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This is an article I found in an old Bushdriver magazine
that I found in a book exchange one day. I thought it was pretty lucky, considering I have
a '79 (- Rod).
THE NEW BREED - By Tom MitchellBODY CONFIGURATION COLOUR COMBINATIONS INTERIOR ENGINE TRANSMISSION SUSPENSION & AXLES WHEELS & TYRES BRAKES ON ROAD PERFORMANCE OFF ROAD PERFORMANCE GENERAL SUMMARY Jeep, Jeep, jeep. Whichever way you look at it, it really isn't a name to get excited about - especially in Australia where the name has had a drubbing from two less-than-successful attempts to market the product through Australian owned companies. It is not unfair to say that the previous, and since terminated, attempt at distribution by LNC almost destroyed the name of Jeep in Australia forever. The standard of finish and equipment levels in the mid '70's CJ5 and CJ6 vehicles were so appalling that many customers took legal action, and sales were so slow that several buyers sued on the basis that what they thought was a "new" car, was one which had been manufactured several years earlier! Not to be deterred, American Motors Corporation from Toledo, Ohio, mounted a huge and incredibly expensive market research programme in an attempt to find out just what a prospective Australian buyer thinks he wants. The result was the restructuring of Jeep Australia under direct control of A.M.C. American management has been brought to Australia to make sure things run smoothly and to ensure that Jeep captures a lucrative share of the Australian four-wheel-drive market. Late in 1978, the Jeep Renegade was released. Its specifications place it in the upper regions of the SWB hardtop field. The Renegade is almost totally a recreational vehicle, and can only be had in one version which includes things like automatic transmission, carpet, wide wheels and big tyres. To date, its success has been limited - more probably owing to the CJ5/CJ6 hangover than anything else, as the CJ7 Renegade is quite an acceptable piece of merchandise.
For some time, BUSHDRIVER has been trying to get a vehicle
to carry out a true road test. After all, the Cherokee has been announced to the public
since mid-1978. The official release date was to have been in March 1979 but, because of
red tape and typical government department delays, the release was postponed to May 1979.
In the meantime, the dealers were taking orders from buyers and, even at this stage, the
number of orders exceeds the availability-a situation that Leyland no doubt wishes it
could resurrect with its Range Rover. Every attempt by this, and other magazines, to acquire a test car, was met with an apology that vehicles just weren't available. Pete Geoghegan offered his personal black Cherokee but, as it was about to appear in two other publications, we gratefully declined. Then, well known 4WD dealer and racer, John Fenwick of Newcastle 4WD, offered his Firecracker Red Cherokee Chief to BUSHDRIVER for the weekend. Probably from sheer embarrassment, the NSW distributors, Gilbert & Roach, also provided a Cherokee, a very smartlooking, four-door in Wedgewood Blue. So, after months of trying, we had two Cherokees in as many days, and a deadline to meet. The body panels of the Cherokee are not new to 4WD enthusiasts. They have been in production for about ten years in what is more commonly known as the Wagoneer. Because of this, some ORV owners think of the body style as being dated or old-fashioned-and that is probably true in comparison with the latest styling of conventional sedans. But, if the Cherokee is old-fashioned, then some other brands of 4WD on the showroom floors must be prehistoric! Jeep probably believe, like other makers, that when you're on to a good thing you might as well stick to it. Two versions are available, the 4-door Cherokee "S" and the two-door Cherokee "Chief". Both share the same major body panels and, except for some minor differences, are mechanically similar. The Cherokee "S" should appeal to the more- conservative family man, while the Chief, with its aggressive, sporty look, may be bought by those wanting appearance above all else. Both vehicles share the same 276.6 cm (108.7")
wheelbase. At each end of the vehicle is a massive alloy bumper bar. The front bar also carries solid, well mounted, rubber over-riders that would be quite capable of pushing another car along without any hassles. Behind the front bumper is a full width plastic grille with rectangular Cibie quartz halogen headlights mounted above the blinker lights. The blinkers also have extra repeater lights at the forward edge of the front guards.
