[Gypsy]

I was plowing through a foot+ of snow packed roads today blazing my own path and it felt like business as usual. Almost scary as you don’t realize how bad the roads truly are! Meanwhile many cars are stuck and busy shoveling themselves out!

Is it a smarter 4wd system we have? Weight distribution? I’ve driven other 4wd cars before, even the old XJ but nothing tops this wk2, it’s so smooth, quiet, and effortless through heavy snow. What gives?

PS: I have 295 width Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 + tires on currently, however the oem Goodyear’s seemed unstoppable also.. is it possible my Michelin’s are better in the snow even though they are more of a performance tire & wider? (***My assumption is that the OEM Goodyear’s with the slightly more aggressive lugs and thinner width would actually do better than a meatier performance based tire in medium-heavy snow)

 

[mitchd]

I dont know either , I have a 2018 rubicon 2 door and it doesnt drive in the snow as well as my GC

 

[moparado]

This is timely as i just had to drive through a slippery road blizzard today.
I was disappointed even in snow mode how bad the traction was with a light snowy blizzard.

Again as i posted here before, what disappointed me the most about today's white knuckle drive is that my rear hatch was heavily snow covered.
So much so, the brake and tail lights were barely visible. A definite safety hazard in slippery snowy conditions especially with tailgaters.

And in the Summer months that dam wing is nothing but a rear hatch dust collector.
So much so i seldom wash and wax my WK2....whats the purpose!
What the hell were these idiot designers thinking designing in that asinine rear wing!

If i decide to keep this Jeep, i'm gonna remove that dam rear roof wing even if it means a tenth of a mpg loss.

 

[mitchd]

Here in idyllwild we have over a foot of snow, at the end of the driveway it is over 18 inches. No slipping or sliding. Now my Rubicon, different story

 

[MacDaddy]

I could say it's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand, Lol. It's the differential's controlling the system plain and simple, when the Vehicle senses wheelspin it limit's it through braking and acceleration. Lot's of other mumbo jumbo in there but that's about it. Wheelbase, track width, steering etc. are also factor's. Besides they ain't a Ford.

 

[Victor1960]

The answer is easy : its a Jeep, and on top of that its a Grand Cherokee !, just enjoy it.
Happy New Year

 

[beepbeepimajeep]

I have an 07 with QT1 (the 'basic' 'awd' 'not true 4wd' system) and it is a beast in the snow. Particularly when paired with appropriate tires. Honestly the open diffs with BTCS works wonders.

Have been looking at wk2 as a replacement for a while, but have decided to hang on for another couple years to see what the WL brings. Love the new trans (ZF) but dislike the complicated procedure to do fluid change. My WK has done well with regular fluid changes, now approaching 170k.

 

[Xterrapin]

I was also actually impressed with the OEM Michelins during our recent snow event. They weren't as good as the Duratracs on my Xterra, but they didn't do half bad. This thing really is a treat to drive in bad weather.

 

[moparado]

Here in idyllwild we have over a foot of snow, at the end of the driveway it is over 18 inches. No slipping or sliding. Now my Rubicon, different story

My TrailHawk gets through deep snow....no problem.
Its when there's an inch of icy freezing roads where i had the problem mentioned above.
To be fair, i don't think there's any other vehicle out there that could perform better in icy road conditions.

Braking in that mentioned scenario was a slipp'n and a slid'n with the ABS working full time.
The snow covered hatch with the blanked out tail lights made the white knuckling even whiter!

Maybe it the tires?

 

[2014RedHemiGC]

Our 2014 Limited with QuadraDrive and ORA2 came with Michelin Latitudes which were silky smooth on the road, but not so great with a mixture of snow/ice. Switched to snowflake rated Nokian wrg3 all season tires (same treadwear rating as the Michelins) and the Jeep was flawless, even during the worst ice storms on top of Beech Mountain, NC.

 

[moparado]

Our 2014 Limited with QuadraDrive and ORA2 came with Michelin Latitudes which were silky smooth on the road, but not so great with a mixture of snow/ice. Switched to snowflake rated Nokian wrg3 all season tires (same treadwear rating as the Michelins) and the Jeep was flawless, even during the worst ice storms on top of Beech Mountain, NC.

Thats good to know!

Now do you have a solution from keeping the rear hatch from being covered in snow?
Other than removing that assinine rear roof overhang wing which sucks up everything from
the road including snow and dust onto the rear hatch.

