Certified Benz & Beemer Compares 2014 Land Rover RANGE ROVER SPORT VS 2014 Jeep Grand Near Phoenix, AZ

The Range Rover Sport’s front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Range Rover Sport and Grand Cherokee SRT8 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Range Rover Sport 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 SRT8’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 Range Rover Sport’s optional lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

The Range Rover Sport offers an optional Surround Camera System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Range Rover Sport and the Grand Cherokee SRT8 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height-adjustable front shoulder belts, all wheel drive, traction control and electronic stability systems to prevent skidding.

The Range Rover Sport comes with a full 4 year/50,000 mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24 hour roadside assistance. The Grand Cherokee SRT8’s 3 year/36,000 mile basic warranty expires 1 year and 14,000 miles sooner.

The Range Rover Sport’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Grand Cherokee SRT8’s (6/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Range Rover Sport have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engine in the Grand Cherokee SRT8.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2013 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Land Rover vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Land Rover 21st in initial quality. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 22nd.

The Range Rover Sport Supercharged/Autobiography’s standard 5.0 supercharged V8 produces 40 more horsepower (510 vs. 470) than the Grand Cherokee SRT8’s 6.4 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged is faster than the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8:

On the EPA test cycle the Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged gets better fuel mileage than the Grand Cherokee SRT8 (14 city/19 hwy vs. 13 city/19 hwy).

Regenerative brakes improve the Range Rover Sport’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Range Rover Sport’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Range Rover Sport has 3.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Grand Cherokee SRT8 (27.7 vs. 24.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Range Rover Sport’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Grand Cherokee SRT8 are solid, not vented.

The Range Rover Sport’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Cherokee SRT8’s 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Range Rover Sport offers optional 22-inch wheels. The Grand Cherokee SRT8’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the Range Rover Sport uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Grand Cherokee SRT8, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Range Rover Sport has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Range Rover Sport’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Range Rover Sport has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Range Rover Sport is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 2 inches wider in the rear than on the Grand Cherokee SRT8.

The Range Rover Sport Supercharged executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Grand Cherokee SRT8 (25.8 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 26.4 seconds @ .71 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Range Rover Sport has a 2.7 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Grand Cherokee SRT8 (11 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the Range Rover Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 50 to 400 pounds less than the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.

The design of the Land Rover Range Rover Sport amounts to more than styling. The Range Rover Sport has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .37 Cd. That is lower than the Grand Cherokee SRT8 (.39). A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Range Rover Sport get better fuel mileage.

The Range Rover Sport offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the Grand Cherokee SRT8 can only carry 5.

The Range Rover Sport’s cargo area is larger than the Grand Cherokee SRT8’s in almost every dimension:

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Grand Cherokee SRT8, the Range Rover Sport has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Range Rover Sport’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Grand Cherokee SRT8’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Range Rover Sport has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Range Rover Sport’s optional Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Range Rover Sport was selected by Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine as their 2014 4x4 of the Year. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 has never been chosen.