{"id":28283,"date":"2021-11-18T18:15:07","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T22:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28283"},"modified":"2021-11-18T18:15:07","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T22:15:07","slug":"payne-if-only-clark-griswold-had-driven-a-jeep-grand-cherokee-trailhawk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/payne-if-only-clark-griswold-had-driven-a-jeep-grand-cherokee-trailhawk","title":{"rendered":"Payne: If only Clark Griswold had driven a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moab, Utah<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Poor Clark Griswold. He famously took his family out west in \u201cNational Lampoon\u2019s Vacation\u201d movie in an overmatched Wagon Queen Family Truckster.<\/p>\n

He should have bought a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee.<\/p>\n

The fifth generation of Jeep\u2019s best-selling family vehicle will now not only confidently carry you over America\u2019s highways \u2014 but beyond where the asphalt ends. Griswold and family\u2019s final destination was Wally World, California, but allow me to suggest a detour to Moab, Utah, in the Grand Cherokee.<\/p>\n

\"Mountain<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Moab is Jeep\u2019s home away from home. For decades, Wrangler pilots have come here to put their 4x4s to the ultimate test across Hell\u2019s Revenge, one of the most daunting off-road terrains in the United States. Drive down Main Street and Wrangler rentals are everywhere. Now the family Grand Cherokee can join off-road fun with its Trailhawk package armored with steel skid plates, a detachable swaybar, air suspension with 11.3 inches of clearance and all-terrain tires.<\/p>\n

Those tools came in handy as I followed a Wrangler Rubicon up a steep trail into Moab\u2019s vast\u00a0slippery-rock wilderness. It\u2019s territory the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk knows well, having been tested extensively here. I\u2019m betting Griswold would want to impress his family with the SUV\u2019s capability.<\/p>\n

Off-roading is not unlike on-road track racing. You want a belt-full of tools at your disposal. Tracking a production car means stiffening everything from shocks to steering response. Off-road is the opposite. You want as much vehicle flexibility as possible.<\/p>\n

Dipping into Trailhawk\u2019s toolbox, I shifted into NEUTRAL, selected 4-LOW\u00a0and engaged ROCK mode. The beast loosened right up: swaybar disconnected to allow the front wheels Gumby-like articulation; ride-height jacked to protect the belly. Throttle eased to prevent sudden lurches.<\/p>\n

The Jeep crawled around the broken landscape like a two-ton mountain goat.<\/p>\n

If that sounds too nuts, then Griswold might haul the family over to Schafer\u2019s Trail Road in Canyonlands National Park east of Moab. Be sure to option the Family Truckster \u2014 er, Grand Cherokee Trailhawk \u2014 with the panoramic sunroof. The Colorado and Green rivers have carved Canyonlands as deep as Arizona\u2019s Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n