 

[jgcrp1]

As 2014RedHemiG stated and as in all vehicles, it's the tires that determine snow performance. I run blizzaks in the winter and mine is a rock star in snow, slush, and ice. Want great performance in the snow, buy and run snow tires.

Yup, amazing amount of dust collected on that rear window. Hunted NE Colorado last Sunday and the amount of dust just sitting on top of the rear wiper was incredible (and it didn't blow out of there driving at speed back to the Denver area). My guess is we're stuck with it.

 

[RoadiJeff]

The first winter I had my 2018 GC it had snowed 11" while I was at work one evening. The roads were barely plowed and those that had been were mostly covered over again. It was my first test of my 3 month old first 4WD vehicle. I used the knob and put it in Snow mode and headed 28 miles toward home.

There is a fairly steep, curvy hill about 1/4 mile long that I wouldn't even dream of trying to climb when it was covered in snow in my previous FWD Chrysler. I could take a longer route home and avoid that climb but I figured since I bought a 4WD vehicle for times like these I might as well see what it could do. I gave the steering wheel a couple of pats and said, "OK, show me what you're made of." It went right up that hill without any trouble at all. This was on the stock Pirelli Scorpion tires. I was amazed.

I still have those stock tires, now at 36,700 miles on them, and am hoping they can still show me what they're made of for one more winter.

 

[CHeYeNNe71]

When in doubt, Floor it out!!

 

[2018Grand]

Thats good to know!

Now do you have a solution from keeping the rear hatch from being covered in snow?
Other than removing that assinine rear roof overhang wing which sucks up everything from
the road including snow and dust onto the rear hatch.

I'm also looking for that solution

 

[Vivid]

I’m so glad Jeep got away from using those awful Goodyear tires my 12 and 15 had.

 

[Avant]

2015 GC diesel... I am going to put another set of KO2's on mine after running mich's for a few years. Last time I had KO2's I had to get to one of my transmitter sites and the GC pulled better up the hill through the snow than my power wagon. The flat bottom with the offroad plates made it just slide along amazingly even pulling a 10% grade and snow piling up over the hood. It was like being in a snow plow with chains! It was great right up until I high centered it on a 3 foot drift thinking, if it could do the hill what trouble would the drift at the top be? I'll never get that 4 hours of digging back LOL...

 

[moparado]

As 2014RedHemiG stated and as in all vehicles, it's the tires that determine snow performance. I run blizzaks in the winter and mine is a rock star in snow, slush, and ice. Want great performance in the snow, buy and run snow tires.

Yup, amazing amount of dust collected on that rear window. Hunted NE Colorado last Sunday and the amount of dust just sitting on top of the rear wiper was incredible (and it didn't blow out of there driving at speed back to the Denver area). My guess is we're stuck with it.

Among other minor gripes this is my major gripe with these late model WK2's.
That rear roof wing sucks up everything and anything from the road and deposits it on the hatch.
On a cool or cold morning when first starting up and driving a while, watch the exhaust being pulled up onto the rear hatch.

Don't understand why this isn't a big enough gripe for future Jeep designers to fix the crap being sucked up onto the rear hatch. Oh i see every other auto mfger. is doing the rear roof wing thing.....dumb just plain dumb!
I've had SUV's in the past with no roof wing and never ever had this stupid issue.

Next time out driving in a snow storm gonna take a pic of the snow build up on the rear hatch which i consider a safety issue among a royal PITA keeping that hatch clean even in the Summer months with dust buildup.

 

[skiguy]

Well, just to add my two cents, my 2019 GC Trailhawk was Michelin Defenders has taken me over some of worst roads in the Colorado mountains the past 2 winters without any issues. The OEM tires just didn't cut it, particularly in slush. Leaving the whole rear view thing aside, these really are amazing vehicles!

 

[jeepgc2013]

Thats good to know!

Now do you have a solution from keeping the rear hatch from being covered in snow?
Other than removing that assinine rear roof overhang wing which sucks up everything from
the road including snow and dust onto the rear hatch.

I hate to break it to you, but the rear wing is fine. Dust gets all over car in the summer no matter what and without it, you'd end up with bad hwy wind noise. Plus, it looks nice and without it, the JGC wouldn't look like the best looking SUV on the road that it is.