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JC SRT8 - A Brief Review

4K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  12Jeep 
#1 ·
My truck came in at a time when work is crazy, so I haven't been able to put comprehensive review together... This will have to work for now. I've had my truck (Silver, luxII, SRT8 audio, pan roof) for one week and have put 415 miles on it. This is one Helluva upgrade from my old base Altima!

The truck looks impressive, both inside and out. The quality of the interior is first rate, and I'm still exploring the bells and whistles. The new care smell is nice.

Ride and performance are exceptional. I came up fast on a Camaro SS creeping down an onramp... He gunned it and so did I. The look of surprise on the guys face as I pulled up beside him at 100 mph was priceless. Since I'm in the break-in period, I waved and backed off. Playing with the CPU, I've logged 0-60 in 4.9 and 4.6 secs, though the second may have been on a slight decline... This thing could give you whiplash when you accelerate hard.

Of course, nothing is perfect. The compartment lid under the nav head unit stuck initially and the dealer offered to replace it. I elected to wait it out since I didn't want my first day with the truck to be spent in the service dept waiting room. After some use, it appears that the problem has resolved. I washed it for the first time and noticed that the body panels don't line up perfectly, but this flaw is not readily noticeable. One annoyance is that you have to shut the driver and passenger doors with moderate force.

Overall, I love this vehicle and feel that it has been worth the price. For those of you who have price protection, etc, feel fortunate and beware having your truck sold from under you... Drive one of these beasts and you will see why.

Bottom Line: I am very pleased with my truck... Back to work...
 
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#4 ·
Shaggy1, good write-up. I will be curious to read your updates as I might consider upgrading from my MY11 Overland.

Regarding the center console storage door and exterior doors I had the same problem but it was resolved with regular use. I would wait until your have some usage time before bringing it back to the dealer.





Regards,
NHman
 
#6 · (Edited)
Just rolled over 500 miles...

Yesterday was the first day this year that the temp dropped below freezing. The remote start came in handy. When I got in the truck, to my surprise, my bottom was warm and toasty and the wheel was warm under my hands. I didn't expect the truck to turn on the heated seats and wheel when remote started... Cool feature.

Twice this week, the panic button on the key fob was pressed inadvertently by something in my pocket. This is the only real annoyance I've had with the truck... The key fob design is the weakest link at this point... I would rather have the one from my old WJ.

Roll Tide!
 
#11 · (Edited)
We all live in a, eh, silver submarine

My beast did submarine duty for the first time today. The rain poured but visibility was good though the rear camera got slimed. The truck stuck to the asphalt like it was on rails.

While cruising through the downpour, I had "Hair Nation" blasting through the srt audio... The sound system is exceptional, though I probably wouldn't have paid for the upgrade if is wasn't on every truck my local dealers ordered... Now that I'm deaf from old school Kiss, I realize that the audio is growng on me. What do you guys think? Is the upgrade worth shelling out the extra $$$?
 
#12 ·
Just a few thoughts:

When I chose this truck, I wanted something special. It was a gift to myself after working for several years to reach a goal... I have not been disappointed.

Hit 900 miles today... Took the beast out and attacked some country back roads; very satisfying.

I live in a traffic light infested area which could use a good civil engineer... My gas mileage averages 11.2 mpg. I would really miss my regular gas sipping Altima if the Jeep wasn't so much fun to drive.

While driving into work yesterday, a "tornado watch" alert popped up on the Nav... Surprising, but cool.

The compartment door below the nav unit, which initially stuck, is now working perfectly. Also, the doors are getting broken in and require less force to shut.
 
#14 ·
Just hit 2500 miles.

No mechanical issues to date. The truck remains fun to drive. Someone has commented on the truck almost every time I've stopped for gas; one guy held up his camera phone and asked "may I?". I recently played with a Charger SRT8 and some sort of mod'ed up VW, but couldn't play hard because of traffic and safety issues (you've all seen the corvette video, I'm sure).

The only complaint that I have with the truck involves fit and finish. The panels and trim do not line up perfectly and rubber seals are starting to show wear. These flaws are not glaring, but are easy to notice when washing the truck.

There is a quarter sized area of paint discoloration on one front fender that was not obvious when I bought the truck. I plan to bring that up to the dealer when I take it for its first service.

As others have noted, the brake dust is significant. It coats the doors after driving in the rain, so frequent washing is required. IMO, this is par for the course considering the size/functionality of the brakes.

Overall, I am very happy with the truck. I do think that fit and finish should be better on a 60K vehicle. Has anyone else had issues with fit/finish and panels not lining up? Has anyone brought flaws up with their dealers and had anything done about it?
 
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