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The Grand Cherokee Summit is the marque's biggest effort in climbing the social ladderJeep, an established manufacturer of rough-and-tumble SUVs, has been trying to break into the luxury segment for a few years now.儲存And there is no stronger sign of this than in the latest Grand Cherokee Summit.The sport-utility vehicle standing on shiny 20-inch wheels (which look small on its huge frame) is equipped with features more commonly found in upmarket models.These include adaptive cruise control, collision warning with autonomous emergency braking, blind spot warning, motorised tailgate and an impressive infotainment system with a sizeable touchscreen monitor.It is a list of hits and misses. The automatic tailgate is useful, since the contraption is really quite heavy to operate manually. The infotainment system is intuitive enough, with automatic prompting for Bluetooth connections, plug-and-play connectivity to mobile music devices, and a navigation system that provides very clear instructions.While adaptive cruise control ranks easily as one of the top modern-day inventions, the radar-guided system in the Grand Cherokee Summit is a little unwieldy to operate. You have to toggle between two sets of switches to activate it.When activated, though, it works like a charm, keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front and attaining the desired speed whenever possible.The blind spot and collision warning systems are useful when you consider how big the Jeep is and how distracted drivers can get these days. Also, the Jeep's huge wing mirrors can at times impair visibility - a motorcycle emerging from a side lane up ahead can be completely unsighted.But more often than not, the safety alerts get on your nerves by being a little too preemptive.On any given journey, there will be a series of beeps going off. Combined with the vocal speed-limit warnings, the cabin can be a noisy place indeed.It would be perfect if the sensitivity of the safety alerts could be dialled down half a notch.The mos迷你倉 significant feature in the new Jeep, however, is its eight-speed automatic transmission. It replaces the former five-speed job and improves the SUV's fuel efficiency appreciably.On paper, the 3.6-litre V6 petrol version is able to travel 100km on 8.8 litres of fuel - about 23 per cent better than the previous five-speed version.But on a trip to Malacca and back, the best average the test car achieved was 11.5 litres per 100km.If fuel efficiency is paramount, the 3-litre diesel V6 variant - available on a special order basis - probably works best.The Grand Cherokee Summit behaves like most old-school SUVs, with exaggerated spring movements and a steering that requires lots of twirls.On the generally straight and smooth North-South Highway, however, it proves surprisingly limo-like. Its air suspension system deals very well with minor tarmac imperfections at high speeds.For a tall and wide vehicle, it is also pretty quiet at high velocity. And the car is stable and confidence-inspring, thanks to its intelligent four-wheel-drive system.But in the city, the car's arm-twisting steering and bouncy trait seem to be amplified, largely because of speed humps and tight spots. The need to vary the throttle more often in an urban landscape also seems to confuse the autobox, which will often shift down with an unflattering thud.More than any other flaw, that last characteristic spoils Jeep's chances of carving itself a place in the premium league.Pity, because the Grand Cherokee Summit certainly looks like something you can pull up to a five-star hotel in. Its looks have been further refined, with sleek headlights, tail-lamps and bumper assemblies that seem to be inspired by Audi's stylish Q5. (Interestingly, its gear lever is similar to the Audi A8's.)Clearly, the American SUV maker has made good progress in recent years. But in the luxury race, it is still a tad behind Land Rover in terms of refinement, even if it is as capable and fundamentally sound as its British rival.christan@sph.com.sg儲存倉