Different stripe treatments are used. The "S" gets what could only be described as a "birthday cake wrapper", while the Chief carries a wide black band with bold name cut-outs. I couldn't get excited about either. Fortunately, they are only tape, and can be removed with a little bit of care. A chrome roof rack is standard and features adjustable cross bars that can be moved by loosening a knurled knob at the end of each bar. If you lack the strength, there is a special spanner in the glovebox. The Chief has factory fitted steel flares to help cover the wider wheels and tyres. Also, the forward facing surface of the rear flare is covered in clear plastic to prevent stone damage from the front wheels. A solid mounted tow bar is standard and is rated at 3,500 Ibs trailer weight or 350 Ibs torque load limit. A wiring kit is provided (in the glovebox) so that you can choose what type of electrical connection you prefer. There are fourteen baked enamel exterior body colours of which six are metallics. Additionally, twelve of those colours are available with white tops from the base of the window-line up. White and silver body colours can be had with black tops. Only two colours are available for the interior trims, blue or tan, and these are allocated to harmonise with the exterior, i.e. red has tan and silver has blue. Both are genuine five seaters with more than ample elbow and leg room. Vinyl and corduroy trim are standard in the "S" while the Chief gets fake Levis vinyl with Levi cloth inserts on the seat faces and door feature panels. The vehicles are fully carpeted, including the inside of the tailgate which also has chrome rubbing strips. The front seats are only adjustable fore and aft, while the back seat can be tumbled and folded for extra cargo space. The ingenious design of the rear seat mounting brackets means that the seat can be removed entirely within a matter of seconds, thereby giving still more usable space, or perhaps providing a comfortable seat on the grass to watch the polo. Behind the right rear cargo wall are the tools and jack. The interior is extremely well lit. There are two roof lights which can be switched on by the doors, headlight switch or another switch above the cargo area. In addition, the front roof light has two individually switched map reading lights that direct a beam of light into either the driver's or passenger's lap. There are also courtesy lights in the front footwells, in the glovebox and, believe it or not, in the ashtray! All doors have thick armrests, with the rear doors having individual ashtrays. The front doors also have integral safety reflectors as they are capable of being opened to 90 degrees from the line of the vehicle. An alloy spoked "sports" steering wheel is standard with the wheel on the Chief having a thicker "soft feel" rim. The steering column is adjustable to six different angles by moving a lever that is below the indicator arm on the left side of the column. A steering lock is incorporated in the column mounted ignition switch, and there is also a key lock safety lever and a hazard light switch. In front of and slightly to the right, is the instrument panel containing speedometer, odometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge, amp gauge, brake warning light, seat belt warning light, heater controls and indicators. Below this panel are the controls for headlights, windscreen wipers, left and right air vents, power tailgate switch and rear window locker switch. This last switch is unusual in that it works on a delay mechanism- it shuts itself off after a while, eliminating the possibility of accidentally flattening the battery. To the left of the instrument panel are a clock and the
AM/FM/CB radio combination that is a little gem in itself. Besides providing AM and FM
stereo through the four speakers, it is also an 18 channel AM CB. Not only that, it will
operate on radio and CB at the same time, automatically broadcasting CB only when someone
speaks, and then reverting-to radio. This should be a great device on long trips where you
want to listen to, say, the truckies' channel, but don't necessarily want to put up with
all the static and interference when there is no one to listen to. Below the radio is a centrally mounted lockable glovebox within easy reach of driver or passenger. Inside, is the lockout switch for the central differential and the CB microphone and lead. There is also a magnetic microphone bracket that attaches to the outside of the glovebox lid should you want to have the mike at the ready. The glovebox is wide but relatively shallow, and is incapable of carrying large objects. Underneath the glovebox are the air conditioning controls. It is possible to regulate the air-conditioning fan to any speed between dead slow and flat out. The cold air is emitted from four adjustable outlets across the underside of the dash panel. Between the front buckets there is a fold down arm rest and
a middle cushion that could enable a third person to be carried in the front in an
emergency. Directly forward of this is the T bar automatic console. The four door test
vehicle had a cassette stereo player fitted in this console, however, this is an option.
