YouTuber Puts Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Through Towing Test
Almost every test of Trackhawk’s power involves it going as fast as possible; this one evaluates its ability to pull a steel trailer and car.
There seems to be a Jeep Grand Cherokee for almost every kind of midsize SUV buyer. The Laredo model is for the price-conscious. Those in search of maximum off-road capabilities can get the Trailhawk. Buyers who want the ultimate luxury Jeep and can’t wait for the new Grand Wagoneer to come out are better off looking at the Summit. The Hellcat-powered Trackhawk is made for hauling ass, but it also has a usable tow rating, which YouTuber Kevin Rosario recently put to the test.
The Trackhawk’s primary purpose is obvious. Jeep didn’t give it a sport suspension, 15.75-inch front and 13.78-inch rear brakes, and 707 horsepower and 645 lb-ft of torque so it could be driven from the house to the office and back. It designed and engineered the Trackhawk to burn up the street and the road course. But even the most dedicated speed demons need to tow every now and then. Rosario is one of them. He’s used to pulling trailers. In fact, he used his last high-performance Grand Cherokee, the SRT model, to haul cars. This time, he’s using his Trackhawk and a steel trailer to transport his girlfriend’s “heavy, stock Mitsubishi Evo” (VIII) to a shop to get some work done on it.
Rosario estimates the trailer/car combo tips the scales at somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds (according to Edmunds, a 2005 Evo VIII has a curb weight of 3,263 pounds). In stock form, the Trackhawk is capable of towing up to 7,200 pounds. Rosario has equipped his with a set of lowering springs and larger-than-stock 22-inch wheels.
It’s unclear how Rosario’s mods affect his Trackhawk’s final tow rating on paper, but in this unusual test, they don’t seem to make that big a difference. Even though the added weight makes the Trackhawk’s rear end sag a little, it doesn’t cause it to rub. The SUV of prey provides adequate trailer and cargo visibility. Most importantly, it gives Rosario a sense of control. Referring to the trailer behind him, he says, “You can feel it, but it’s not a problem.” Under load, the Hellcat V8 returns a fuel economy figure of 11.8 mpg. When you consider that Rosario’s “gas-hogger” normally gets 8-11 mpg in normal driving, that number starts to look a little better.
There’s no denying there are better options for a tow rig than the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, even within the Jeep family. A properly configured Gladiator has a legitimate cargo box and can pull up to 7,650 pounds. But the Trackhawk is one of the coolest and most distinctive ways of moving cargo. When was the last time you saw a race car towing another race car?
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