Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Night edition: 8 things you didn't know

Jeep has launched the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Night limited edition into Australian showrooms. Just 128 examples of this large, dark, luxury V8 SUV will be sold in Australia, priced at $97,000. If your tastes turn towards SUVs that think they’re sports cars, this American import is the most affordable drag star in the country right now. And while it ain’t cheap, it doesn’t exactly scrimp on the good life either!

1. The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Night edition is a large luxury SUV that can cover 400m from a standing start in just 13.1 seconds. That’s faster than a Porsche 911 of just a decade ago! We know this because Jeep gave us the chance to drag race this muscle-bound V8 SUV down the quarter mile at Eastern Creek. At night, of course!

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1. Our 13.1 second quarter mile time is actually four tenths of a second faster than Jeep’s own claim, which apparently came from internal testing. Which means their testers must drive like my grandma.
2. The SRT Night edition is based on a ‘standard Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, which means a really powerful V8 engine and a firm, sporty ride intended to make the big SUV as quick and stable as possible through the corners.
3. It’s called ‘Night’ edition because there are lots of dark bits, like satin black alloy wheels, darkened windows, blackened seven-slot front grille and black badges.

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1. The Night edition is not cheap. At $97,000, it’s between $3K-$7K more than the next dearest Jeep Grand Cherokee, but does get additional creature comforts like the 19-speaker Harmon Kardon sound system, black leather interior treatment with silver stitching and big panoramic sunroof.
2. The Night edition actually gets some mechanical modifications, too. The electric steering assistance has been increased, the suspension settings have been tweaked to ride the bumps a little better, and there’s even a fancy ‘Launch Control’ dial to help you blast away from the traffic lights as fast as possible

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1. The Grand Cherokee SRT Night edition’s Launch Control lets the driver dial up the desired launch revs, anywhere from 2000rpm to 3250rpm. This may shave valuable hundredths off your drag strip time. Or not.
2. Jeep’s gone to the trouble to swap out some heavier suspension components for lighter ones. Unfortunately, all the extra equipment negates any weight saving, so the Night edition weighs the same 2336kg as the normal SRT.