Down on the left side of the transmission tunnel is the low range selector. This small
lever sits flat to the floor when in high range and is pulled up for engaging low range. Another good idea is the springloaded rear tailgate. While obviously extremely heavy with its steel panels, electric motor and rear glass, the actual effort required in raising or lowering the tailgate is minimal and could be handled easily by a small woman. Other nice touches include a day/ night rear vision mirror, four protection mats over the deep carpeting, padded sun visors, cigarette lighter, very fast window glass winders, a 3-speed fan for the heater and a colour co-ordinated headlining which looks durable enough to withstand heavy scrubbing,- should it get soiled.
Engine accessibility is, by 4WD standards, difficult. What with pollution control equipment, air-conditioning pumps and pipes, power steering, large radiator and God knows what else, there isn't even enough room left to mount an auxiliary battery. Full marks to Jeep, though, they have fitted all Australian Cherokees with all their heavy duty equipment, i.e. 70 amp battery, 63 amp alternator, 7 blade fan, fan shroud, large capacity radiator and coolant recovery system. Electronic ignition is also standard equipment. |
 | The finish of the paint is in places poor. Sure, it's a
"truck", but the roughness of the paint in places like the plennum chamber,
around the windscreen pillar, inside the door edges and around the radiator support panel,
is bad. Some other Cherokees we have seen have been excellent, and some have been
atrocious. Before you hand over the money, make sure you check that the vehicle is
finished properly. |
| I have yet to see a Cherokee with straight stripes. Jeep
must hire ten-year olds to put the stripes on. Either that or they don't care. But,
on a vehicle touching almost twenty grand, I would want straight stripes, at least. The combination radio/CB aerial is a stainless steel non-retractable whip. In some ways it is resilient, but the first really big branch that swipes the side of the Jeep is going to take that aerial, and probably some of the guard as well. |
| There is quite a large gap between the outer edges of the
internal sun visors and the corners of the windscreen, meaning that at times when it is
necessary to have the visor down, the sun can still come blindingly through the unshielded
space. |
| The light blue interior colour scheme looks great but, after
a few hours on a dusty road, it shows up every particle of grit and dust. On the other
hand, the tan interior is quite serviceable. |
| The alloy wheels on the four-door are out of style. They
represent the "mags" of years gone by, and add to the vehicle's somewhat dated
appearance. Different styled wheels would enhance the appearance considerably. |
| The right hand wiper doesn't sit down enough in its parked position. I got used to it, but there must be a way it could be made to sweep down to the bottom of the screen. |
I haven't mentioned fuel consumption because we didn't have the Jeeps long enough to test the consumption under separate conditions - plus, at the time of the tests, NSW was going through a particularly bad petrol rationing period and we were topping up the tanks at every opportunity. From what we experienced and from owners we have spoken to, you could expect approximately 24 L/100 km (12 mpg) in the suburbs and up to 20L/100 km (14 mpg) on the open road. Economy in the bush is impossible to predict: it depends on the severity of the terrain. It's obviously a gas guzzler, but try hauling a heavy van, boat or horse float with a Honda Civic!
The Cherokee, and in particular the 4-door "S" is a sure fire winner. there can be little argument that it offers the best value in the "top of the line" 4WD market. At $18,900 for the "S" and $18,500 for the Chief, both are considerably less than a basic Range Rover. And yet, the Jeeps include all the items we have mentioned as standard equipment! Admittedly, many of those things are not absolutely necessary for fourwheel driving, but what they do do, is make the Cherokee a true multipurpose vehicle.
The Jeep will find plenty of eager buyers because it doesn't act like a regular four-wheel drive. It will be just as much at home with mum and the kids at the local supermarket as it will be thumping down some long-forgotten trail.
