Jeep Grand Cherokee vs Toyota Supra

What's the difference?

A wise man* once said "Being first can sometimes feel like being wrong" and perhaps that's how it is with the 4xe, but at least Jeep Australia is giving the large SUV hybrid realm a good ol' try.

* Former CarsGuide Big Kohuna, Glen Knowles.

The company's first plug-in hybrid, the Grand Cherokee 4xe, is not perfect by anyone's standards, however, it is a definite move in the right direction.

It's a quiet and refined drive, it retains the brand's renowned 4WD capability, and even its hefty price-tag likely won't dissuade Jeep loyalists from giving it a go.

The Toyota GR Supra GT is a superb sports car that’s relatively easy to live with in the city even with the manual gearbox and incredibly fun to drive out where the roads are free from traffic.

Not only is the GT great for the price compared to rivals but it’s the pick of the Supra range.   

As with any vehicle, some will like it, some won’t, and some simply won’t care all that much. 

The 4xe certainly has a distinctive Jeep look to it.

A few exterior design cues hint at its PHEV leanings: the plug-in point on the front left-hand panel and a ‘4xe’ designation on the rear door.

Perhaps it’s just me but I think the Supra looks exactly how it should look - like a Hot Wheels car.

Seriously, how good does the back view look? I love the spoiler that angles up like a crazy ski jump and the tail-lights integrated underneath it.

I love the huge rear hunches swollen like they’ve been stung by an enormous wasp. Check out the roof - see how it’s curved? And that bonnet with the vent above the wheel arches, I love the styling of every millimetre of this car.

But my neighbour doesn’t. I pulled up and said, “How good does this look?” And he gave me this stare like I was bonkers.

I don’t know, maybe you and I have the same excellent taste, but if there’s anything I hate it's anything that’s boring.

To me the BMW Z4 ‘twin’ is getting very close to the boring end in the styling department. 

Talking of BMW, the Supra's interior is very BMW from the indicators stalks to the media system and climate control set-up.

It’s a modern and minimalist cabin… if only there wasn’t a cupholder right where my elbow goes. That’s a good place to stop and talk about the Supra GT’s practicality. 

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV retains the regular model’s level of functionality but adds a reasonably classy touch to everything.

All seats offer adequate comfort, support and room.

There are plenty of storage spaces, cupholders etc, and charging points - two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 12V socket in the front and two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 230V point in the back.

Controls are generally easy enough to locate and operate although some buttons are positioned in awkward places – including drive-mode buttons under the steering wheel – and it sometimes takes a few finger-stabs at the multimedia touchscreen to get to where you want to go in the operating system.

In terms of packability, the rear cargo area has a listed 1067 litres of space, and, with the second row folded and out of the way, that space opens up to 2004 litres.

The good news is that if you’re tall like me (189cm) and mainly legs then you’ll have more than enough legroom and headroom because the footwells are impossibly deep and the seats can be lowered to what feels like ground level.

Actually, you are almost at ground height in this car so the bad news if you’re as tall as me you’ll probably have to crawl out of the car on all fours.

The cabin of the Supra doesn’t do the storage space thing well. Sure there are two cupholders but their location is the same place my elbow frequents while changing gears and resting.

The wireless phone charging area is good and easy to access, but the door pockets are as thin as post box slots so if it’s letters you’re storing there you’re in luck.

If it’s anything thicker than that you’ll be left looking around for a place to put your purse or wallet and end up throwing it in the phone charger space if the passenger seat is taken.

You could always ask your co-pilot to hold onto your things which reminds me to tell you that the Supra is a two-seater only. There are no back seats, and there’s no option to have back seats.

If you’re looking for a sports car with rear seats (although space will be limited) for the same money then there’s the Audi A4 45 TFSI and at an even lower price is the Ford Mustang GT.

If you look over your left shoulder while in the driver’s seat of the Supra GT you’ll see into the boot -  there’s no wall separating the cabin from the cargo area. This is handy for throwing a school bag in as I did for my son on the morning drop off, but also means your items may make an unexpected visit to the cockpit if you stop suddenly.

