Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Platinum 2015 review

Sales of Jeeps in Australia have risen faster in recent years than a Wrangler roaring up the side of the Big Red sand dune near Birdsville.

Thanks to big improvements to the cars, and the brilliant "I bought a Jeep" advertising campaign, more and more people are looking at one of the American off-roaders.

Yet, ironically, it's the city-first Grand Cherokee that is doing best. It's established itself as the best alternative to a Toyota for heavyweight towing and - if you really need it - off-road access.

But there are problems, and we've been flooded with complaints about everything from electrical glitches to persistent clunking in the rear suspension.

So the Grand Cherokee is a bit like a Volkswagen Golf - a great drive but questionable on the long-term front.

Now there is a new Grand Cherokee, the Summit Platinum, which raises the bar even higher and is intended to convince people that the past is the past and the future looks good.

It helps that the new boss of Fiat Chrysler, Pat Dougherty, is committed to improving the customer experience in Australia that will soon include some sort of "transparent" service pricing program.

The Platinum pack is built around Jeep's 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine and not one of the upscale V8s

But, back to the GCSP - Grand Cherokee Summit Platinum - which is absolutely loaded with upscale stuff to try to lure buyers who might otherwise slide into the likes of a BMW X5. The sticker is $78,000 but the price is justified by everything from acoustic glass to a belter sound system, active noise cancellation to quieten the cabin, 20-inch alloys and - whoopee - a Berber carpet mat in the luggage space.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Platinum pack is built around Jeep's 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine and not one of the upscale V8s. It means it gets along nicely but it's not great for go and I wonder whether the noise-killing work would have been quite so important with a quieter engine.

The Grand Cherokee has always been impressive and this one is most impressive of all

Still, the CarsGuide test car looks good and is helped by optional premium paint ($850) and a rear DVD entertainment system ($2600), which means the car gets The Tick in the first minute from five-year-old Eli. He spends every trip inside a set of wireless headphones watching the adventures of Pooh bear.

From the driver's seat, the Grand Cherokee has always been impressive and this one is most impressive of all. The performance is good, the cornering is stable and confident, and it stops well for something that tops two tonnes.

I like the slick eight-speed automatic and the fuel economy is good for something this size and weight.

I also know it will tow up to 3.5 tonnes and that's a big deal for a lot of people. It's not as rock-solid sensible as a 200-Series LandCruiser but it makes the case and the turbodiesel has more than enough torque.

I like all the fruit, especially the 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio and the active noise cancellation, but the Jeep is put into crisper focus by - of all things - a Hyundai.

There is a Santa Fe alongside the Grand Cherokee for a few days and it is a nicer drive, thanks to suspension that's been extensively tuned for Australia and is not compromised by 20-inch alloys that look tough, but kill some of the ride quality. The Korean car is more plush and that's a big deal if you're doing big kilometres.

Something that also goes against it is the steel spare wheel, which seems a bit of penny pinching in an $80,000 car.

But people who shop for a Jeep are unlikely to consider a Hyundai, so the American brand is safe on that front. And, honestly, the Summit Platinum is all about suburban work and spoiling yourself.

It's a different direction from a BMW or a Mercedes-Benz and there a lot of people who like the idea of a Jeep and the tough way it looks.