In the ride category, we gave the Jeep an eight and the Chevy a nine. Maybe we're getting soft, but it's uncomfortable enough that we wouldn't want to endure the ride on a daily basis. Nothing is over-the-top, just stylized. On the skidpad, its 0. On the scale of silliness, a hot-rod truck is up there with a gas-powered bar stool.
In that arena, the Jeep is throatier, but the Chevy is no mouse, especially when the throttle is wide open. Have you ever had a brief moment of clarity when time slows to a crawl and you can seemingly foresee impending disaster? Not that it's without faults. It also beat the Cayenne in the slalom and recorded higher lateral gs on the skidpad. Those are bragging rights worthy of flaunting. The Jeep doesn't lean much, but you never lose the feeling that you're sitting high in the air. We loved the V-8 rumble and fantastic thrust, but it's still a truck, and we expect more utility.
One example is the shifter knob. Four-piston Brembo brakes with big, vented rotors provide excellent clamping force at each corner. But at this price, why the hell not? Chrome Data makes no guarantee or warranty, either expressed or implied, including without limitation any warranty of merchantability or fitness for particular purpose, with respect to the data presented here. Three exterior colors are available: Bright Silver, Brilliant Black and Inferno Red. But yes, it goes fast, so forget practicality and the 12.
The intake manifold was designed with larger-diameter and shorter runners for higher-speed tuning. The formula fell apart, however, when the Syclone was asked to do what it appeared built to do, namely, haul stuff. Apparently this is what happens when you strap a raunchy-sounding 6. Oh dear, that doesn't sound good… Oh come on, some perspective please. Inside, the good design continues with large, easy-to-read gauges and stylish seats. And in case you think these two vehicles are straight-line specials, both have pumped-up suspensions and large brakes with cooling air ducts. The initials stand for the skunkworks that fettled it, Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology division, and the eight is a nod to its 420bhp Hemi V8 engine.
They took the rather dumpy and flaccid Grand Cherokee and transformed it into something rather special. The Jeep passes 100 mph in 12. Its turbocharged six-cylinder engine belted out 280 horsepower, which was big news back then, and we were not immune to its charms. All are unique to the 6. Yes, we were just being our demented selves, but the Syclone could hit 60 mph in 5. An all-new front fascia makes use of aero improvements to reduce lift and drag, while providing sufficient air flow to cool the 6.
Nice leather surrounds suede inserts that help keep you in place when attacking corners. However, the interior compensates for the rigidity with firm, comfortable front bucket seats that have so much side bolstering as to make them feel a bit narrow. Me, for one, if I could afford the gas. For a vehicle so tall, it feels entirely stable in the bends, and the adept driver can use the brakes and throttle as well as the steering in finding the quickest way through the corners. As fun as those trucks were, their limited usefulness affected sales -- only 4700 Typhoons and 2995 Syclones were sold between 1991 and 1993.
To put all that extra power to the road, they reengineered the all-wheel-drive system with a new transfer case, front axle and a sturdier rear with a Dana 44 differential. Although we didn't put it on the clock as we zipped around our well-traveled handling loop, the Jeep didn't feel much slower than the high-powered sports cars we usually pick for this particular group of back roads. In the engine bay sits a 6. If it looks like a truck, then in some ways it should act like one, too. The Chevy, however, simply delivers more in hauling and features. All of the fun is definitely up front.
All other controls and switches are easy to find and operate. That leaves a very narrow, but very grateful, target buyer. The Grand Cherokee swallows large impacts well enough, but humps in the road set the chassis into a harsh up-and-down motion that could bring on nausea. Inside, the materials are a mix of upscale finery and cheap crap. For sure Chevy and Jeep walked a tightrope here. Exclusivity and all-American cubic inches, baby. Full instrumentation includes a 180-mph 300 kph speedometer, tachometer and temperature gauges, all trimmed with a unique blue accent and located within a carbon fiber-trimmed binnacle.
So a bit of hard plastic here and there is not the end of the world, is it? Far from it, but I can look past the cheap interior and poor handling as I near its payoff date. Just don't expect to go off-roading in it. The person that has it bad is the poor schmuck that draws the short straw and has to sit in the middle of the back seat. It rolls a little more in the corners, and there's a little less feedback through the steering wheel, but it's still a fun car to hustle on back roads. Although the two have fairly similar power-to-weight ratios 11.