New Jeep Grand Cherokee with 3.0L Diesel

[volvite]

I think the big problem will be to find one on a lot somewhere.

[NVSteve]

I don't quite agree with you Slavabon.

I do, especially when such a high premium is charged for a diesel vs gas engine.

Given the above assumption, over 10000mi, that is a 200-285 gallon difference. At $4/gallon, thats $800-1000 every 10000mi in extra cost for fuel on a gas vs a diesel. In Canada, its even more.

I don't know what the price for gas or diesel is at the moment, as I've never cared. If I need gas, I will stop by a station and fill up the tank-much like taking a breath of air when my body needs more oxygen. Anyway, here are some rough calculations:

Diesel at 33 mpg:
10,000 miles/33 mpg = 303 gallons x $4 per gallon = $1,212.00
100,000 miles/33 mpg = 3030 gallons x $4 per gallon = $12,120.00

Gas at 23mpg:
10,000 miles/23 mpg = 434 gallons x $3 per gallon = $1,304.00
100,000 miles/23 mpg = 4348 gallons x $3 per gallon = $13,043.00

Gas at 17 mpg:
10,000 miles/17 mpg = 588 gallons x $3 per gallon = $1,764.00
100,000 miles/17 mpg = 5882 gallons x $3 per gallon = $17,646.00

A gas vehicle at 23 mpg would cost $92 more than diesel for 10,000 miles and $923 more than diesel for 100,000 miles.

A gas vehicle at 17 mpg would cost $552 more than diesel for 10,000 miles and $5,526 more than diesel for 100,000 miles.

These are loose estimates only since I don't know actual fuel prices. That being said, if a diesel were to arrive as an option on a true and reliable (non-US for me) SUV, at only a slight increase in vehicle cost, I'd get one.

I'd say its worth it. That and diesels are usually more reliable, and tow better, I say its a no-brainer to go with diesel, if you can afford the up front cost.

I know lots of people who drive a diesel & would have to agree that the engine is more reliable than a gas engine. However, the rest of the vehicle is still subject to the same wear and tear, and while 99% of those I know with a diesel have had no engine problems, they have had problems with the rest of the vehicle.

If this were back when diesel prices were considerably less than gas, then a diesel would have a huge advantage.

[slavabon]

I also think that at $45-50k range you want to see myself in BMW X5, not a Jeep. Jeep quality and resale value is just not there to justify these hefty price tags.

[skinny2]

I've considered the '14 JGC. With the diesel, sticker is around $47k optioned the way I would want it. BMW resale value is certainly nothing to write home about and driving 25k miles a year I would spend a mint on maintenance/repairs in a couple years. I've owned a couple bimmers so i'm speaking from experience. I've also put 160k miles on a JGC before without much drama so they really don't scare me much.

Prices today....diesel is $.50/gallon more than 87 octane. $3.35 vs $3.85

Comparisons assuming 25k per year and averaging 95% of the highway rated mpg (which is typical for my driving):

Current Pathfinder avg 19mpg = $4,407

V6 Grand Cherokee avg 23mpg = $3,640

V8 Grand Cherokee avg 19mpg = $4,407

Diesel Grand Cherokee avg 27mpg = $3,564


So at first review, the diesel doesn't seem to offer much in the way of savings compared to the V6. Probably less assuming it requires an extra fuel filter and urea every now and then. But I'm not sure I would buy the gas V6. I believe real world driving the diesel is probably more fairly compared to the V8. The V8 is a $2,800 option vs $4,500 for the diesel. But you'll make that up alone in about 50k miles. Nevermind the diesel will most likely always be worth at least the cost difference...and historically they retain value even better than that. I'm also skeptical of the V6 actually getting the advertised mileage as I imagine I would probably be driving it harder than either diesel or V8.

Tough decision. I like the '14 JGC even if it's not a truck chassis it's certainly built more stout than many other crossovers. I may wait it out until the diesel has some more road time to see if any issues crop up. There can be real problems with buying a low-volume vehicle.

Also, I see some folks stating above that the diesel is rated 30-33mpg and that's not correct. It's rated 21/28 for 4x4. Car and Driver tested that plus all the other diesel SUV's on the market and they all averaged right around 24mpg on their test which is pretty good given how they drive. They averaged 15mpg on the last V6 pathfinder test.

[disallow]

I agree with your assessment.

A true 'side-by-side' comparison is required to fully measure the fuel economy between the different engine platforms.

Something that is hard to measure is throttle engagement. The gas engines have lower available torque at low RPMs, which means that the driver may feel the need to apply more throttle on the gas engine to realize the same acceleration performance. This would have a detrimental effect on real-life fuel economy that the EPA tests do not factor in at all. In other words, the real-world fuel economy on the diesel should be better than that of the gas engines.

t

[volvite]

The new Jeep is on my list. I just traveled from Utah to Washington to see my parents and my average fuel in my V8 was 15 at 80 MPH. That was killing me. I know I didn't buy my Pathfinder for MPGs, but it's lack to maintain high teens is horrible.