Certified Benz & Beemer Compares 2013 GMC TERRAIN VS 2014 Jeep Grand Near Phoenix, AZ

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Terrain are height-adjustable, and the rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Jeep Grand Cherokee has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Terrain and Grand Cherokee have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Terrain has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Grand Cherokee’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Terrain’s optional lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

Both the Terrain and the Grand Cherokee have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Terrain is safer than the Jeep Grand Cherokee:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the GMC Terrain is safer than the Jeep Grand Cherokee:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Terrain comes with free roadside assistance for 5 years 100,000 miles. GMC will send help if you run out of gas, need a jump start, lock your keys in or need any assistance on the road. Jeep doesn’t give free roadside assistance for the Grand Cherokee.

The Terrain’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Grand Cherokee’s (6/100,000 vs. 5/100,000).

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Terrain have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the 5.7 V8 in the Grand Cherokee.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without their vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports predicts that the GMC Terrain 4 cyl.’s reliability will be 31% better than the Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 and the GMC Terrain is 41% better than the Jeep Grand Cherokee V6.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2013 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC second in initial quality, above the industry average. With 28 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 22nd, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2013 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC 17th in reliability. With 44 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 29th.

The Terrain’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 11 more horsepower (301 vs. 290) and 12 lbs.-ft. more torque (272 vs. 260) than the Grand Cherokee’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the GMC Terrain uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 V8 engine requires mid-grade for maximum efficiency, which can cost 5 to 40 cents more per gallon.

The Terrain stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee:

The Terrain 4 cyl.’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Cherokee Laredo’s standard 70 series tires.

The Terrain has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Terrain flat and controlled during cornering. The Grand Cherokee’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Terrain SLE handles at .78 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee Summit 4x4 pulls only .72 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Terrain SLE performs Car and Driver’s emergency lane change maneuver 4.7 MPH faster than the Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4 (58.4 vs. 53.7 MPH).

The GMC Terrain may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 800 to 1250 pounds less than the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The Terrain is 4.5 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee, making the Terrain easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Terrain 4 cyl. uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Terrain easier. The Terrain’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.8 inches, while the Grand Cherokee’s liftover is 33.2 inches.

The Terrain’s cargo area is larger than the Grand Cherokee’s in almost every dimension:

Optional IntelliLink for the Terrain allows the driver and passengers access to select programs on their smartphones, including playing internet radio stations and other online activities without taking their eyes off the road or their hands from the wheel. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer factory integrated smartphone program access.

Insurance will cost less for the Terrain owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Terrain with a number “5” insurance rate while the Grand Cherokee is rated higher at a number “8” rate.

The Terrain will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. Kiplinger’s estimates that the Terrain will retain 50% to 52% of its original price after two years, while the Grand Cherokee only retains 45% to 49%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Terrain is less expensive to operate than the Grand Cherokee because it costs $35 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Terrain than the Grand Cherokee, including $35 less for an alternator, $39 less for front brake pads, $120 less for a starter, $41 less for front struts and $214 less for a timing belt/chain.

Intellichoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the GMC Terrain will be $3664 to $7449 less than for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.