The boot is large for a sports car at 296 litres (VDA) and it managed to fit our large CarsGuide suitcase with space to spare as you can see in the images.

The Toyota GR Supra GT with the manual gearbox lists for $87,380 and you’ll pay the same price for the same car with the automatic transmission. 

Yes, almost $90K might sound like a lot of money for a Toyota (unless it’s a LandCruiser) but it’s actually a bargain considering the GTS grade above costs $10K more and has the same engine plus pretty much the same features apart from a fancier stereo, head-up display and 19-inch alloys (rather than the 18s on this GT).

Also, if you didn’t know already the Supra is a BMW/Toyota joint venture model aligned with the BMW Z4, and if you want the Beemer version with the same engine as the Supra GT you’ll pay $139,800 for it.

So see, it’s a bargain in comparison.

The standard features list of the GT has pretty much everything you need. There’s a proximity key, LED headlights with adaptive high beam, active cruise control, sat nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10-speaker stereo, wireless phone charger, heated and power adjustable seats, shifting paddles and sports pedals. 

Great features, but let down only by a small 8.8-inch screen for your media and nav. Still, that absolutely shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for you.

The rivals? Well, clearly the BMW Z4 which is way more expensive, but also there is the Nissan Z which costs between $70-$80K and is also a hoot to drive.

Add the Ford Mustang GT to your research list, as well. It’s not as agile as the Supra but it’s quick, fun and sounds better to my ears. 

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine, two electric motors (one on each axle) and a 17.3kWh battery.

Combined engine and electric outputs for power and torque are 280kW and 637Nm, respectively. The 4xe has it over any of its stablemates equipped with the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine because that yields 210kW and 344Nm.

The 4xe has an eight-speed automatic torque-converter transmission and regenerative braking.

Drive modes include 'Hybrid' (with combined engine and electric motor providing “maximum instant torque and impressive acceleration”, according to Jeep), 'Electric' (“zero emissions”) and 'eSave' (aims to save battery power). 

There are a few options available when it comes time to charge the 4xe.

The 4xe vehicle has a Mode 2 charging cable so you can charge it at home in less than 10 hours, according to Jeep.

With a full charge, the 4xe has a claimed driving range, on electric charge alone, of 52km.

Jeep reckons a Mode 3 (wall box) single-phase electric vehicle charger will fully charge the 4xe in less than three hours.

If out and about and looking for a charge, a 4xe driver can use the onboard 'UConnect' system to locate an appropriate public charging station.

You’re looking at a Supra that could be the peak of its model evolution because since the generation’s arrival in 2019 Toyota has increased the power of the 3.0-litre turbo-petrol in-line six-cylinder from 250kW to 285kW (torque remains the same at 500Nm) and introduced a six-speed manual. 

This 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol is the only engine you can have with the Supra, there are no four cylinders or V8s - now there’s an idea. 

Toyota says the 0-100km/h time for the GR Supra with the manual gearbox is 4.4 seconds and 4.1 seconds for the automatic which comes with a ‘launch control’ feature.

Of course, all Supras are rear-wheel drive.

As mentioned, the 4xe has a listed electric-only driving range of 52km.

On our official test day, we drove just under 50km on a full electric charge and then the rest of the trip was courtesy of the good ol’ petrol engine.

Jeep's official figure for the combined cycle is just 3.2L/100km, but that's predicated on keeping the hybrid battery charged at all times. On fuel-only we recorded 11.6L/100km.

The 4xe has a 72-litre fuel tank (you need 95RON premium to fill it), so going by that on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect to get a driving range of about 620km out of a full tank.

Add an approximate electric range of about 50km on a full charge to that figure and you have a total estimated driving range of 670km.

Toyota says the 3.0-litre six-cylinder straight-six turbo-petrol engine in the Supra GT paired with the six speed manual gearbox should use 8.9L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads.

I did a week’s worth of city commuting and then a couple of hundred kilometres on country roads, but no motorways and the trip computer told me I was averaging 10.3L/100km.

Not bad for a big engine in a car tuned for performance, driven by a big kid who feels like he’s playing with somebody else’s toys.  

