A Product Review. My Silver Grand Jeep Cherokee Laredo

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... a Grand Jeep Cherokee Laredo, with me in the drivers seat enjoying the freedom. I can pack up the back, bedding and all and I'm set to go.

Many people have a bond of some sort with their car. Some carry it to extremes and give the car more attention than the human beings in their lives, but for most of us, myself included, having a car gives us a special kind of freedom, at the same time as being our mode of transportation to everything from work to long cross country trips.

Mine is a silver Grand Jeep Cherokee Laredo, and this very large product is an important part of my daily life, one that I would have a very difficult time doing without in my daily existence. I had that tested too when someone stole it up in Winnipeg last year and we had to do without it for a couple weeks. Luckily I got it back, but with quite a bit of damage and I was not a happy camper to lose the spontaneity and freedom that having my own transportation provides me. It was like being chopped off at the legs, and being made to feel powerless.

The car I had previously to my Grand Jeep Cherokee was a Dodge Grand Caravan, which was a very good car, but it got totaled on the Irvine freeway in rush hour traffic and I got hauled away via ambulance to the local hospital, so I had no choice but to look for a new car. Well actually this was a used one from Car Max, but it felt and drove like new.

I could have opted for a smaller car, but after that accident, which was in traffic only going about 25 miles per hour, I decided I wanted something sturdy but not too big. One of my friends had one and loved it.

I like the height of a slightly taller car, both for functionality in traffic and for the ease of getting in and out of. It has plenty of head room ad leg room if I push the seat back and the fit and ride is very smooth and to my tastes.

There is only room for 5 in my Grand Jeep Cherokee, which after having a 7 seater, took a little getting used to, but now I don't have to haul everyone around in my mom mobile anymore and my Jeep has much more open road sporty feel to it, than my previous car did.

The Grand Jeep Cherokee came equipped with not just 4 wheel drive, but a switchable option to use part time 4 wheel drive, full time 4 wheel drive or two wheel drive, which saves some on fuel consumption, since it really isn't necessary to constantly be in 4 wheel drive, especially on sunny city streets and freeways. This feature has proven to be a great asset, driving in rain and snow storms, on mountains, on back roads and so forth. Last winter when I was allowed to pass other cars that had to stop to install chains to get across a mountain pass, I was indeed happy to find out my car handled very well using my two types of 4 wheel drive options and no chains were required.

Another feature I really love in my Jeep is the ability to fold down either half or all the back seats and make sleeping or carrying room in the back. That feature has provided me with many nights sleep or naps on long trips or even when I need to escape for a night somewhere and just wanted to be in my little space on my own. My husband and I have both slept in the back on many occasions and it adds to the spontaneity of just taking off for awhile, and of being able to stop just about anywhere, for a rest.

The half seat option also allows more room for my large Dalmatian/ Black Labrador/ mastiff dog to have room to stretch out on one side , while my 10 year old daughter sits on the other.

My daughter was so thrilled when I bought the car and told me I had made a good choice, because it was a very cool car to be seen being picked up from school in. The coolness aspect had not been a feature with much choosing power when I bought it, but I had to agree with her in thinking it really does have a kind of oomph and outdoorsy cool style to it, but hey who wouldn't want their ten year olds special brand of approval too? It also came with our sons approval. He is four and when he spots it coming, he gets all excited and starts pointing and yelling MY truck, MY truck, so I passed the boy cool test too with my Grand Jeep Cherokee Laredo.

This car is fun. I get in it, crank up the tunes, roll down the windows and disappear down the highways and back roads sometimes and in my Grand Jeep Cherokee Laredo it feels like an adventure every time and sometimes it literally has been one.

The Grand Jeep Cherokee has the nice solid feel of a bigger truck or SUV, but it is smaller and handles more like a car.

One feature I both like and dislike is the wireless remote key option. I love having the wireless remote option, and it does give more of a safety feature to the car since, only the drivers door can be opened with a key, but that is also the down side of that feature. My wireless remote was also stolen when my Grand Jeep Cherokee was stolen and to let the kids in the back I would either have to walk to all the doors or open mine first and double hit the door release on the inside of the passengers door to unlock their doors, which is not always great in bad weather or areas where I don't want the kids just standing outside the door waiting to be let in if I have full arms or am delayed getting to the doors. Until this car I had never even had the luxury of a remote door lock/ unlock feature, but once it was stolen, it became a hassle not to have it. The insurance company finally reimbursed me for a new one after months and months, so everything is fine now in the door department.

The Grand Jeep Cherokee does come with 4 doors and a hatchback. It also has a nice little feature in the back luggage area. Since the back is open to view from anyone passing by and peering in the window, it has a pull cover that works like a rolling blind , which will cover up your purchases or luggage so it can't be seen by peering eyes. It also happens to be a good place to squirrel away gifts and surprises from spying little children's eyes.

Replacement tires are more expensive than the average car, which was a bit of a shocker when a couple of those got slashed in the theft.

The spare tire is one of the more solid ones that can actually drive some distance, unlike the rubber donut many cars carry, and it is very easily accessible under the lift up panel in the back storage area.

The backs of the front seats have storage pouches for toys, maps, books or whatever and there is a small storage compartment between the two front seats for spare change, cds, papers, small items and so forth, It isn't big, but it is handy.

The Grand Jeep Cherokee has a number of other small features too, like a display panel which shows the direction you are traveling, the temperature in either centigrade or Fahrenheit, depending in how it gets set. I use one in one country and one in the other, so it is a nice little extra feature for me and my Canadian husband and side of the family.

Would I buy one the next time around? I definitely would, but I hope that isn't for awhile yet. I like things to last awhile.