need to get info on 2016 RX but it will be a long wait to test drive one let alone buy one.

if you do decide on the JGC, i know a legit way to get an awesome discount.

BrickHead

I am a little surprised to hear that some people cross shop between Lexus and Jeep!? I respect your choices. I always assumed most cross shop among Lexus, MB, and BMW..?

mmarshall

Have you seen the latest generation Grand Cherokee? Compare it to its own JGC predecessors, and you will see why some people cross-shop the latest (4Gen) version with Lexus SUVs. Some Buicks, today, are also being cross-shopped against lower-line Lexus products.....not against the LS or GS, of course.

sick21

Why cross shop vehicles that cost more? The Jeep is the same exact size and price...

rayaans

Lets just say that the new RX blows the Jeep out of the water - its more like an RR Sport competitor with a lower price tag :P

mmarshall

OK....I won't comment on the new 2016 RX. I haven't seen it.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

I have no experience with an RX so I'll just comment on the JGC. I'd never buy one. Someone earlier stated, if you get a good one, it's pretty solid. If you get a bad one, forget it. My family had it's fair share if jeep/Chrysler vehicles. Maybe as a second or third car, but never as a first/only. But they sell well and hold value. In my practice, of the 3 people that bought GCs in the past 3 years, 1 has been trouble free-ish (meaning nothing that makes the car unsafe/undriveable). The other 2 have been nightmares. Worse than the 2001 s500 my father had.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

anecdotes often don't mean much because they're about older cars, and of course everything's changing all the time. new versions of some cars that have been reliable in the past turn out to have problems and vice versa.

one thing that convinced me to get a jeep grand cherokee was a trip to alberta last summer. jgc's were EVERYWHERE. i figured how bad can they be if they're this popular here?

maybe in a year i'll have regrets, who knows, but so far, awesome.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

Anecdotes are all we have to go by when people ask such questions. Hopefully yours is a trouble free one. The person with the 'good' one absolutely loves his GC. The other two, not so much!

tdougherty

Do you have some insider info? Let's hear it.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

there will be many ways to compare as far as 'blows the jeep out of the water'.

jeep of course offers the GC with v6, diesel, v8, and smokin' v8 (SRT), as well as several different drive trains and 4wd systems. lexus of course has the hybrid option. there's basically no chance the rx will be as off-road capable for example, not that that's of interest to the typical rx buyer.

the rx will of course be brand new, so should be very competitive! not very optimistic about the looks though.

sick21

One thing that hasn't been taken into consideration, last I looked at sales numbers the GC outsold any other SUV. The more you sell the more data is out there. So the 'sold' to 'problem' ratio should be taken into consideration.