Milous said it might not be available until 1Q '13. I'd replace my '12 Limited V6 with the CRD today if I could. If I can't order the CRD in June I might have to go for the Hemi.
Bummer, I'm sold on the new GC but I can't making a move until more info and pricing comes out on the diesel. Guess I'll have to keep waiting.... and waiting....
Why is diesel more expensive in usa? In europe diesel is way cheaper than petrol, ( i live in the netherlands , petrol is about $8,63 a gallon here, Diesel "only" $6,28)
I believe there is less maintenance with a diesel. CRD owners add corrections here if that has changed. For towing, you can't beat a diesel. They will also outlast a gas engine. Some of the old trucks fron the eighties are still chugging along with 250,000+ miles on them. I have a diesel tractor. It has a little 18HP engine that will put a gas engine to shame when it comes to load capability and fuel economy.
There is really no valid reason for the high price of diesel fuel other than the fact that they can get away with it. For years unrefined fuel oil and diesel were substantially lower in price than gasolone, so what happened? Not to get into an off topic discussion of fuel prices, I believe you can still save money with diesel vs. gas after a few years of ownership. If you are the type to keep the CRD for many years, the savings would increase exponentially. Of course, who knows, by then we may have an entirely new fuel source.
They aren't noisy at all. Higher cost per gallon but still less costly to run than the V6. If it costs the same as the Hemi, it doesn't cost more to me...
The excitement is massive torque/instant-on power, great MPG's/700+ mile range. Higher cost, less availability, higher maintenance are the drawbacks. Noise is reported to be well controlled. If I could do my Pentastar purchase over I'd go for the Hemi but can't go back in time. Going forward I'll take the CRD over the Hemi and accept the trade-offs.
There are two main reasons diesels is more expensive in the US and as compared to gasoline:
1) diesel has a higher federal tax rate 24.4 cents per gallon versus 18.4 cents. This is historically because diesels were more common with commercial cargo vehicles and by having a higher tax rate they are effectively paying for their excess wear and tear on the highways. state tax rates vary.
2) in 2007, the US adopted a much cleaner formulation for diesel fuel. The refineries are saying that this costs more to produce and the new equipment was required to adhere to the new standards. The good thing is that with new standards, US diesel vehicles are cleaner than Australian or European diesels even with equivalent engines and they are similar in polluting chemicals to gasoline engines.
I am very excited to see a diesel Jeep. More power with less emissions and better fuel economy. With modern diesels, the noise complaints are generally untrue. We have had diesel jettas for years and love them.
OK, you are starting to sway me toward the diesel, but I'm not there yet. How much is the upcharge over the 6 cylinder compared to the 8 cylinder charge?
Why do you believe it will be 5K more? I suppose it's possible but I don't see Jeep selling many with an uplift like that. Even at $5US/gallon you can buy a lot of gas for a Hemi before you'd come close to breaking even on the CRD.
Just a guess considering that in 2008 {the last time a diesel was offered by Jeep} the Hemi upgrade cost $645 and the Diesel upgrade cost almost 3 times that much at $1655.
The improved range of the diesel would also offset the difficulty one may have finding the fuel, and I'm not sure about the jeeps nav system but i think my garmin can be set to specifically find diesel stations.
I have a 2008 GC CRD with 128,000, it still runs great.
More & more diesels are coming out, mainly because of better MPG than gas. Diesel fuel in 2008 cost less than gas, at less here it was. Not anymore.
The range & MPG are really good.
The torque is awesome.
It sometime can be a pain to find a station, sometime the pumps are pretty messy.
While the new engines are much better I do still get some diesel smell when it idles.
I drove a demonstrator 3.0 litre diesel a week ago and it was outstanding, very responsive and truck loads of power! The one I drove was a Limited, I had checked the model out and was waiting to drive a diesel they can't import enough in Australia to keep up with sales so I've ordered a diesel Overlander. Now I have to wait 10 - 12 weeks
I think the last 3.0L that we saw in a Grand Cherokee was an added 2-3K. I could be wrong on that number. I feel that Jeep would keep the cost the same....
Would not be surprised at $3k-$5k option price. Here in the US the gov is doing everything possible to discourage passenger car diesels. Do you have blue in oz ?
May be because the capacity is limited (gas stations that have diesel only have one pump for it against 8-12 for gasoline). That said it is much easier to find diesel than E85: one station in the metro Orlando area, now over 1 million residents + innumerable tourists currently $3.30/gal so 3/4 the mpg for 7/8 the price vs 87 PON.
Personally have stations with diesel within a couple of miles in three directions so finding is not an issue however the current price of regular is U$3.70, premium is U$3.90, and diesel is U$4.00/US gallon so takes an 8% hit over 87. Will need an EPA MPG rating of 18/25 just to be equal to the Pentastar.
Since the Merc ML-350 with a 3.0TD is rated at 20/27 & Jeep will probably be similar it will be lower in fuel costs than the Pentastar, $127/year difference (12k miles) or will take 11.6 years to payback a $1500 difference.
Doomsday scenario: Wonder how hard it would be to convert a flex-fuel engine to run on pure alcohol.
Since the Merc ML-350 with a 3.0TD is rated at 20/27 & Jeep will probably be similar it will be lower in fuel costs than the Pentastar, $127/year difference (12k miles) or will take 11.6 years to payback a $1500 difference..
Keep in mind the WK2 does not use a Mercedes diesel, but instead uses a VM Motori diesel, which is newer and more efficient. In fact, I believe it is actually cleaner burning than the Pentastar.
It is already available in Australia, etc. so we KNOW its fuel economy numbers are averaging out around 26mpg with the current transmission. If Jeep puts the eight speed in, your numbers will creep up to around 28mpg.
Don't know if this was posted yet but this was in the SEC filing on 3/8/12
"Starting in 2013, we plan to sell a diesel version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee that utilizes Fiat engine technology in the U.S. and Canada"
"As far as alternative fuels, in early 2013, we will be introducing a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a diesel engine in North America. We expect this version of one
our best-selling vehicles to provide significantly improved fuel economy. Together with Fiat, we are also exploring the potential for vehicles that would
utilize compressed natural gas and other alternative fuel sources. In 2012, we plan to launch a bi-fuel version of the Ram 2500 for commercial fleet
applications, which will be capable of utilizing either compressed natural gas or ordinary gasoline."