Premium 95 RON fuel is recommended, although 'standard' 91 is acceptable. A 52-litre fuel tank translates to a theoretical range of around 580km, dropping to approximately 500km using our real-world number.

We’re all time-poor, right? So, why should I take up your time and rattle on about the 4xe for a thousand words when I can get the essence of it across to you, the reader, in a few sentences? Call me, Mr Thoughtful.

This is generally a big, quiet and refined, easy-steering large SUV, but it feels bulky at times and tends to be quite fussy on irregular surfaces, exhibiting a jittery ride on even brief sections of light corrugations on dirt tracks.

The 4xe’s PHEV set-up is smooth and highly responsive on-road and you can switch between the aforementioned drive modes to suit the circumstance.

Driving range on electric only is listed as 52km. I only recorded a total distance of just under 50km, and it’s a very quiet and smooth drive while relying on electric power.

It regenerates power rather quickly down big hills and via braking, but we’d exhausted all electric charge by the time we’d reached our 4WD test track.

As expected, this Grand Cherokee tackled every off-road challenge without any strife. 

The air suspension, set to full off-road height, is a bonus.

Our 4WD test track consists of difficult set-pieces, including one small steep rocky hill that I’ve seen heavily modified vehicles struggle to conquer and, to the Jeep’s credit, it climbed the incline, no sweat.

The 4xe’s efforts were only ever hampered by its 'all-season' Continental CrossContact tyres (275/45R21) which are much better suited to blacktop driving and the fact the 4xe costs upwards of $129,950 and I didn’t want to risk any damage to it.

The 4xe has a listed wading depth of 610mm but our test track was dry so I never had the chance to do any water crossings. 

The Grand Cherokee has a solid enough rep as a towing vehicle but, take note, the 4xe is rated to tow 2722kg.

Ah, but what about living daily with a manual? As a car enthusiast most of the cars I’ve owned have been manuals and I’ve rarely cursed them because I love to drive.

But there were times when they were a pain, such as in traffic, or in traffic on steep streets and in traffic in shopping centres. Did I mention in traffic, also?

But on the nice roads with bends and dips, hills and sweeping corners, hairpins and twisty parts in places without traffic, then all is forgiven. 

And so it goes with the manual version of the Supra. 

Making life easier in the Supra GT is a clutch pedal without much travel so you don’t feel as though you’re at the gym doing a one-sided leg press.

I found the shifts themselves, while short, to be less than smooth. At first, I thought that the clunky changes might have been because the gearbox hadn’t been run in yet, but the odometer was saying 7500km, so this could just be the nature of the gearbox and after a few days I became used to it.

The rev-matching feature of this gearbox is a nice touch, especially on those sporty drives when you change into a gear and you’re thrown straight back into the power band again.

Superb balance, great steering with a nose which points exactly where you want it to and that magnificently smooth turbo-petrol in-line six posting all its meaty grunt to the rear wheels just behind your shoulders makes for a sports car that’s fun, talented and quick.

Good brakes (348mm ventilated rotors with four piston calipers at the front and 330mm discs with single piston calipers at the rear) and grippy Michelin Pilot Supersport tyres (255/40 fr - 275/40 rr) complete a great package. 

A ride that’s still comfortable over bad Sydney roads and surprisingly good visibility made the Supra easy to live with in the city, from parking to school drop offs.

Yes, used it each day for the school run with my older child and the grocery shopping. 

The GR Supra GT has not been crash tested by ANCAP, but its BMW Z4 twin scored a maximum five stars when it was tested by the European equivalent Euro NCAP.

Still, the Supra has seven airbags, there’s AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keeping assistance and blind spot warning, plus front and rear parking sensors. There are seven airbags on board.

There’s no spare wheel, but there is a tyre inflation kit which should get you out of trouble.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a five-year/100,000km warranty and a lifetime roadside assist service.

Servicing is set at 12-month/12,000km intervals and capped price servicing keeps what you pay for each appointment at $399 for the first five.

Toyota covers the GR Supra GT with its five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km and is capped at $415 per service.

The warranty is the industry standard in terms of time and kilometre length, and the capped service prices are very reasonable - a lot more affordable than a car with a prestige badge on the bonnet, too.