Toys4RJill

And therefor, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is not a luxury vehicle from a luxury brand.

Toys4RJill

I said it "can" stand out all it wants, I never it said it "does" or "did"...so we are not agreeing on anything.

mmarshall

IMO, it is.....and my opinion will stand on that. It is clearly an upmarket, borderline-luxo-grade vehicle from a non-luxury manufacturer. I'm sticking with my opinion of it. And I think you will, too, if you actually take the time to look at and test drive it. Like Steve said in an earlier post about the historians, one can't condemn a book without looking inside the cover.

LexBob2

C&D ranks the segment as they see it: 1. Grand Cherokee 2. Ford Edge 3. Kia Sorento 4. Hyundai Santa Fe

Toys4RJill

And nowhere did I say it is not an upmarket vehicle. However, I do question whether or not a vehicle with a $29K starting MSRP could be considered a borderline-luxo-grade vehicle, do you not see what I am trying to say?. At the top end in the USA, it has a $70k price tag, I sure as hell hope it has all the merits of a luxury vehicle at that price point.

As for driving the Jeep GC, I don't want to. I have very little interest in Jeep as a brand and as it relates to this thread, the brand does not appeal to me, it creates no emotional reaction to me, it does not excite me. Put a 4Runner in front on me and you will get a good reaction. Put a GX in front of me and you will get both a good and negative (front look).....IMO, this is what exactly is at the heart of this thread.

mmarshall

Test-driving vehicles, Jill, is not necessarily a matter of being entertained (although sometimes Jeremy Clarkson would try and convince one otherwise LOL). It is a matter of learning, evaluating, and seeking information....info that you often can't get from (or disagree with) other places. There have been times, for example, when, after a test-drive, I've even disagreed with Consumer Reports' general review of that vehicle....a publication that, in most cases, I have a very high regard for.

But..........suit yourself.

Toys4RJill

[QUOTE=mmarshall;9601364]But that is exactly the crux of this thread IMO. There are people who want to entertained, or just be "seen" with a Mercedes badge...while there are others that value what CR or others have to say along with the reliability reports etc etc. In the case of Jeep, I simply do not find them appealing compared to a Mercedes or BMW, perhaps driving one might just changed my mind, or perhaps it would reinforce it.

SW17LS

The Jeep is not a luxury brand or a luxury car. As someone who owned (and really liked) a couple of Jeeps, and someone who would choose a high trim JGC over a Lexus GX any day of the week (MANY other vehicles I would buy over a Lexus GX), its not a luxury car no matter how nice it is, a lot of that comes from the ownership experience from a brand perspective. There is nothing premium about buying, or servicing a Jeep...nothing at all.

Something can be really nice, and still not be a luxury car. I would choose it over any luxury vehicle in the same market space, but many people would not and do not.

If I were buying one to be my primary vehicle, I would wrestle with the brand issue because I'm so accustomed to the level of service I get from Lexus. As my wife's/secondary vehicle it was no problem.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i don't think anyone said it was. i certainly didn't.

that's laughable. the 4runner interior looks like a ruggedized camry. the 4runner still has a 5 speed auto i believe. the 4runner can't be had with all the latest safety goodies as far as i know. i can't be had with turning headlights, and many other features. i doesn't have a dash slathered in leather.

more power to you, it's your money. i was quite interested in the gx but the transmission shifts are harsher, it drinks gas, the 3rd row seat is useless, the rear 'barn door' is awful, and it can only be had with adaptive cruise by special order, which is ludicrous. apart from that, it's a nice vehicle!

mercedes, lexus, and bmw have all bragged in recent years about having luxury vehicles 'under $30K' so your point is invalid.

there's nothing borderline about it as a vehicle, except for the BRANDING, which we all agree is not a luxury brand.

ok so now you're saying if you pay enough for one, it is a luxury vehicle. which is what many others here have been saying. QED.

ok, now ya lost me... i agree the DEALERS, when it comes to buying and servicing, sure as hell aren't like a lexus dealership, but i thought you agreed a JGC Summit is a luxury vehicle. if you don't, oh well, i don't care. seems luxurious to me.

Toys4RJill

Looks like you took my comments to heart. You must own a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

SW17LS

It's certainly a luxurious vehicle, but the brand and the dealer experience and the aura of all of that is part and parcel to it being a luxury car. A Hyindai Genesis for instance, great car, better in many respscts than luxury branded competitors, but not a luxury car.

There me will always be people who will buy an inferior Lexus RX for instance because it's a Lexus, and to them the Jeep will never be a competitor because it's a Jeep

make sense?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

to you. i couldn't care less about shiny marble and free donuts or even loaners.

ok, so you're saying brand and vehicle are intertwined, so you can't have a luxury vehicle that's not part of a luxury brand. you're certainly entitled to that view. many mb/bmw owers though would say lexus isn't a real luxury brand either. and rolls royce owners probably laugh at the idea of most any other brand being 'true' luxury. beauty in the eye of the beholder.

and the reverse is true too.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

if you can't attack the facts, attack the debater. ok.

SW17LS

For the record, I really don't care. Like I said, I would much rather have a JGC Summit over most luxury branded SUVs. But, I think most people would identify a Lexus as being more luxurious than a Jeep, whether it factually is or not.

If if you sat an RX next to a Summit Jeep and polled people on the street when they walked by which one they thought was more luxurious and more expensive a majority would say the Lexus, even though it isn't as luxurious and may not be more expensive either. Like it or not the idea that something is not easily attainable by the masses is part of what makes it a luxury item. People don't understand that a Summit is $25-:30k more Than a Laredo Jeep, but they instantly know the RX is more than that Jeep.

Oftentimes what makes something a "luxury" product isn't a tangible thing.

Toys4RJill

No, not attacking you at all. Jeep has done a nice thing for themselves. But Jeep is not my cup of tea.