JEEPERS CREEPERS

JEEP BUILDS THE FASTEST, SCARIEST SUV ON SALE. PEDA L TO THE METAL ALL THE WAY.

Mr. John Force, your Jeep has arrived. It’s called the Trackhawk and if the driver reference went over your head then perhaps drag racing, and by proxy, the Jeep Trackhawk is not for you. Instead, you might be better off in a Porsche Cayenne Turbo. But if words like reaction time, launch control rpm, and race cooldown form a strong part of your everyday vernacular, then this shotgun blast to the fast SUV arsenal has a deeper appreciation for the nuances of straight-line performance than anything we’ve tested.

Sounds like a one-trick pony but that’s because, despite a name purporting characteristics of ‘Track’ and ‘Hawk’, it has none of the agility associated with either. Cool name though, and a Redeye edition is on the cards.

Believe it or not but Jeep has a good track record at building fast SUVs. Fifteen years’ experience, almost as long as Porsche has with the Cayenne and before now each one has always seemed like a whole genetically-modified slice of ‘Merican value. Being part of a family that includes Dodge, Chrysler, Maserati, and Fiat also means that Jeep’s all-access card to the inventory of racy accessories is mouth-watering. These fast Jeeps usually went under the SRT name but has been knocked down a peg. You can buy an SRT if you’re happy with the antiquated 6.4-liter normally aspirated V8 eclipsed by engines half the size. Still fast enough and decent value if you can afford the fuel bill, but the Trackhawk’s performance entitles it to live in another realm to the SRT.