O'Daniel Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram strives to provide the best possible service to its customers. One such customer, Paul, recently got behind the wheel of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk which also happened to be O'Daniel's first Trackhawk. Read below for Paul's experience with the all new Trackhawk!
"I might be in shock. Then again, I might be in love and am certainly still on the honeymoon.
The Trackhawk is most EXCELLENT!
First, the performance: I turned over 500 miles and have started actually using the engine – but only a little. The T’hawk will provide the equivalent to SRT full-throttle acceleration times, using only about half the pedal travel available.
At 60 mph, shoving the SRT’s gas pedal to the floor provided very rapid acceleration. At 60 mph, if you push the Trackhawk’s gas pedal half-way to the floor, the vehicle doesn’t accelerate, it freaking explodes into forward motion.
First time I laid into the gas, I was expecting something on the order of ‘more than SRT acceleration’. I was thrown back in the seat so hard that my foot came off the gas pedal. WOW, simply wow. I am waiting for decent weather to see what the Trackhawk feels like when I really use the engine, but the power is clearly there, even at low to moderate engine speeds. The Hellcat sounds amazing when it starts working!
From a quality standpoint, I think this is the best put-together Grand Cherokee I’ve owned. On my particular Trackhawk, the door and panel gaps are more uniform than my past WK2 SRT’s and the cladding fits better. Paint quality is excellent. The new front end styling is a substantial improvement. When the 2011 GranChero was introduced, Jeep bragged about the increased stiffness of the new unibody. The 2018 T’hawk is even solider-feeling than my ’12, ’14, or ’15.
I didn’t like the quad exhaust outlets at first, but they’re starting to grow on me.
Overall, I think the 2017 and 2018 SRT’s and T’hawks are the best-looking SRT Jeeps ever. I like the black wheels. I’d like them better if they were gloss black, rather than satin. But that’s not a big deal. In decent weather, I can ‘gloss’ the wheels with a wipe-on of detailer. I really like the black side window trim. I think the black-on-black-on black Trackhawk is a very good looking automobile. It has a serious-business, sort of industrial, appearance. It looks like “no frills luxury” if such a thing is possible.
Quite a few people don’t like the yellow calipers, but I do. A black vehicle, with black wheels, and black side window trim is pretty monochromatic. The yellow calipers provide a nice touch of color and contrast. Looking at photos, I did not at all like the ‘liquid titanium chrome’ finish on the grille trim rings, ‘supercharged’ badge, and Grand Cherokee badges. I’m still trying to figure out liquid titanium chrome but the actual color looks much better in real life than in photos.
I am very pleased with the red/black interior. The smooth leather on the doors and dash top is much classier than the grained material on the 2015 SRT. I like the new layouts of the center screen soft buttons and the font used for the lettering across the top of the screen is easier for me to read. I like the use of ‘real metal’ for the console top, center stack face and vent trims. Everything about the interior seems first class.
Having grown accustomed to the light, quick, electronic shifter, there was some re-learning required to use a shift lever that must be physically moved from position to position. Lotta work for a lazy old man, compared to the electronic ‘lever’. The advantage to the new shifter is that I can drop this one in neutral, set the parking brake, and exit the vehicle, without the transmission automatically shifting to park.
After eleven years of driving SRT Jeeps and four years of wanting and waiting for a Jeep Hellcat, I had very high expectations for the Trackhawk. It has not met my expectations. It has considerably exceeded my expectations. I am delighted with the new Jeep. It is not often that I find I’ve have gotten more, and better, than I expected. I certainly have with the Trackhawk. I am cheap, but I have to admit that I think I have gotten my money’s worth.
I like well-made things. Quality workmanship pleases my eye. Just about anywhere I look, inside or out, the Trackhawk is pleasantly satisfying. The 6.4 Hemi always depressed me a little. It just didn’t LOOK like a high-performance engine. The Hellcat engine is gorgeous. After six SRT Jeeps with essentially all black or dark gray interiors (well, the ’15 had a touch of red), the predominantly ‘ruby red’ interior is a refreshing change. I would have preferred the ‘sepia’ leather, but that wasn’t available in the leather upgrade package. The red/black (which is really dark gray) leather is very, very nice.
I am still at the stage of ownership where I occasionally just have to go and look at the T’hawk, because it pleases me so much. I want warm weather, so I can detail the Jeep and expect it to stay clean and pristine for at least a couple days. I want warm weather, so I can go and find a place to drive 150 mph!
Thank you very much for getting me O’Daniel’s first Trackhawk. I am a hugely happy and satisfied customer!
I owe you and Pat rides!
Best regards,
Paul
PS: When I took the T’hawk to Monteith Tire, the shop crew was so excited to have a Trackhawk in the shop that everyone had to spend a few minutes taking photos or videos – especially after I popped the hood. The manager called one of the other Monteith store managers. “You would NOT believe what we have in here – a Trackhawk…”. I asked the manager how much I owed him (I figured there would be the usual one-hour shop time base rate). His response was “Oh, there’s no charge. Thank you for bringing in the Trackhawk!” First time I’ve had that happen. SRT’s didn’t get that kind of reaction. So far, no one else – aside from my co-workers – have commented on the T’hawk. I guess that’s not surprising, given how dirty it has been, due to the continually crappy weather."
