What has seven slots in its grille, four-wheel drive, and five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)? The 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The 4X4 version of the Grand Cherokee received five out of five stars in nearly all of the NHTSA’s tests, including the Frontal Barrier and Side Crash (barrier and pole) evaluations. It only came up short – with four stars – in the Rollover section of the NHTSA’s procedures, where it was shown to have a 16.9 percent chance of doing cartwheels. That wasn’t enough to keep it the 2017 Grand Cherokee 4X4 from getting a overall safety rating of five stars, though.
Its two-wheel-drive sibling didn’t fare quite as well. It aced the Frontal and Side Crash tests, but it only scored three stars in the Rollover test, bringing its Overall Rating down to four stars.
Hopefully, you’ll never have to find out the hard way how the 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee stands up to other vehicles or inconveniently placed poles. Its available Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system aka Full-speed Forward Collision Warning with Crash Mitigation is designed to keep you from doing that. According to FCA, “If camera and radar agree that a frontal impact with another vehicle appears imminent, the system pre-fills the Grand Cherokee’s brakes and transmits audible and visual warnings urging the driver to react. If there is no driver response, the system triggers a brief brake application as a tactile alert.” If there continues to be no driver response past that point, AEB will slow the Grand Cherokee or even bring it to a complete stop – at speeds below 25 mph.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
