Hi Scotty,
I am shopping around for a new SUV to lease and I am finding the new 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited L 4x4 is much more within my budget range over the Highlander and the Pilot and the Jeep has most the features I am looking. I am considering it because even though the msrp is around the same price as a higher end highlander or Pilot but the lease monthly payment somehow is coming out to be 200 dollars less. 550 dollars for the Jeep vs around 750+ for the Highlander and the Pilot. Do yo recommend leasing it for three years over the Highlander or Pilot or even doing a lease to buy ?
Way back when, Jeeps used to be decent vehicles. But now, they are often built on the Fiat platform.
The Grand Cherokee is built on the Fiat FCA Giorgio Platform.
Scotty isn’t too fond of things from Fiat. And I’m not either.
In general Japanese cars aren't leasing well in this market and if you can afford and get a good rate why not finance and buy a Highlander or Pilot. Jeep doesn't have good quality; it might have extra bells and whistles but a modern Toyota or Honda has nice options which are useful along with quality and reliability.
On a lease, sure. Pretty nice rig for the price. One of the most pleasant mid size SUVs out there, just not one of the most reliable (especially compared to the Highlander and Pilot).
If you are thinking about long term ownership (either up front or buying out the residual after the lease), then you need to be smart about details. Fancy electronics, air ride suspension, and all those extras will be very expensive to fix when it goes off warranty.
So if it were me, I would look for one with the 5.7 hemi and as few options as possible. Keep it simple. The pentastar V6 could be ok too, just not as good for resale. Do not let them talk you into the plug in hybrid (shudder).
No