Thank you Paul for being a loyal O'Daniel customer. We are thrilled you love your new Trackhawk!
"I might be in shock. Then again, I might be in love and am certainly still on the honeymoon.
The Trackhawk is most EXCELLENT!
First, the performance: I turned over 500 miles and have started actually using the engine – but only a little. The T’hawk will provide the equivalent to SRT full-throttle acceleration times, using only about half the pedal travel available.
At 60 mph, shoving the SRT’s gas pedal to the floor provided very rapid acceleration. At 60 mph, if you push the Trackhawk’s gas pedal half-way to the floor, the vehicle doesn’t accelerate, it freaking explodes into forward motion.
First time I laid into the gas, I was expecting something on the order of ‘more than SRT acceleration’. I was thrown back in the seat so hard that my foot came off the gas pedal. WOW, simply wow. I am waiting for decent weather to see what the Trackhawk feels like when I really use the engine, but the power is clearly there, even at low to moderate engine speeds. The Hellcat sounds amazing when it starts working!
From a quality standpoint, I think this is the best put-together Grand Cherokee I’ve owned. On my particular Trackhawk, the door and panel gaps are more uniform than my past WK2 SRT’s and the cladding fits better. Paint quality is excellent. The new front end styling is a substantial improvement. When the 2011 GranChero was introduced, Jeep bragged about the increased stiffness of the new unibody. The 2018 T’hawk is even solider-feeling than my ’12, ’14, or ’15.
I didn’t like the quad exhaust outlets at first, but they’re starting to grow on me.
Overall, I think the 2017 and 2018 SRT’s and T’hawks are the best-looking SRT Jeeps ever. I like the black wheels. I’d like them better if they were gloss black, rather than satin. But that’s not a big deal. In decent weather, I can ‘gloss’ the wheels with a wipe-on of detailer. I really like the black side window trim. I think the black-on-black-on black Trackhawk is a very good looking automobile. It has a serious-business, sort of industrial, appearance. It looks like “no frills luxury” if such a thing is possible.
Quite a few people don’t like the yellow calipers, but I do. A black vehicle, with black wheels, and black side window trim is pretty monochromatic. The yellow calipers provide a nice touch of color and contrast. Looking at photos, I did not at all like the ‘liquid titanium chrome’ finish on the grille trim rings, ‘supercharged’ badge, and Grand Cherokee badges. I’m still trying to figure out liquid titanium chrome but the actual color looks much better in real life than in photos.
I am very pleased with the red/black interior. The smooth leather on the doors and dash top is much classier than the grained material on the 2015 SRT. I like the new layouts of the center screen soft buttons and the font used for the lettering across the top of the screen is easier for me to read. I like the use of ‘real metal’ for the console top, center stack face and vent trims. Everything about the interior seems first class.
Having grown accustomed to the light, quick, electronic shifter, there was some re-learning required to use a shift lever that must be physically moved from position to position. Lotta work for a lazy old man, compared to the electronic ‘lever’. The advantage to the new shifter is that I can drop this one in neutral, set the parking brake, and exit the vehicle, without the transmission automatically shifting to park.
After eleven years of driving SRT Jeeps and four years of wanting and waiting for a Jeep Hellcat, I had very high expectations for the Trackhawk. It has not met my expectations. It has considerably exceeded my expectations. I am delighted with the new Jeep. It is not often that I find I’ve have gotten more, and better, than I expected. I certainly have with the Trackhawk. I am cheap, but I have to admit that I think I have gotten my money’s worth.
I like well-made things. Quality workmanship pleases my eye. Just about anywhere I look, inside or out, the Trackhawk is pleasantly satisfying. The 6.4 Hemi always depressed me a little. It just didn’t LOOK like a high-performance engine. The Hellcat engine is gorgeous. After six SRT Jeeps with essentially all black or dark gray interiors (well, the ’15 had a touch of red), the predominantly ‘ruby red’ interior is a refreshing change. I would have preferred the ‘sepia’ leather, but that wasn’t available in the leather upgrade package. The red/black (which is really dark gray) leather is very, very nice.
I am still at the stage of ownership where I occasionally just have to go and look at the T’hawk, because it pleases me so much. I want warm weather, so I can detail the Jeep and expect it to stay clean and pristine for at least a couple days. I want warm weather, so I can go and find a place to drive 150 mph!
Thank you very much for getting me O’Daniel’s first Trackhawk. I am a hugely happy and satisfied customer!
I owe you and Pat rides!
Best regards,
Paul
PS: When I took the T’hawk to Monteith Tire, the shop crew was so excited to have a Trackhawk in the shop that everyone had to spend a few minutes taking photos or videos – especially after I popped the hood. The manager called one of the other Monteith store managers. “You would NOT believe what we have in here – a Trackhawk…”. I asked the manager how much I owed him (I figured there would be the usual one-hour shop time base rate). His response was “Oh, there’s no charge. Thank you for bringing in the Trackhawk!” First time I’ve had that happen. SRT’s didn’t get that kind of reaction. So far, no one else – aside from my co-workers – have commented on the T’hawk. I guess that’s not surprising, given how dirty it has been, due to the continually crappy weather."
Thank you Paul for being a loyal O'Daniel customer. We are thrilled you love your new Trackhawk!